NUIG

Today is Friday. I've just completed my first week at the National University of Ireland. I have established the 5 classes I'm going to take this semester, although I can't register for them until the 17th. I am taking two Psychology classes: Developmental Psychology and Psychology of Learning. They don't seem too bad, they don't seem too exciting either, but they'll count for credit back home. I am really excited about my other three classes. I'm taking European Women's Gender Studies, Castles Colonists and Crannogs 1100-1350, and Medieval Ireland 5-9th century. I already really, really like these classes. My professors are funny and charming and seem really knowledgeable and easy going. The schooling is a lot different here in Ireland than back in the States. Lectures are constantly changing times, rooms, and even buildings. Sometimes it's a bit hard to just track down your class. Here they'll give you a long list of books and before the panic sets in they tell you to just pick one to read whenever you want. And I thought procrastination was bad back home.. :)

Next week is club/society week. I'm really looking forward to signing up for lots of things. One club I think I really want to join is Mountaineering Club. It seems pretty intense and I would have to actually buy some good hiking boots. But every Sunday they go to a different location around Ireland and trek through the land. I think this would be an amazing way to meet people and see the country. I also am thinking about joining the Archeology society because I hear they make cool trips to ancient castles and such. Basically, I am trying to join as many clubs/society that I can that will take me around Ireland. I also am thinking about looking into dance/yoga classes. We'll see how it all works out next week.

For the past several days it's been really beautiful. When you're in Ireland and the sky is blue and the sun is warm you have to be outside. After classes I would wander around the city. No, my sense of direction is not improving (although I am a lot more familiar with the city). What has improved is the fact I got my iPhone to work with an Irish SIM card which means.. Google Maps!! The glorious thing. Just plug in somewhere you want to go and follow yourself as a blue dot on the screen. Because I have that I don't mind getting lost around the city because I can always find my way back. A couple of days ago I had a desire to find an old bookstore. So, I entered in the name and voila. After 45 min of meandering around town I found it, and it was perfect. I even got a book and it seems really good so far. Today is the first all-grey soft rain day, so I don't feel bad sitting in my room in my pjs just relaxing and updating my friends and this blog.

The nightlife here is so much fun. I've never experienced anything quite like an Irish Pub. Pubs here are more of a past-time. The Irish people (young and old) go to pubs to hear music, eat food, catch a game, and catch up with each other. Everyone seems to know each other in the smaller pubs, it's really cozy. The big-famous pubs are filled with tourists, drunk partiers, and loud music- but that's a lot of fun too. After trying several different Irish beers I have to say my favorite is Smithwicks. I do love the Guinness but it's hard to drink it the whole night because it's so creamy. I was introduced to Smithwicks by a couple of really sweet French girls Elles (my Dutch roommate) and I met. I have been meeting a lot of Erasmus/International students mainly because I hang out with my roommates and they're both Erasmus students from Europe. I'm no longer regretting that I'm not in a program because the people who are just kind of stick to each other. I love meeting so many different people from different countries. I have made at least one friend, sometimes two or three (usually American), in each of my classes. That way if I miss a class I can get notes from them. #TTS :). I feel a lot more grounded now that I've made my room homey, am getting closer to my roommates, and am making friends. Woo! I think soon I'll feel settled enough to start exploring the land out of the city.

Another exciting thing. My parents have touched down in Ireland! They planned a trip to Ireland before I knew I was studying here so it works out. I'm glad they'll be able to see the West before the fall/winter rains come in and stubbornly refuse to leave. I'm going to be able to see them the middle of next week and next weekend when they come back to Galway. I'm really excited to show them Galway, as well as (hopefully) crash a couple of their excursions! It's a nice feeling just knowing they're in the country.

Here are some pictures I took with my iPhone around and about. :)

 

Oh you know. Just a ruin on my walk to the university. Nbd.

 Walking around Eyre Square.

Exploring the university.

Oh you know, wandered across a stone part of our university from the 1860s. 

The street musicians sound so beautiful, and so Irish. :)

Warming up after walking around!

Where I'm staying.

A farther look away. About 10 min walk from the university and 10 min from the city. 

Cute local stores you see when walking around. 

Galway is a bilingual city officially using both English and Gaelic (Irish). 

This is the cute little used bookstore I found while wandering.

Eating outside, enjoying the nice weather.

Roomates!

Just wandering around.

We found a huge park and the ocean! 

That's all.

Sláinte!!

:)

Arrival and Sleep Deprival

Wewh. What a whirlwind. I've officially been in Galway for 4 days, but so much has been happening it feels like longer. I won't go into the details of journey to Ireland except that the 8 hour layover in Heathrow was pretty rough. But Erika and I felt a lot better after navigating the Irish airport and getting to our hotel in Shannon for the night. When we woke up and tried to take the shuttle/bus from the hotel to the airport we learned a lesson on the Irish sense of time. Mainly- that it's very loose. The motto is 'when God made time, he made plenty of it'. Our bus was an hour and 25 min late (which is common) when we decided to just take a taxi. From there we found a separate bus (on time) to Galway. From there we caught a taxi to our student accommodations-> and here I am. :)

A note about our Taxi driver: After Erika and I were wandering around trying to find the bathroom we ran into a very nice Garda. He chatted with us (and pointed me in the right direction). He thought we were very nice so he went out onto the street to find a good taxi driver for us (one that wouldn't rip us off because we're American). Our taxi driver was the nicest man you could have imagined. The Irish really are so welcoming and friendly it's surprising/humbling. When the taxi driver dropped me off he wrote down a list of places I should go to buy my bedding cheaply and where to get a phone, ect. We ended up chatting for a little about pubs I should go to and places I should see (as if he had all the time in the world). He wouldn't leave until he made sure I found out the correct place to check in. He was a very kind little old man, but I think that's just the typical Irish-way.

Housing: I'm staying at Cuirt na Coiribe, and it's very nice. My room is small but our kitchen is fully stocked with couches, a tv, tables, lamps, pots and pans, glasses, utensils, ect. so I'm not complaining. I have 3 other roommates. One guy from Germany, a girl from Holland, and another fellow American girl. I went out with my two foreign roommates to a couple of pubs last night, and made dinner with them. I want to get to know my American roommate more, but she has been spending all of her time with the group she came with. At this point I wish I had come with a group too. Everyone in them seem very well-adjusted to everything and knowledgeable on what's actually going on. I am completely befuddled by the Irish-class-reregistration system. It also would be nice to have build-in friends that you could use as a security blanket. But, I think in the long run I'll be glad I was on my own.

Pubs: I am in love with downtown Galway. I just want to wander the streets and sit down with the street musicians. I keep thinking I'll be able to adventure on my own but then it get's cloudy and rainy and I loose my zest. But I think I'll just have to get over that (pretty sure it's going to constantly rain for the next 4 months). I'm going on a tour of Galway tomorrow- hopefully that will help me to not get lost as frequently. So far I've seen a full football game at O'Malley's pub and had my first Guinness. The locals were awesome to watch with. They would yell and moan and applaud at the screen, it made the atmosphere really fun. I've wandered the streets at night with friends and people-watched. I've been into several different pubs, including The King's Head and The Quays. So far I'm really liking it. I can't wait for classes to start and to start making lots of friends and to actually start to know my way around the city. That's about it for now.

 

My first half-pint of Guinness!

:)

One day to go.

I decided to create a blog so I can remember everything I experienced while abroad. I am absolutely terrible at keeping journals, so I'm not sure how well this blog will fare. But I'm going to try!

Tomorrow I leave for Galway, Ireland. (To be more exact I leave for Chicago, get stuck in London for 8 hours, and then arrive in Shannon). I said goodbye to all my friends this week and tried to get all the sad-goodbyes out of the way. I just finished packing (for the most part) and I am feeling restless. I think I'll miss home and Truman a lot because I am home-body, but I am genuinely excited for everything that's going to happen. I love my parents and my friends very much- but they'll be here when I get back. I am quite  excited and quite sleep deprived.

I think time is going to pass so quickly this semester. In a way I prefer staying for a semester and not for a year. Because I'm staying in this exciting city for only 4 months I won't have any time to become complacent. I'll have to keep moving and exploring and adventuring- because time is short.

I feel slightly overwhelmed because I can't plan for everything. You have to just pack the best you can and bring the things you may need the best you can. Everything else is in the dark. It is a completely foreign experience and therefore there is no prescience for it. But I think that's part of the experience. I'll just have to learn to be flexible and all that jazz. :)

I'm contemplating making some boxed craft macaroni and cheese, because I read that the Irish don't have it (?!). I'm trying to get my fill of American things. I wonder if they have American-Chinese food over there..? I have a feeling they don't. I should probably eat a whole semesters worth of crap rangoon tomorrow. That seems like a good idea, right?

Anyways. Here are some photos from my iPhone that were taken this summer that remind me of home.

Bon Voyage!

P.S. I read that in Ireland you can request your McDonald's fries straight or curly. Fingers crossed!