Category: Stephanie Magnotta

The rest of the conference was interesting. I loved being able to hear individuals stories of the horrors of law tearing away their right to a family, whether it was conceiving, fostering or adopting children. It made the discussions of the laws more real. I’ve never studied law, especially international law. Having this experience under my belt will provide me more opportunities for activism and advocacy at home.

And, just like that my time in Ireland has come to an end! I’m so glad I decided to do this trip; the friends and memories I’ve made will last a lifetime. I’ve truly loved every day of this trip and am so sad it had to end. Luckily, we all go to the same school so we will be able to continue the fun at PSU. 🙂 Thank you all for coming along my study abroad journey! It was a blast.

This week was the start of the 11th International Disability Summer School. This years topic revolves around the right to family life of individuals with disabilities. The speakers are broadening the idea of family life to concerns that do not typically come to mind. These speakers are from all around the world, and are bringing their own countries perspectives and personal experiences to light. I enjoy the question and answer sessions at the end of each presentation because it allows individuals to gain more insight on how they can bring these ideas to their own countries, as well as share their own experiences with the whole group.

I was surprised by the size of the conference. My initial thought was that there was going to be thousands of people attending. However, it is very intimate, which makes it easier to meet and connect with new people.

I cannot believe the program ends in two days! Time needs to slow down!! Stay tuned for one last blog from me 🙁

Wooo! We’re in Galway! We’re staying at the National University of Ireland (NUI) for our one week here in Galway. The campus is huge with a delicious cafe with (sort of) homemade pizza. The dorms are spacious with a nice kitchen and two bathrooms, and I was lucky enough to get a room with two beds in it. I’m rooming with Kelly and Mariah (I miss you Mikayla 🙁 ) and we’ve had a blast so far.

On Friday, we took a day tour to the Aran Islands. We had a lovely tour guide who grew up in one of the villages on the island. Even though the island is big, only 1/3 of it is occupied. It was mostly land and animals. We met some furry friends along the way and ate delicious food. I wish I could go back to have that goat cheese salad one more time. I’m so glad we were able to do this trip as a group. It’s always more fun when we’re all together!

On Saturday, the girls and I went off to explore the more of the town. NUI is about a 20-25 minute walk into town, so we got a bit of exercise in for the day. We went shopping, ate lunch, and ventured through the market. This was our only day to see the whole town, since we will be busy during the week, so we wanted to make the most of it. Galway is charming, and has a nice homey feel to it. We’ve already made plans to try more restaurants for dinner, which will be a nice break from the busy week ahead of us.

Today, we took a day tour to the Cliffs of Moher. It’s as amazing as you see in the pictures! It was a bit foggy and rainy all day, but we made the most of it and had a great day together.

 

The UN Conference starts bright and early tomorrow morning. Excited and a bit intimidated to attend, but I’m sure I will grow a lot there. Stay tuned for more 🙂

Our last week of site visits is finished! On Monday, we learned about the Equine Therapy service that Child Vision provides. Equine therapy is a type of occupational therapy that involves the use of horses to achieve therapeutic goals, which can be emotional, social, behavioral or more. We were able to watch a few minutes of two one-on-one sessions and take a tour of the rest of the farm area. It was fascinating to learn about the different benefits Equine Therapy has on an individual.

On Monday night, the girls and I went to the Ireland vs. Gibraltar soccer game! We all grabbed an Ireland shirt and headed over to the stadium. We had seats in the nosebleeds but still had such a great time together. Ireland won, so we were surrounded by very ecstatic fans. It was a very fun night.

On Tuesday, we visited a branch of St. Michael’s House which consisted of a primary and secondary school for individuals with intellectual disabilities. We were able to tour around the building and stop into classrooms of our choosing. I loved the kindergarten classroom! The little boys were so adorable and sweet, and the teachers were very insightful.

After the site visit, Kelly and I went to Phoenix Park. There is one specific area in the park where a herd of deer roam. We brought some carrots and bread to feed to them. It was a beautiful day out; the sun was finally shinning. We stayed and explored the rest of the area before coming back to campus. We had such a great afternoon together!

Today, we visited Friends of the Elderly. We assisted with their social club, which is a 2 hour event full of tea, coffee, pastries and music. We all danced and learned new moves from the participants. Also, we all sang them Don’t Stop Believing by Journey with the band. Friends of the Elderly was a great note to end on.

Sadly, tonight is our last night in Dublin. 🙁  I’m going to miss it here! I love my little home away from home at Trinity. Tomorrow we are catching the bus to Galway for the UN Conference all next week. I’m excited for Galway and the new adventure.

The second week was one for the books! On Thursday, we visited Enable Ireland which is an organization that serves children and adults with physical disabilities to achieve independence and inclusion within the community. This site has been my personal favorite so far. Enable Ireland has advanced technology that aided individuals with cerebral palsy to stand on their own and learn how to work and control a motorized wheelchair. I haven’t seen anything like it before. I took pictures to show my previous mentors at home to see if they’ve seen or used anything similar.

Thursday night we went to An Evening of Food, Folklore, and Fairies as a group. We ate a three course meal while a woman told us the history of Irish leprechauns, fairies and other fun, mystical creatures. It was a really fun experience. I’ve been dreaming about eating the chocolate fudge cake again!

On Saturday, the girls and I took a day trip to Northern Ireland. We had to be at the bus stop at 6:45 am, which was just as hard as it sounds. Our first stop was the Titanic Museum. I’ve always been fascinated by the history of Titanic (and can quote the whole entire movie). It was such a great tour filled with interactive displays throughout. Our next stop was at the Giant’s Causeway. There were beautiful views and a lot of hills! The final stop was the Rede Rope Bridge, where you walked on a small but sturdy bridge across the water onto a neighboring island. It was so scary but really cool! I loved this day trip because we hit three great sites all with a tour guide along the way.

Today was a relaxed day, which was perfect since it’s been a very busy weekend. Some of the girls and I went into the city to go shopping. I bought myself a few summer items, which I sadly will not be able to wear in the rainy, cold city of Dublin. At 4, we met up with our professors and went to afternoon tea. It was nice to be able to hang out with everyone  for a few hours over tea and small sandwiches.

We have another busy week ahead of us. I’m going to take the night to relax and catch up on sleep. Stay tuned for the next update! 🙂

We started off our second week by taking a group day tour of four historical grounds, including Newgrange and Hill of Slane. I had no prior knowledge of any of these sites, so it was great to be able to explore it all together on our day off. Every place was beautiful! Our tour guide, Martin, was awesome. He gave us private tours and brought us to a great restaurant for lunch. His van also had super comfy seats, which made the 7:45 am wake up call a bit easier!

On Tuesday, we visited Fighting Blindness; an organization that serves individuals with vision loss. We met with Melissa and John. Melissa is a scientist at Flighting Blindness that leads research on treatments and cures for blindness. John is a psychotherapist who became blind in his 50s. Melissa taught us the history of Fighting Blindness and where it currently is now. John talked about his experience with the loss of his vision. He spoke so beautifully on accepting his vision loss and how he became to love the new man he is. His viewpoint on life was inspiring. I’m upset he retired this year because the new group for next year’s trip won’t be able to hear his story.

Today, we visited the Deaf Village. The Deaf Village is a community center that services individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. The facility was huge! It had a church, swimming pool, gym, and theater. The sense of community was so strong there. Our tour guide, Amanda, shared with us that her immediate family and extended family were all deaf, and even though she is hearing, she felt more apart of the Deaf community than the hearing community. My minor is in Deafness and Hearing Studies, so today was cool to visit Deaf Village and experience the community and culture first-hand.

We only have four sites left to visit! The trip is going by way too fast. So far, I only have great things to say about every place we have seen and visited. I’m excited for the rest of the week’s adventures!

I can’t believe my first week is already over! We had such a fun week that was full of adventure and learning. Our group visited three more service groups/organizations: Trinity Center for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, St. Michael’s House, and Mental Health Ireland. I loved these visits because we were able to interact with the individuals who use these services and hear how much they love the center, staff, and other members.

On Wednesday, we attended Sci Fest, which is a science fair that Trinity’s program for individuals with intellectual disabilities participates in. Ten brilliant individuals presented their projects that they had worked on for weeks. We were able to ask them questions about their projects and the outcomes. I enjoyed this visit and learned a lot of new things from hair shampoo to sound waves!

On Thursday, we visited St. Michael’s House; a service that provides a range of supports to individuals with intellectual disabilities. St. Michael’s House focuses on teaching life and vocational skills. Steven, the general manager, was the sweetest man who genuinely cared for all 58 of his members. He did an amazing job informing us on the history of St. Michael’s House, and their philosophy and mission. My favorite part was being able to sit down with the members at tea time and get to know them on a more person level. I loved talking X Factor with one of them!

Our last visit for the week was on Friday to Mental Health Ireland. Mental Health Ireland is an organization that provides services to individuals with mental heath difficulties. This visit showed the comparison of services provided in the U.S. verses Ireland. Mental Health Ireland participates in missions, services, and ideas from all around the world including Australia and Austria. It was interesting to hear the different types of resources this organization uses. The U.S. has a lot of catching up to do!

This weekend, the girls and I had some free time to be able to explore the city more. We visited Howth, a beautiful city by the water. We took a boat out to a neighboring island and hiked all the way up to the top of the mountain. It was beautiful! Definitely the peak of my weekend!

It’s finally here!! I cannot believe I’m in Ireland and I’m beyond excited to start this journey! We all arrived at Trinity on Sunday mid-day, and we were able to grab lunch together as a group at KC & Peaches. The food was delicious! I’m definitely going to go back there. After lunch, we were able to check into our rooms, unpack, and rest. Trinity College is beautiful, and I already feel so comfortable and safe on the campus! I’m so grateful for this opportunity that I get to share with 10 other amazing girls.

On Monday, we had our first site visit at Trinity’s Disability Services. We met with Claire, an Occupational Therapist, who lead us through the history, staffing, and processes of utilizing the disability services. The best part of the presentation was the open discussion at the very end. Dr. Coduti was explaining similarities and differences between the services provided by PSU (and other schools in the United States) and Trinity. As a special education major, I am hoping to leave this trip with more tricks up my sleeve that I can bring back home to utilize in my future classroom. I’m excited to see the other sites and learn more about where they started, where they are now, and where they want to be.

We have a day off today from site visits. We are going to explore and learn about the beautiful city we are living in for the next 3 weeks!