Cardiff and the Next Adventure

Hello,

I'll start this off by saying that I'm in a pretty top notch mood right now. I just finished the project I've been working on for my internship, as well as the evaluative essay and weekly journal that I have to turn into UCD which means...I am finished with all the work (besides the physical handing-in of those things) for my master's degree!!! I immediately crawled back into bed for a few hours upon emailing the project to my supervisor. It was good. Very good.

Now, this post is about my trip to Cardiff, Wales. As many of you may know, Cardiff City FC is my favorite soccer team...rivaling even Sporting Kansas City (I actually have followed CCFC longer). I was feeling the travel bug and decided that it was time that I finally made the short trip over to see where some of my heritage is and my favorite team so I booked the trip in about an hour from decision to finish (much like my trip to Istanbul).

I took probably the smallest plane that's allowed for international travel for about a 45 minute flight there. The first things I saw were "Edwards Buses" and my family name on several other businesses. Home! The airport is tiny, and was completely dead (more so than Wichita normally) but I grabbed the bus into city centre. My hostel was probably the coolest hostel I've ever stayed in. I don't really know how to describe it. The bar area had old beds they used as couches, and they had a good beer selection (and so much cheaper than Ireland!).

The first day I saw Cardiff Castle, Welsh Parliament, the museum of Wales, walked in their park, and several other main sights. I also stopped off in a Welsh language pub called Y Mochyn Du (e mockin dee) that means The Black Pig and tried a few Welsh beers and talked to some locals before walking down the riverfront by Millennium Stadium.

The next day I went to the Cardiff City match, which was incredible. I got chills walking up to the stadium. Not really because the stadium was anything special. It's slightly bigger than Sporting KC's, but not near as nice, but it was just the fact I'd been waiting for so long and to finally be there was amazing. I stopped in to get a beer before finding my seat and they didn't like my Kansas driver's license or my Irish residence card or passport card for id so it took forever to get a beer (so long that they gave me 2 for the price of 1). I sat right next to the away bench (I saw an Italian team, Chievo, play Cardiff in a friendly). The stadium was pretty empty but I still had a great time and the match flew by.

That night I got to talking to a guy in the hostel's bar area and was recognized by an Australian girl I'd talked to earlier in the day so her friends, him, and I all went out to a place he said was really good. Everyone was incredibly friendly so the night was a lot of fun, but I lost the girls at some point before the guy left as well. Luckily I had met two girls from Cardiff that I spent the rest of the night with. I really didn't meet anyone that was unfriendly the whole time I was there.

The last day was pouring rain so I didn't do a lot, but I was able to visit a chain brewery and go down by the Cardiff Bay before getting my bus back out the airport to fly back to Dublin and reality. Now I have finished my work I am focusing solely on getting everything moved so that I can start my next adventure: a month long trip around Europe.

I'm starting in Copenhagen, Denmark on the 19th, then to Berlin, Germany; Prague, Czech Republic; Munich, Germany (home of Oktoberfest, but sadly not when I'm there...although much cheaper for me); Salzburg, Austria; Vienna, Austria; Bratislava, Slovakia; Budapest, Hungary; Zagreb, Croatia and Plitvice Lakes National Park; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Piran, Slovenia; Venice, Italy; then meeting my mom in Rome before flying to London to hang out while she works, and then to Geneva, Switerzland and finally on September 28th...back to Wichita! I'm looking forward to it all so much...but I can guarantee I'll be happy to set down in Wichita and sleep in my own bed.

It's Always Sunny In Ireland...

Hello everyone,

Since I haven't written in quite a while I'm having some trouble deciding exactly what to do with this. This blog was meant to be a sort of update mechanism on trips and my life in Ireland but I've failed in doing that over the last several months and in the meantime I've visited home and seen many of you that would normally read this. I'll write a short little play-by-play of what I was up to since the last post on March 30th and then I'll move on to current events.

April was extremely busy. My mom and step-dad visited me for 2 weeks in early April, and we took a trip to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg which was incredible. I was able to try so many beers and see so many places that I've read about for the last few years. It was almost an overload of excitement. We also met a fellow K-State graduate while in Amsterdam (the commercials are right, Wildcats really are everywhere), which was pretty neat. I had to come back to Dublin and start working on all of my papers for school, while they went on to Paris before coming to Dublin for a few days here.

I had been trying to get an internship for the summer but did not have one by the deadline so I was preparing myself mentally (and failing) to write a thesis. Luckily, an internship arrived in late April with a human rights organization in Dublin and UCD approved me to work there in place. I'm not sure I've ever been so relieved. The rest of April and early May was spent locked away in my apartment researching and writing papers about free trade policy's effects on illicit drug cultivation, development of rural Peru, and the role of fraud in the European Union. All of my grades are back now and I'm happy with them for the amount of effort I put in. I'm not proud to say that I was so entirely burned out on the subject that I was questioning whether it was really what I wanted to do anymore and so put very little effort into those final papers. Dragging my lethargic brain across the finish line, not caring what happened with the grades or papers besides just handing them in.

I began working for the human rights organization as well, and it's been a great experience. It's a really long story, but I'm now working for a different organization (but working on similar projects; really just a brand change). I went home to Kansas for a couple of weeks in early June and even though people make fun of it a lot, I do miss it. I'm always so relieved when I get back to Wichita, see people that really love me, and I instantly relax in a way I never do in Ireland
While here, I come off more homesick than I am because I'm always trying to sell Kansas to people that know nothing about it. Either that or it comes up because I'm relating my past experiences I've had to what we're talking about. I love where I'm from, but I'm always looking for new places to go.

The weather in Ireland over the summer has been absolutely beautiful. It's been warm and sunny most days. It's hard to dislike Dublin when the weather is like it has been. I've spent as much time as I can wandering around the city and hanging out in gardens or on patios at pubs.

The odd thing is that I feel like I'm desperately grabbing for my center right now. Time is running out and I desperately need to have an aha! moment soon. I'm hoping that maybe the weekend trip to Cardiff in Wales will provide this. It's been quite a while since I've been this excited for a trip. I'm making a pilgrimage to see my favorite soccer team, Cardiff City FC, play Chievo from Italy.

Anyway, it's hard to find that center in the place that I'm surrounded by work that I need to do. Much like my first trip to London when I found myself on a park bench on a beautiful day; just sitting, with nothing in my head except the picture in front of me. A pond, people walking by. It's those times when I feel anonymous for a moment that I break through all the tangles between my ears and see the world for its beauty, untainted by cynicism. With anonymity comes possibilities. On that bench I was no one, which meant that I could be anyone when I stood up again.

I need to do this so I can figure out what to do in August. My current lease in Dublin ends the same day that my work for UCD is due. I've applied to jobs in several places but don't have any interviews yet, so I'm left with sort of a blank future and some decisions to make concerning where to go and what to do in the meantime.

It will all come together soon enough.

Edwords

The Student: Istanbul and Back Again

Some long weekends are better than others. This last one was probably the best one I've ever had. Monday, while working on a research design proposal for a class I received a text from a friend asking a simple, "I've got something to ask you. Wanna go somewhere next weekend?" Istanbul was already on Imran's mind...and as soon as I checked that I could afford it the tickets were booked. The planning stages took a whole hour and a half. I've never felt so unprepared for a trip. I didn't have time to be nervous. I would give a presentation over the EU's internal energy market Tuesday, turn in a research design proposal Wednesday, go to an event that night and then Thursday hop on a flight to Istanbul. No time to think (and barely enough time to pack).

We landed late and had to get a bus into the city so we didn't get in until after midnight and it didn't take us more than 2 minutes to get lost. The instructions to our hostel were a little less than clear, and after walking some back streets for a while we asked a man in one of the shops that was still open. He didn't speak English but after hearing the street name he motioned the general directions with his hands, and 5 minutes later we found the hostel (with no help from them since there wasn't a sign or anything).

This trip was great because Imran and I both are the type of traveler that doesn't mind if they miss something as long as it's relaxing and you get a real feel for the city. I always hate having a set schedule and rushing all over the place to see the sights. I want to eat around the locals and walk among them in the streets, and on this trip that's definitely what we did.

The first day we woke up early and started the walk toward the Old City, which we were told would take 20 minutes but is really closer to 30-45...at least when you don't know where you're going. After walking down Istikal Avenue, the main shopping street, most of the way we saw the big change in Istanbul. Crossing Galata Bridge to the Old City is like going back in time. This is the area we got lost in several times, but is also the area that you would think of when thinking about Istanbul. It has all the big mosques (we saw the Yeni or New Mosque, and Sultanahmet/Blue Mosque), as well as the Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Hippodrome, Basillica Cistern and more. We were here on a Friday, which is the holy day for Muslims and so Imran went inside the Blue Mosque for prayer while I waited outside and watched the overflow as they did theirs. It's really a totally different experience being in a city where you constantly hear the calls for prayer throughout the day over the city noise.

I just realized that I'm not sure how to put this vacation in a post. I want to tell you everything. I'm really going to cut this down to the main points I guess.

We spent a lot of time in cafes having tea and baklava or trying whatever other food we could get our hands on. I tried kokorec (which is tripe on a sandwich essentially), kofte, beyti kebab, kizilkayalar burgers, ayran, sahlep, raki liquor, and several Turkish beers...as if you didn't guess I'd search those out. Imran and I both decided that we could easily live in Istanbul. The people are friendly, and after getting used to the language it takes on a bit of charm.

The second day sort of got lost because we were so tired from the first day we decided to sleep in a little bit, and then I had to go get a new pair of shoes because when I finally took them off at the hostel the first night I held them up and there was light coming through the bottom and several parts where the sole was completely gone. While trying on new shoes the guy working asked what I thought of Obama, which I attempted to avoid altogether since you never know what you're going to get if you tell your real views, no matter what they are.

After that we went back to the hostel for a bit and met some other people staying there, and we all decided to go out as a group that day to the Grand Bazaar; lucky for us because we'd planned to save that until the next day, which is the one day it would have been closed. I got a few knockoff jerseys as well as a rug, some gifts and an awesome Turkish tea set.

The third day we took a ferry across the Bosphorous to the Asian side, which didn't have a ton to see but was interesting nonetheless because of its differences. We didn't stay too long, but it was good to say we've been at least.

There are so many little things that happened that I'd love to tell you all but I really don't want to make the post too long so I'm going to save them for myself I think.

Our trip to Turkey was truly one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. I honestly don't know what to say about it other than it changes your perspective when you get to do things like this.

Man On a Bench

Hello explorers,

It's been a pretty crazy couple of weeks for me. I was recently made a Yelp Elite member for the ratings website yelp.com. This has allowed me to have access to exclusive events and things through the website. This has been awesome so far. The community is amazing and everyone is so nice. I'll get to that more a little later so things don't get too out of order on here.

Firstly, I've been applying like crazy to different places for internships. That list I posted a few posts ago is totally outdated now as I decided to apply to many, many more of them and as deadlines came and went some were met and some weren't. I'm hoping and praying all the time that I might get selected for one of the places I've applied to but it's easily lost behind all the other things that have been happening.

Last week I had a presentation in my Politics of European Governance class where I spoke about an article dealing with the Internal Energy policy of the EU. I hope it wasn't as boring for the class as it was for me to read. The next day I turned in my first 'paper' of the semester. It was about a 10 page research design for a paper due at the end of the semester. It felt incredible to get something off the table. I proposed a research project looking at agricultural and other raw goods' tariff rates in the United States and their effect on illicit drug cultivation in Latin America. I should hear back about my design in a week or so, but we'll see.

That night I had my first Elite event for Yelp. We got a private tapas dinner at The Pyg restaurant in an old Georgian house, now made into a shopping centre called Powerscourt. The food was good, and there were free cocktails as well and an exclusive after-hours tour of the house. Everyone went out for drinks afterward but my friend Imran, whom I'd brought along as my allotted guest, and I had to call it a night early so we could get up and ready ourselves for the flight to Istanbul, Turkey the next day. (Like I said, it's been a busy week).

Istanbul...wow, Istanbul. I promise to write another blog post in a moment with all the news from that trip because it needs its own post. Incredible.

I'm back now, having landed yesterday morning and nothing has slowed at all. I've been frantically writing more cover letters for internship applications, and attempting to pull together some topics for upcoming research papers as well as another presentation for my International Political Economy class in the next few weeks. Also, I have two more Yelp events this week (one tonight in which I and a few friends will get free Philly cheesesteaks, and an exclusive lesson from the head chef on how to make them; and another Thursday at a Moroccan restaurant in Dublin with free wine, and hookah. Can't wait!).  Sandwiched in the middle of these, there's more class and work to be done before hopefully relaxing with some friends this coming weekend. One of these days I'll clear some time to sleep...but how can I with so much to do and so many great things happening?

Sometimes it's so easy to get so lost, and I really do get lost incredibly often. I get behind on news (my internet is backlogged with articles from Foreign Policy, The Economist, Financial Times and others that I hope to read someday), and on TV and sleep and everything else. I worry, I get sad and frustrated...but there are other times when it really all comes together. It makes all the work and frustration worth it.

I sat at a cafe in Üsküdar on the Asian side of Istanbul Sunday afternoon with some çay and I looked at a man sitting on a bench outside of the çaykur we were at, sighed and for the first time ever, I think, muttered out loud, "Life is good."

I'll get more on Istanbul up shortly!

Edwords

Developing Plans for Summer 2013

Good afternoon or morning everyone!

The new semester has begun. Technically not my last semester of school, but the last semester of normal classes for me. I am enrolled in International Political Economy as my core class, EU Foreign Security and Defense Policy, and Politics of European Governance this term. So far the classes are very interesting, although at this point IPE looks to be a relative copy (only more difficult obviously) of the class I took of the same title as an undergraduate at K-State. There is going to once again be an overload of work this semester, but hopefully Fall prepared me for it. The big negative is that I was hoping to travel some this semester, but it looks as though I won't be able to do very much (although I am making sure to leave time to go places with Mike and my mom when they come in April; I'd be extremely sad if I didn't get to go to the Benelux countries).

The bigger news though is that I have gotten my grades back from first semester. University College Dublin allows graduate students that get high enough grades to submit to do an internship in place of writing their dissertation and I have made the grades to do this. There are a few things I have to take care of first before I'm fully permitted but those are largely clerical and so I've begun to look at places to work. I won't apply until I'm accepted into the internship option (February 16th, I believe), but here is a list of where I'm going to be putting in applications at the moment (not listed in any particular order):

The Carter Center (Atlanta, Georgia)

Center for Strategic & International Studies [CSIS] (Washington, D.C.)

Council on Foreign Relations [CFR] (Washington, D.C. or New York City)

United Nations Office at Vienna [UNOV]/United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime [UNODC] (Vienna, Austria)

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [ICTY] (The Hague, Netherlands)

United Nations [UN] (New York City)

World Trade Organization [WTO] (Geneva, Switzerland)

United Nations World Tourism Organization [UNWTO] (Madrid, Spain)

United Nations Refugee Agency [UNHCR] (Geneva, Switzerland or Budapest, Hungary)

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs [NDI] (Washington, D.C.)

Koch Public Sector (Washington, D.C.)

Hopefully one of these will accept me into their internship options, and there are many that I would love to have. Several are located in places that I've never been to which is exciting, and I am glad I have the opportunity to even apply. Looking at internships has also turned up several places that have career employment options open currently that would interest me, and I'm starting to look forward to getting my career underway.

Gun Control Reactions

Obama has recently come out with 23 executive orders pertaining to gun control. These have been met with reactions from both sides of the issue, but really neither side should be feeling what they currently are.

On the one hand yes, Obama is making strides to increase gun control. He hasn't done anything in his presidency thus far to take away any rights granted by the 2nd Amendment, and he still hasn't. Assault weapons are already regulated heavily, and most of these new orders are dealing with those. They are also extremely minor initiatives with very little teeth. Supporters should not be happy with these orders, because if the goal is to cut down on gun violence then Obama has done nothing to help them. Handguns are the prevalent weapon in homicides in the United States, not assault weapons. These orders do almost nothing to take handguns away from people, and therefore will not cause a notable decrease in gun violence in the long term.

With many of the executive orders not controlling gun ownership, or making any major new strides in the attainment of guns pro-gun advocates should not be as enraged as they are. Weapons are dangerous, and therefore must be regulated. Obama has not crossed any Constitutional rights lines when talking about the freedom to have guns in a private home. Calm down, he hasn't set the police on a mission to enter people's homes and confiscate legally owned guns. He has only attempted to strengthen the powers to combat what is already illegal. A far more invasive law pertaining to personal rights is California's laws on using protection during intercourse in the adult film industry, but that is a whole different issue.

Essentially what I'm trying to say is, calm down everyone and examine your positions a little more before reacting. Neither side should be reacting as strongly, or in the general way, that they have at this point. More remains to be seen as this issue may never find a real balance between the two sides to agree on.