Megan King

8 thoughts on “Megan King

  1. mck5257

    I’ve only been home for a few hours and I miss Ireland so much already. I honestly don’t know where to begin when I start thinking about it. My mind jumps around from all the wonderful sites that we visited, to the beautiful scenery, to becoming friends with eight people who a month ago were complete strangers to me. It’s all so hard to believe, but it happened. And I’m so happy it did!

    This study abroad has truly been one of the best experiences of my life. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m still just soaking it all in! Most of all, I know that this experience will help me to shape my future career. Not everyone can say they lived in Ireland studying Culture and Disability. If I look back to a month ago and think about how much I thought I knew then, to how much I actually know now, it’s astonishing how much of a difference there is.

    Even though I miss Ireland so much, it feels good to be home. I’m already planning what I would do if I ever get the chance to go back! Which I hope I do—sooner rather than later.

  2. mck5257

    This week, we have had the pleasure of attending the 8th Disability Summer School. This year, the session focuses on the CRPD or the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Going into this week, I thought that a lot of the conversations would go over my head, but I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to understand a lot more than I thought I would have. Additionally, I think I have taken away some important insights by hearing about different countries around the world that I definitely would not have had otherwise.

    I think that the speaker that sticks out in my mind most was from former Senator Tom Harkin . He was a crucial component of writing and passing the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, an act that I have learned so much about in my classes: I think that we were all a little star struck to meet the man who helped build the foundation for our future careers. My favorite thing he said was, “change doesn’t happen from the top down, it happens from the bottom up.” This was really helpful to hear, because I am at the bottom. I’m in a room filled with people with so many impressive accomplishments and I haven’t even finished my undergrad yet, but regardless of this, I know that I’m still able to make a difference and be an advocate, especially for people with disabilities.

  3. mck5257

    We’ve had a few days in Galway now and I think that we are learning to love it as much as we loved Dublin. As always, we decided to go on a few day trips in order to see as much as possible in the limited time that we have. The first trip we went on was to the Cliffs of Moher and I’m having a hard time deciding if this trip or our previous trip to Northern Ireland was my favorite!
    Being on the edge of the world like should seem a little scary, but instead I was overwhelmed by the beauty and wasn’t scared at all! We were able to get up to the very edge, laying on our stomachs of course, and look beneath us to the ocean. It was so calming, I think I could’ve taken a nap right there.

    Yesterday, we went to the Aran Islands. The weather wasn’t the best, but we have been so lucky so far with weather that it is hard to complain. The Aran Islands are really different than anywhere else we have been so far—they didn’t even have electricity on the islands until the 70’s! It was almost like going back in time, everything was so simple and it was a nice change to see people live like that!

    It’s hard to believe that next week at this time we will be back in the states. I know I’m trying to fit as much in as possible, because, sadly, this once in a lifetime experience is coming to an end, but it’s an experience I will always remember.

  4. mck5257

    Today, we went to the Deaf Village in Ireland and I have to say, I have never seen anything quite like it! I can’t say that there is anything similar in the United States. Once again, I have seen something that I really think that the U.S. should adopt. The woman who gave us a tour told us that the village as, a whole, rents out space to different supports for the deaf community—so the village was kind of like a “one stop shop.”

    Our guide was hearing, but both of her parents were Deaf. She told us that when she was younger, she wanted to be part of the Deaf community too because she felt left out. I liked hearing this because I think most of the time when someone learns that their child cannot hear, they find it “devastating,” but her situation was sort of flip-flopped.

    Tomorrow, we leave Dublin for Galway. It’s bittersweet, but I can’t wait for what’s in store!

  5. mck5257

    Yesterday, we decided to take another day trip to a place where a lot of our relatives came from–Cork. My Uncle told me that his great-grandfather was born on the river Lee, which I got to see in real life yesterday, as it runs through the city of Cork, much like how the Liffey runs through Dublin.

    One of the definite highlights of the day was kissing the Blarney Stone. I had first learned about the Blarney castle in third grade on our St. Patrick’s Day bulletin board. Ever since then, it has been a dream of mine to kiss the Blarney Stone. Kissing the stone gives you the gift of eloquent speech for seven years…so I need to be back in at least seven years, if not sooner, right?

    What no one seems to tell you is that you have to walk up the most narrow, steepest steps to get to the top of the castle. It was sort of a daunting task. When we got to the top, we spotted someone below wearing a “One Team” tee shirt. A few of us yelled “WE ARE” from the top of the Blarney Castle, and whoever it was yelled back “PENN STATE.” It gave me chills; Penn State really does live everywhere I guess!

  6. mck5257

    Today, we were given a presentation from Trinity’s Disability Services Department. The presentation was given by an Occupational Therapist, which was ideal for me because that is exactly what I want to do in my future career. The OT, Kieren, told us that three-quarters of the Occupational Therapists in Ireland work in a clinical setting, which is what I always think of, especially after shadowing in the States, and the last quarter works in mental health, much like himself. However, what he described wasn’t what comes to mind when I think of mental health, instead, it was more of a vocational and employment approach. Additionally, he noted that Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists do not work closely together as they do in the United States, which was surprising because I do not think I’ve ever worked with an OT without a PT nearby. It was nice to hear these differences though because that’s exactly what we are here for! After shadowing so many places in America, all being fairly similar, I got so used to a single an idea of what an OT could be. I do think I would prefer to be on the clinical side, but this new dimension is intriguing and important to be aware of.

    I also learned today that Trinity has a program where students with intellectual disabilities can take classes on campus, and the only program of its kind in all of Ireland. To my knowledge, we don’t have anything like that in the states and after today, I think we really should. These students worked all year on a research project about what they like and do not like about Trinity, and their findings are soon to be published in a scientific journal! They were all really excited about it, as they should be because that’s a lot of work! In addition to their presentation of research, we also learned about their work placement programs. Several of their bosses even came to their program this morning, which I thought was so kind and lovely. Anyone who talked about their job seemed to really enjoy it and I think that it is a great opportunity to work at places like the Bank of Ireland or the on-campus gyms because it takes the interest of the individual into mind, which is so unbelievably important.

    I’m starting to really be able to compare and contrast Ireland’s health system with the United State’s, and I have to say, I really like what I’m seeing here!

  7. mck5257

    Today, we went to Northern Ireland, which I kind of forgot was a different country. We decided to take a day tour because we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss anything! All of the tour guides are so knowledgeable, and of course fun. We started off our day at the Titanic museum which was located on the same site where the Titanic was built, no signs of Leonardo Dicaprio though. Then, we headed to Giant’s Causeway, which was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen in my life–we even had a picnic lunch on the rocks. Our last stop was at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. I can’t help but wonder who were the brave souls who constructed a rope bridge that far up? On the other side of the bridge is what I will from now on call my favorite place on Earth. We found a little nook right on the edge of the cliff (don’t worry we were careful) and I have never felt more at peace in my life.

    Tomorrow we are off to Wicklow for more walking! We’ve been averaging about 5.5 miles per day, not too shabby!

  8. mck5257

    This past Tuesday, we went to St. Michael’s, a facility for adults with intellectual disabilities. The man we met with, Steven, told us that there is an extreme shortage of Occupational and Physical Therapists, as well as Speech Pathologists. I myself want to be an Occupational Therapist, so this was interesting to hear, especially because in the United States, I think that the East Coast especially is saturated with OT’s. However, even though they didn’t have the same resources, I think that they used the resources they did have much more creatively, wisely, and efficiently. One of the employees, Paul, is what I would call an Art Therapist. The projects he created for the residents were so tactile, imaginative, and educational—all at the same time. One project in particular was a replica of a “fairy” tree in a nearby park, which they recreated in their classroom. Some of the clients even took time to make us all our own fairy doors as a memento from our visit there. So thoughtful and sweet! All activities were very involved such as this, which is something I haven’t always seen in the U.S. I was very impressed!

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