Dublin - Day 4

It's my fourth day in Dublin and I'm following my instinct that it's important to keep a travel journal. I did some research on travel journal videos posted on YouTube. I saw an interesting documentary about a group of guys from Canada travelling through India. I found it refreshing -- like I had the luxury of following them without having to deal with the challenges of the conditons, such as overcrowded train cars and finding places to sleep and food to eat.

In terms of my own journey, I haven't ventured off on my own through Dublin yet. I plan to do that soon -- gather more photos and post them to this blog.

Professor Feldman gave a lecture today which was very enlightening and intellectually stimulating. We learned about how he set up an ethnography site in South Africa during post-Apartheid hearings which tried to record the human rights abuses that had taken place in the past to be recorded as part of their history.

I began to reflect on the type of site that I would like to define -- I've been thinking of using the travel journal as the device, but I still need to come up with research questions. One question I'm interested in is the notion of cultural assimilation by immigrants. In Dublin, the similarities of fashion with New York City have become very apparent to me. I noticed three basic types of dress: blue jeans, corporate attire, and traditional attire. Blue jeans are usually accompanied by running shoes, though I saw some women walking to work in corporate attire with tennis shoes. What I consider "traditional" attire are things such as sweaters and pants (though not corporate).

I realize that I'm generalizing quite a bit here, but I wanted to get something down on "paper". I may revise my observations later on, but the point is just getting down my thoughts and reflections and probably also posting photos once I have them uploaded on the computer.

Dublin - Day 3

It's the second day of class and my third day in Dublin. I'm thinking about how to construct a research project. I have a mini-project that's related to the Media Lab I'm working on as well. There's a lot for me to think about -- I want media tools to be more accessible to people. However, I realize that there's a learning curve that everyone needs to go through.

I believe writing a journal is something that's very personal and meaningful and if there's some way that I can enable communities of people to share journals and share their stories I think we'll have been able to get at the fundamental advantages of all of this new technology.

I believe that there's a need for the world to understand itself more deeply and profoundly as ever before. There's an interdepence that comes out of globalisation and a need to connect with others -- not just thos people we already know, but those we have never met, nor may ever meet.

Why do we care about someone else's story? Is it because we share a similar story? Is it because we empathize with joy, hope, disappointment, fear, happiness -- all the things that make us human?

I enjoy the fact that art can play a role in research. "Research" has a lot to do with looking deeply into things and finding the meaning. It's easy in this world to get caught up in the sensation -- the sight, the sounds, the smells. To be "in the moment". However, we might not always be in the moment. We may want to revisit the moment -- can we really, or has time just simply passed and disappeared forever?

Travel Journal

So we have to start thinking about a research project, and this is day one. I decided that I want to consider the genre of the travel journal. Written travel journals or video diaries of trips seem to be an accessible medium for people.

One of the challenges I anticipate is getting people over the learning curve of knowing how to participate. Blogs are a useful medium, and as a result, I'm trying to keep one myself.

I also anticipate having some kind of video diary that's hosted on YouTube. Just some various thoughts for now, though I see myself exploring this are more deeply. As a matter of fact, I'm going to visit YouTube right now and search for travel journals.

Dublin - Day 1

Well, I made it through my first day of classes here in Dublin. Yesterday, after arriving at about 8 am in the morning, I dropped my luggage off at Trinity College and proceeded to take up the time getting my bearings of the city with a classmate of mine.

My initial impression of Dublin is that it feels as cosmopolitan as any other city I've visited. It's unique in seeing a lot of young people around -- maybe even more younger people than older in the City Centre area.

This morning while walking to my classes, it seemed as if most of the people walking around were in their 20's. I also noticed that fashion seems very similar to New York City -- jeans, running shoes, and a button-down shirt seem to be the standard uniform.

I'm still recovering from my jet lag, and I have a reception to attend in about half-an-hour, but I'm hanging in there and just appreciating a moment to think to myself.

Dublin Links

Airport and Aircoach web sites:

http://www.iol.ie/~dkane/

http://www.dublintourist.com/dublin_pass/

http://www.flythroughdublin.com/dublinairportbus.html

http://www.aircoach.ie/aircoach.journey.wizard.php

Local Events:
http://www.darklight.ie/

http://www.visitdublin.com/events/AllDublinEvents/Detail.aspx?id=235&mid=2956

http://www.temple-bar.ie/home.php

http://www.temple-bar.ie/home.php?nav=2&t=2

Street Maps:
TRINITY AREA MAP:
http://www.softguide-dublin.com/maps/p49s51.html

Temple Bar Map

http://www.softguide-dublin.com/maps/l49o51.html

Irish Photographic Center Meeting House Square
http://ireland.archiseek.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/southcity/templebar/meetinghouse_square/ipc_dit.html

DIT Central Campus

http://www.softguide-dublin.com/maps/l52o54.html