Dingle 12: Postscript and group photo dump

 Friday August 2 Declan McCabe - Thanks

As Jarret so eloquently put it in his recent blog post: “….if I am never to return, I can gladly say that Ireland will forever hold a special place in my heart.” I feel the same way, and not just because I’m an Irish immigrant. This trip facilitated getting to better know a wonderful group of Biology, Environmental, Biochemistry, and Psychology students than can ever happen in a course on campus.

Paul and I and our Sacred Heart University collaborators in Dingle, and Peggy Imai in the St. Mike's Study Abroad office can plan a successful set of activities that accounts for safety, weather, seats on planes, boats & buses, accommodation, food, nets, waders, field guides, and even the tides (for the most part). But we can’t plan for successful group dynamics as 12 students get to know each other by living in close quarters with up to 6 roommates they barely knew the day before.

Certainly, there were minor bumps in the road as group members knocked the rough corners off each other and figured out the necessary compromises to survive with minimal friction in a youth hostel in a foreign country. The usual ailments occurred at the frequency one might expect in a group of 14 for two weeks, and every bottle and box from the “medicine bag” of over-the-counter, familiar US medicines, Band-Aids, and blister patches was opened. But this group rose to the occasion in style.

Group leaders like Paul and myself choose to run study courses….or not. And this student group, in common with the 2023 group, have cemented my very high opinion of Saint Michael’s College students. They pulled together, had each others’ backs, played hard, and worked hard in a spirit of mutual respect.

So would I do it again? Emphatically YES!

For your high energy, enthusiasm, compassion and grace in an alien culture, and work ethic, thank you:  Lydia, Maeve, Sarah, Hunter, James, Tyler, Jarret, Sawyer, Nathan, Kaylee, Rebecca, and Riley.

To all of your families for trusting us with your students overseas: a huge thank you. One parent gave us advice as we left: “Don’t lose him”.  We didn’t! Although I wonder if a small piece of his heart is still in Dingle.

Finally, an enormous thank you to Peggy Imai for getting us there, our SHU in Dingle hosts, John Liston’s team of bus drivers/local experts, and Kevin Flannery and the staff of Oceanworld Aquarium in Dingle. None of this would have been possible without your generous collaboration.