Back in the good ol' US

I have been back in the US for about 2 weeks now and I am finally getting my feet solidly back on the ground after a whirlwind of a last month+ in Ireland. My parents came over to Ireland for two weeks and we traveled around Ireland - south, west and north. Unbelievably, we had beautifully sunny weather almost every day they were visiting. My favorite place that we visited was definitely the Saltee Islands, off the coast south of Wexford. It is a small island with steep cliffs on the southern and western sides. At this time of year, hundreds of seabirds make their nests in those cliffs and it is a gorgeous sight to see.
After my parents left, I had two days to finish and turn in my thesis proposal then one week to pack up, say my good-byes and get on the plane back to the US. In that week, I also took one last trip out to Galway to spend a couple days with a good friend and classmate.

Now I am back in the Boston area and I will be working on my thesis research and writing for the next 4 months.
Clearly I am not very good at keep this blog up to date so this seems like a good time to end the entries on this blog. My time in Dublin is over and he next stage of my life is on pause until I finish this Masters degree. In the meantime, when I am not working on the research, I look forward to catching up with friends and family. If I have not seen or talked to you yet, please give me a call!

Thesis topic! (Drum roll, please) & request

This morning, I did a presentation to my class on my thesis topic and the work I will be doing over the next 5 months. So, I finally feel like I have my ideas in a clear format that is shareable. I am extremely excited about my research because I feel like this is the type of work I want to do after I complete my degree. Over the next few months, this idea will be tweaked but this is the bones of what I will be looking into...

Thesis title: Still the ‘Ugly American’? : An Analysis of the Longitudinal Effectiveness of Intercultural Training within US-based Multinational Corporations

Research Questions
What types of intercultural training programs do multinational corporations (MNCs) in the United States offer and how effective are the outcomes over time?

Aims and Objectives
The objective of this research is to analyze what type of intercultural training programs are offered within US-based MNCs and compare the success of their learning objectives. Although a number of outcome-affecting factors will be considered, this study will focus on the impact of time on the success of the program learning objectives. The aim of this research is to identify what factors re-enforce or hinder learning over time so these training models can be strengthened to achieve higher success for both the individual employees and the MNCs.

Request!!
The biggest challenge for me in this research is identifying a company or companies that would welcome the opportunity to participate in this research. Through this research, I will evaluate the type of training being offered within a company, conduct a survey of the managers and employees who participated in the training, and conduct one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders and participants.
In return, I am offering to provide an analysis of the company’s training program and recommendations for the future based on my analysis. (Of course, I guarantee anonymity to all participants and the findings of the research will be used solely for academic purposes.)

Do you have contacts in a company that might be interested in this research? If yes, please let me know! Ideally, I will have access to 2 companies so I can do a comparative study but I need to have those companies on board by the end of May.

Juggling and not looking behind me to see what I've dropped

Hook Head Lighthouse

March was a month of essays and, believe it or not, yes, travel. Actually, let me clarify, it was a month of 2 essays, writing with co-writers assigned to us earlier in the term. It turned out to be as challenging as that exercise can be. One of my co-writers' attitude was, "really, these are just pass/fail classes." The other one did not sent me her half of the document until the night before the essay was due. The first one turned out better than I expected (I think) but still not great and the second one turned out to be one of the worst essays I have ever turned it (not having the time to rewrite the whole thing was a distinct problem). I am getting the results back on the first one tomorrow and I am expecting a grade quite a bit lower than I have been receiving on my independent essays. Oh well.

The last week in March, right before Easter, a friend of mine flew over from Boston to travel in Ireland for a week with me. We did a LOT in 7 days: all the way from County Wicklow, through Wexford, Waterford, and Cork to the Ring of Kerry in County Kerry before returning to Dublin via the Rock of Cashel and Kilkenny. We went to the most southwesternly point of Ireland (Mizen Head) and to the Waterford Crystal factory where seeing the crystal shaped by hand was amazing to watch. Hook Head lighthouse in C. Wexford was a beautiful spot as was so much of western Cork and Kerry. And, Durrus and Kenmare were fun pubs, I mean, towns.

We started in on the Trinity Term last Monday and I have 2 presentations in the next 2 weeks plus I really, really need to get immersed in my dissertation research. There is a conference in the Netherlands in early June that I am considering attending as part of my research but I have not made a decision on that.

In regards to Rotary stuff: Last Friday night, I attended the Dublin Viking Rotary Club's President's night and this Thursday, I will be doing my 9th talk at a Rotary Club. I'll be back at my host club, Dublin Fingal, at the end of the month for an end-of-the-year talk and I will be in Comber, Northern Ireland in May to visit and speak there.

The time just keeps flying by.

Long overdue update - Rome, Barcelona, Sligo, and oh yeah, school

Every moment over the past month has been packed like a Subway sandwich (random analogy but it's the best I have at the moment). School continues to be intense and I am so aware of how short my time left here is - I barely have 2 1/2 months left!

I am making the most of my location by doing a bit of traveling. I was in Rome a few weeks ago and it was fantastic. I felt like Rome itself is a living thing. It allows people to inhabit its space but it felt like Rome would be Rome whether or not anyone else was there; the people are the diamonds around its neck or roses on a wedding cake - beautiful decorations but not essential. I walked for 3 days, stopping in the sunshine in piazzas and cafes and pizza shops and watching people going about their business.

One example of the interesting graffiti found all around the city.

My second trip was to Barcelona which I fell completely in love with. It is a wonderful city with a great vibe. I met up with a close friend there and we spent 4 days eating delicious food, admiring architecture, and enjoying to warm sunshine. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures right now (my friend took some so I'll get those).
I'm continuing to do some traveling within Ireland including heading to the Sligo area on the west coast last weekend with two friends from my program. I spoke at the Sligo Rotary Club on Monday so I invited my friends along to make a long weekend trip of it to explore the area. The weather was not great but we made the most of the infrequent sunshine and the wind made the ocean really dramatic. My pictures cannot do justice to how amazing it looked but that did not keep me from trying.

The coast in a town called Strandhill.

As great as traveling is, it has required careful juggling to fit in my other responsibilities. Based on the results I got recently on two essays, it looks like I am doing pretty well at it right now. The term ended last Friday so I have a few weeks to catch my breathe, catch up with friends and family, write two essays and seriously start working on my thesis idea. I met my supervisor for the first time today and I am really excited about working with her. Her research background and interests are very similar to my own. I'll write more on that when I get a few more details figured out. There is a lot going on but I'm having a good time.

Enjoying a sunny day in Dublin

I just came from speaking at the Dublin Rotary Club and I'm sorting myself out on campus to prepare for tomorrow's classes. The club visit was great. I met some interesting and nice people who were very welcoming. The Dublin club is the largest club I've spoken at (around 60 people) but I think it went well.

Last Friday, I turned in my last paper for last term! It was a great feeling but I cannot help thinking about the thesis that is yet to come. Classes are in full swing for this term - we are into our fourth week and we have to submit a summary of our thesis topic at the beginning of March. Guess I should start seriously thinking about that!

The three Fates and me, St. Stephen's Green, Dublin

My friend, Diana, was visiting for about a week after Christmas and we had a chance to travel south of Dublin to Glendalough and west to Galway and County Kerry. It was a lot of fun - especially Galway Bay...
the Cliffs of Moher at sunset

and celebrating New Year's Eve in the streets of Dingle, C. Kerry!


In a couple weeks, I am heading to Northern Ireland to speak at the Newtownards Rotary Club then I am off to Rome for a long weekend. I cannot wait!

A quick breath

I'm swamped with essays right now so I haven't had a chance to update this blog for a while. However, my last 2 essays are due this week (gulp!), so I'll try to give an update on life next weekend.

Just a quick summary:
December 9-25
I was in Boston with family and friends

December 26-January 2
My friend from Denver was visiting me in Dublin and we traveled around Ireland a bit. Super fun, especially New Year's Eve in Dingle!

January 2 - present
ESSAYS! Researching for and writing 4 essays and preparing for a presentation has taken all my time. I have been working by 7:30am every morning just to get things done. It is pretty interesting stuff though - neoliberalism, global human rights, labor organizing and killings in Columbia, and language and ethnicity in Taiwan.

I am looking forward to sleeping in next weekend!

holiday madness

I don't know about you, but the holiday season has hit me with all its lights, fun and stress. If you are anything like me, then you probably don't have time to read anything long. With that thought in mind, I'll just say that all the presentations I've done in the past week have gone pretty well, some better than others but, overall, I am really pleased. It was really interesting to visit three different Rotary Clubs in one week and see the similarities and differences they each had. One of my class presentations was postponed so I still have that to do tomorrow.


Here are some pictures from my trip to Northern Ireland on Sunday and Monday. I was only there for about 24 hours, including time I was sleeping, so I did not get to see too much. I definitely want to go back to Londonderry/Derry sometime to do more exploring, especially along the only intact old city wall in Europe and to visit history sites related to the Troubles.

The lights on a bridge over the river running through Derry.

The Giant's Causeway, County Antrim

These are amazing hexagonal spaced rocks along the coast.