This trip has been great. We still have not done anything overly exciting (like trips places) which will be the fun posts but i promise they are coming. We got our classes figured out this week. It is VERY stressful trying to get everything to fit, but got it to work. My buddy from ISU, Jordan, and I had dinner with two french girls. They invited us over for a home cooked meal. IT WAS INCREDIBLE! Chicken scallapini (they wanted to do veal, but apparently there is no veal in Ireland) and herb roasted tomatoes with zucchini and squash (forgot what that was called), and great french bread, then for dessert (again forgot what they called it) was something like a crumb cake. It was all absolutely incredible, and the experience was great. Got to talk about everything with a french girl and a Monacan girl very very cool.
Back to classes. Everything is slowed down here. Being on time is not quite as important here. We are used to being early for classes in the states because it is expected of us. Here people just stroll on in whenever they feel. And for grades an 80% is an A1 (A+) 75% (A2). In this program you have to keep a C in all your classes (thats a 45%). Crazy and they said in other departments it is even lower. Just a completely different culture about school and grades.
Friday, 14 September 2012
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
So last night i learned what the worst part of this trip was going to be...
Doing my laundry in a 3 litre sink in my bed room. Laundry here is 6 euro for one token. One token gets you a washing machine that is about a third of the size of washing machines at home. So I am saving the money and doing laundry in my room. NOT EASY! I have close hanging everywhere in my room trying to dry. The air is so wet here that they are not doing much drying. I only did socks shirts and boxers, and I cannot imagine if it is even possible to do anything larger than a t-shirt. We might have to go look at a laundry-mat off campus and see if it is a little cheaper.
After a long day of trying to make everything work I finally got my class schedule finalized yesterday. Their college schedules are very set in stone. Year one they take x, y, z year two they take x, y, z. there is not much variety in their schedules. Well we are taking classes from year 1, 2 and 3. This made it nearly impossible to get everything to fit, but somehow I got it done. It was a little stressful, but it all worked out as most stuff in Ireland does. The faculty genuinely have one thing on their mind, and that is to help students. There are far less egos and agendas as there are in the states.
Everything is grand (along with cheers grand is the most used word. They say EVERYTHING is grand)
Doing my laundry in a 3 litre sink in my bed room. Laundry here is 6 euro for one token. One token gets you a washing machine that is about a third of the size of washing machines at home. So I am saving the money and doing laundry in my room. NOT EASY! I have close hanging everywhere in my room trying to dry. The air is so wet here that they are not doing much drying. I only did socks shirts and boxers, and I cannot imagine if it is even possible to do anything larger than a t-shirt. We might have to go look at a laundry-mat off campus and see if it is a little cheaper.
After a long day of trying to make everything work I finally got my class schedule finalized yesterday. Their college schedules are very set in stone. Year one they take x, y, z year two they take x, y, z. there is not much variety in their schedules. Well we are taking classes from year 1, 2 and 3. This made it nearly impossible to get everything to fit, but somehow I got it done. It was a little stressful, but it all worked out as most stuff in Ireland does. The faculty genuinely have one thing on their mind, and that is to help students. There are far less egos and agendas as there are in the states.
Everything is grand (along with cheers grand is the most used word. They say EVERYTHING is grand)
Sunday, 9 September 2012
Forgot to mention we took a free hour long tour of the city. This is King Johns castle right outside the new downtown limerick
There is so much to talk about I do not even know where to start. We spent our first 4 nights on campus hanging out at a couple of the campus pubs. I think we did that mostly out of convenience, and because we were having a great time. The resident DJ/education professor named BER (like burr cold) met us at the Stables (which is the main bar on campus and where he DJs). For some reason he took an extreme liking to us and has loved us ever since. He asked if any of us played basketball and of course I said I did. Wednesday and Friday I was practicing with the UL Eagles. THey are the best team in all of Ireland. They have nothing to do with the school they are just sponsored by the school. It was a blast. They are not very good at all. My Depauw team would probably beat them by over 20, but it was still a lot of fun. Through Ber (who seems to know EVERYONE) we have met the athletic director of the school and the coach of the Munster rugby team who is also the best in Ireland. And he gives us alot of free drink vouchers which is obviously really nice.
Thursday was our orientation for international students there are 900 of us. It was an extremely long day of speeches and tours, but we did get a free meal at the end. Met some cool people including a pair of twins from DePauw.
Yesterday was our first real touristy day I guess. At 11 we took a shuttle that took us from our campus into the center of the city of Limerick. It is absolutely beautiful with modern areas and rustic areas. The river Shannon runs straight through the city. We just walked around the city for a few of hours and saw pretty close to everything the city center had to offer from a distance. Got hungry so we stopped at a bar and had Guinness and some bangers and mash (even though that is really English). It was phenomonal. One of my friends here is gay. So we all thought is would be fun to support her, and what do you know yesterday was the Limerick pride parade. So at about 2:30 we posted up at a little pub and watched the pride parade. It was only about 5 minutes long, but it was still a lot of fun. Then we went to the after party which was in the courtyard of the Hunt Museum which is the best Museum in Limerick. We will be going there on a sunday when it is free. Then we spent the night parading the city pubs and clubs. It was an absolute blast. My friend Jordan and I met two French girls. Not quite, but it was almost love at first sight. They were absolutely gorgeous and alot of fun to hang out with. They spoke enough english to understand, but still had a little trouble. The two of them are cooking dinner for Jordan and I at their apartment in Limerick. SO EXCITED haha.
Sorry for such a long post. I think i may starting posting a couple pictures here and there.
Cheers! (they say cheers to everything here in Ireland. it means hello, goodbye, cheers, thank you, your welcome haha it almost means whatever you want it to mean)
Thursday was our orientation for international students there are 900 of us. It was an extremely long day of speeches and tours, but we did get a free meal at the end. Met some cool people including a pair of twins from DePauw.
Yesterday was our first real touristy day I guess. At 11 we took a shuttle that took us from our campus into the center of the city of Limerick. It is absolutely beautiful with modern areas and rustic areas. The river Shannon runs straight through the city. We just walked around the city for a few of hours and saw pretty close to everything the city center had to offer from a distance. Got hungry so we stopped at a bar and had Guinness and some bangers and mash (even though that is really English). It was phenomonal. One of my friends here is gay. So we all thought is would be fun to support her, and what do you know yesterday was the Limerick pride parade. So at about 2:30 we posted up at a little pub and watched the pride parade. It was only about 5 minutes long, but it was still a lot of fun. Then we went to the after party which was in the courtyard of the Hunt Museum which is the best Museum in Limerick. We will be going there on a sunday when it is free. Then we spent the night parading the city pubs and clubs. It was an absolute blast. My friend Jordan and I met two French girls. Not quite, but it was almost love at first sight. They were absolutely gorgeous and alot of fun to hang out with. They spoke enough english to understand, but still had a little trouble. The two of them are cooking dinner for Jordan and I at their apartment in Limerick. SO EXCITED haha.
Sorry for such a long post. I think i may starting posting a couple pictures here and there.
Cheers! (they say cheers to everything here in Ireland. it means hello, goodbye, cheers, thank you, your welcome haha it almost means whatever you want it to mean)
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
No change of feelings so far. It is so hard to sit here and type about my experience because so much is happening. The little things are what makes this place amazing! Everything bad that people had to say about Ireland has not been true so far. They drink beer colder than we do. SOme of their beer taps are even frosted (like mugs). The weather has been sunny, beautiful, and breezy 65 everyday. The girls are very pretty (not many redheads). Tonight I have practice with the basketball team. We met Ber the first day at the pub and he asked if anyone of us played basketball and i raised my hand and now for some reason he thinks I am the next coming of Michael Jordan so we will see how practice goes (my physical condition was terrible this summer). Ber is sort of a leader in the push for more athletics in Ireland. We went and watched the best rugby team in Ireland practice today. They use Limerick as their practice pitch (field). Went grocery shopping for the first time today and walked a long way with the bags and full backpack it was rough. Just met 3 or my 5 roommates. I am with all girls. 2 girls from Plymouth University in New Hampshire, and 3 irish girls (I have only met one but they are all friends). The two Americans are nice, but a little prissy! They are in a group of 20 so i dont think i will be seeing them much, but we will see. The one Irish girl is absolutely hilarious. Stereotypical Irish, she is just a hoot. There are 4 of us from ISU. But everything is absolutely GREAT. I could not be any happier. Miss you all!
Whats on the Crack? Means what are you doing tonight. How was the crack? Means how was the night/party.
Whats on the Crack? Means what are you doing tonight. How was the crack? Means how was the night/party.
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
These blogs will not be special, editted, or ready to be published. Just a place for me to jot some thoughts down for anyone who cares to hear...
After a couple horrible days of cancelled flights and 12 hour layovers we finally landed safely at Shannon Airport. After a full day all I can say is that this place is incredible. Our apartment/dorms are not quite as nice as they looked in the pictures, but they are functional. They are two floors with bedrooms on both floors, and in my apartment the kitchen and living space is on the second floor. There is a little bit of a stench in our living area, but after a good fabreeze bath its bearable. None of my roommates have shown up yet, but the lady at the reception desk that set us up said that our roommates are a pretty even split of Irish and international students. One of the girls that I came with has 3 of her roommates here and all four of them are from the Chicago area. Pictures are coming, but the campus and country is beautiful. After we left they airport we took a 20 minute bus from the Airport into the city of Limerick. The two lane roads are about the width of one of our lanes, and riding that bus through the country was extremely nerve wracking. I will not be caught dead in the drivers seat of any car while I am here. Another 10 minute bus from the city we arrived at the university. The people here are all EXTREMELY nice and helpful. Everyone here is ready to do everything they can to help us. It is incredible how kind and jolly all the Irish are. More to come about the first days, but this is the start.
Go on...(in America this may be kind of rude, but in Ireland it is go on with your day and may god bless)
After a couple horrible days of cancelled flights and 12 hour layovers we finally landed safely at Shannon Airport. After a full day all I can say is that this place is incredible. Our apartment/dorms are not quite as nice as they looked in the pictures, but they are functional. They are two floors with bedrooms on both floors, and in my apartment the kitchen and living space is on the second floor. There is a little bit of a stench in our living area, but after a good fabreeze bath its bearable. None of my roommates have shown up yet, but the lady at the reception desk that set us up said that our roommates are a pretty even split of Irish and international students. One of the girls that I came with has 3 of her roommates here and all four of them are from the Chicago area. Pictures are coming, but the campus and country is beautiful. After we left they airport we took a 20 minute bus from the Airport into the city of Limerick. The two lane roads are about the width of one of our lanes, and riding that bus through the country was extremely nerve wracking. I will not be caught dead in the drivers seat of any car while I am here. Another 10 minute bus from the city we arrived at the university. The people here are all EXTREMELY nice and helpful. Everyone here is ready to do everything they can to help us. It is incredible how kind and jolly all the Irish are. More to come about the first days, but this is the start.
Go on...(in America this may be kind of rude, but in Ireland it is go on with your day and may god bless)
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