SANTIAGO AND HIS ERASMUS EXPERIENCE

 

Santiago J. Glez. Carrera is now one of the biology teachers at IES Bergidum Flavium, but a few years ago, he was a student at university. Being young and adventurous, he found the idea of studying abroad quite appealing. However, studying in another European country could be very expensive. You need to pay for the travel expenses, the tuition fees, the accommodation, and the living costs, which can be much higher than in Spain. Luckily, the Erasmus programme, which promotes international student mobility, helps talented students with those additional expenses. After doing some research, he decided to take action and apply for an Erasmus Grant. And what better place than the Emerald Isle? When he finally got it he stayed in Ireland for a full academic year. With an open mind he became a global citizen with a global mindset.

South Campus, the oldest and most historic part of the campus, founded in 1795, originally home to St Patrick’s College Maynooth. St Joseph’s Square.

Not only did he study, but he also explored the country, learned the language and culture and had the experience of his lifetime. Wearing a typical flat cap for the occasion, Santiago shared that experience with the students of year 3 ESO.

His new university was in Maynooth (Maigh Nuad), 25 kilometres outside of Dublin, in County Kildare. It’s a new university and next school year Maynooth celebrates its 25^th anniversary. Santiago is one of the more than 70,000 alumni across the globe that studied there.

North Campus: John Paul II library 

With over 100 clubs and societies to choose from, he certainly found something to suit his taste. He joined the Aikido Club and the Rovers society, which gave him the opportunity to travel and learn first-hand about this interesting country.

Maynooth is also close to Kildare Town (Cill Dara, church of the oak), which was founded by St Brigid in the 5^th century. St Brigid’s Day is celebrated on 1^st February on the same day as Imbolc, which is a Gaelic seasonal festival to welcome the spring. 

The reason is that Celtic festivals were replaced by Christian festivities. In the same way, Samhain became Halloween. Samhain is a Gaelic festival that marks the end of the harvest season. It begins at sunset on 31^st October and ends at sunset on 1^st November. Likewise, the May Day festivity has its origin in Beltane, the Gaelic festival that marks the beginning of summer.

Santiago visited the capital of Ireland. The name of Dublin (Baile Átha Cliath) derives from Dubhlind, dark pool, a tidal pool located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey. Now it’s the place where the castle gardens are located.

Phoenix Park is the largest city park in Europe and you can see herds of deer graze freely.

Pubs are very popular with a lively atmosphere and Santiago could relax with his mates and enjoy live Irish music in his spare time. Local tradition claims that The Brazen Head is the oldest pub. It is said that it opened in 1198.

Santiago also visited a suburb north of Dublin Bay, Howth (Binn Éadair), a fishing village full of history and colour.

He went hiking to Glendalough, in County Wicklow, the breath-taking glacial valley of the two lakes, where he saw the remains of an important medieval monastery and cathedral, the impressive ringed Celtic crosses, the Round Tower, which was the Bell Tower used to summon the monks to prayer and where they took refuge (using a movable ladder) when invaders attacked.

He travelled to Northern Ireland where he visited the capital Belfast ...

and the Giant’s Causeway in County Antrim,  a nature reserve which is a World Heritage Site. 

The spectacular basalt columns caught his eye as he wondered how the volcanic eruption could have done such impressive hexagonal shapes.

Then he made his way to the west coast but in the face of flooded local roads in the countryside he was forced to turn back and pay the toll motorway  before visiting the imposing Cliffs of Moher at sunset and the complex ecosystem of the Burren. 

Here he found pleasure in the huge variety of flora and fauna species. Over 20 orchid species can be found in this mosaic of habitats. This rocky area supports a vast number of lichen species and arctic-alpine plants live side by side with Mediterranean plants. Many species of birds breed in the area, which is also very rich in butterflies as well as mammals such as hares, foxes, hedgehogs, goats or bats.

Next he decided to go south-west to the Biosphere Reserve in Killarney, County Kerry. He rejoiced in exploring the dramatically beautiful landscape of Killarney National Park with quiet mountains, woods and lakes. He was pleased to see the herds of Red Deer leisurely cross the road into the woodland. It was the perfect place to chill  by Torc Waterfall and spend a day outdoors taking a good look at the stunning scenery from Ladies View. 

Lough Leane

Nearby he got a glimpse of Carrauntoohil, the highest mountain in Ireland (1,038 m).

At last he went on a trip to Wales and Scotland. In Wales he visited the Snowdonia National Park.

In Scotland he visited Glasgow, the magnificent capital Edinbugh and the traditional Highlands, where he met Nessy, the legendary monster of Lochness.

Thank you Santiago for sharing your Erasmus experience. It really was worthwhile.

Slán!