Madeline Messina is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Advertising major and a French and Francophone Studies minor at the University of Florida, she is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In this week's post, Madeline delves into foodie paradise, telling us the history of Irish food and reccomending some places to eat.

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Before I came to Ireland, I had a lot of people warn me that the food in Ireland is dry and bland. According to them, all I would eat were potatoes and corned beef. The only person who told me that food in Ireland is good, was someone who had been there them self.

Photo: tea and strawberry scones

So where do these stereotypes come from? In my research about Irish food history, I learned that a lot of the stigma against Irish food comes from the wave of immigrants during the Irish potato famine. When the Irish came in to the United States, they needed to support themselves, so many opened restaurants. Since they didn’t have much money, they used cheaper alternatives in their cooking, such as beef instead of pork (hence corned beef). This may be where the stereotypes stem from.

Cat Gloria is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Advertising major and a French and Francophone Studies minor at the University of Florida, she is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In this week's post, Cat spends time at a food festival, Taste of Dublin, recommends what to try.

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I don't think I've mentioned it yet but I am a huge foodie. On the third day of my internship here in Dublin my boss mentioned a local food festival to me.  The event was called Taste of Dublin. So I went home, did some research on it, and there I was one week later, frolicking aimlessly through Iveagh gardens trying an assortment of fine dining.

A bit about Taste of Dublin. Taste Festivals is a global brand that organizes worldwide food festivals or as they call it, "foodie heaven". The Taste of Dublin food festival came to town Thursday the 15^th to Sunday the 18^th bringing in food lovers from all over the world. This year’s theme was “Flavors of the World”, reflecting Dublin’s ever diversifying food landscape. I decided to attend the Thursday evening block of the event.

Danielle Thai is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A resource economics major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, she is studying abroad in Shanghai this semester.

In this week's post, Danielle finds the perfect brunch to satisfy her cravings abroad.

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Two words. Western breakfast. Or on Sundays – Western brunch. I have never missed a specific type of meal this much in my life. Usually cravings for something occur every other week but I think my breakfast craving happened every other day… so it almost felt like a need. The breakfast here in China consists of bread, congee, or corn. Do not get me wrong I like having congee or bread in the morning just not every single day. I even went to the grocery store to find granola bars for a substitute in the mornings. The granola bars I ended up purchasing were made of rice crisps and a few pieces of almonds. It was decent but it was not the quality that I am use to. I have recently found the same brand of granola bars that I eat back home in an imported section of the store. Imported foods are priced significantly higher than other domestic products. Once the prices are converted to US Dollars, the prices are the same as back home. Having these granola bars holds me over for a little while. Going back to that craving of Western breakfast – I was not the only one in my friend group who felt the same way. We did a little bit of research and found a top-rated restaurant that would fill our needs.

Danya Carithers is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A marketing major at the University of Pittsburgh, she is studying abroad in Florence this semester.

In this week's post, Danya takes us around Sicily in southern Italy, showing us the beaches and food unique to this region.

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I have been looking forward to exploring southern Italy for as long as I can remember, so the moment it turned spring I headed down to take advantage of Sicily’s sunny beaches and delicious food.  For those of you who don’t know, Sicily is the island located south west of Italy’s boot-shaped peninsula.  My two friends and I opted to stay at a town called Mondello where the beaches are located.  Sicily’s biggest city, Palermo, was just a 30-minute bus ride away, allowing us to get a taste (literally) of Sicily’s beach and city culture.  Instead of hunting down a hostel, we chose to stay at an Airbnb instead.  Although we were initially skeptical, we knew that we booked the right place the instant we arrived as our host argued with the taxi driver to give us a fair price (unfortunately some taxi drivers tend to take advantage of language barriers and overprice).  We stayed at a guest house of an enormous villa just a few steps away from the beach.

Colin Gilbert is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2017, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A marketing and supply chain management major at the University of Pittsburgh, he is studying abroad in Sydney this semester.

In this week's post, Colin talks about his mission to satisfy his sweet tooth, Sydney style.

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I’ve gained so much from my time abroad thus far. I’ve gained quite a few new friendships. I’ve gained heaps of independence and confidence. I’ve gained a better understanding of both American and Australian culture. Aaand, I’ve gained a bit of weight. Anyone who knows me well knows I have an enormous sweet tooth that I enjoy satisfying on the regular. Fortunately, the sweet side of Sydney is alive and well and able to do just that.

Valkyrie Speaker, a film major at the University of Pittsburgh, is a CAPA World columnist during spring semester 2017. She'll be shooting weekly videos for "An American Film Student in London", published every Monday. 

For this week's vlog, Valkyrie shows us how to select and cook a healthy vegetarian meal abroad.

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Thanks, Valkyrie!

Graysan Tompkins is an official CAPA vlogger for spring 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A communication major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's vlog, Graysan explores London's amazing foodie scene. 

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Thanks Graysan!

Graysan's journey continues every Friday so stay tuned

Nathan Overlock is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2017, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A professional writing and information design major at Cedarville University, he is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In this week's post, Nathan shares an amazing experience he had to visit the US Ambassador's Residence in Dublin for an event celebrating the food of the two cultures. 

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I had a secret motive for choosing Dublin as my study abroad location. Sure, Dublin is about as exciting a place as any for a Technical Writing student to intern, serving as the global hub for mammoth tech companies like Apple, Intel, Facebook, and even Google. And of course, Ireland has beautiful countryside, and a never-ending array of cultural landmarks that appeal to my inner explorer.

But weeks before I even left the country, I had a long list of Irish food and restaurants to try... Perhaps it’s the fact that I grew up in a small, Irish-influenced New England town, eating fried seafood and coddle on a regular basis, but even with study abroad options in Italy and China, I chose Dublin. Of course, had no idea at the time that I’d get an invitation within my first month in the country to sample the best food from across the country at the US Ambassador's Residence in Phoenix Park.

Emmanuel Rodriguez is an official CAPA vlogger for spring 2017, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A double major in cinema & screen studies and studio arts: graphic design at SUNY Oswego, he is studying abroad in Florence this semester.

In this week's post, Emmanuel takes us to a chocolate fair in Florence. 

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Thanks Emmanuel!

Emmanuel's journey continues every Tuesday so stay tuned!

Michela Mickaluck is an official CAPA vlogger for spring 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A public relations major at SUNY Oswego, she is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In this week's post, Michela shows us around the Temple Bar Food Market in Dublin. 

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Thanks, Michela!

Michela's journey continues every Monday so stay tuned.