One month, already?!?!

I have been here for one whole month as of nine this morning. How did that happen? I can't believe a whole month has gone by. It has been a good month, though it certainly has had it's challenges and unexpected troubles. Some things that are different than I thought they would be are the weather! This has been different in a good way. I was expecting it to rain everyday. But it has only seriously rained 4 or 5 times since I arrived. (Although when it does rain, as it did today, it falls sideways. Much like it does at home).

The city and the people are different than I expected. Not in a bad or a good way, just different. And I haven't entirely decided how I feel about it yet, so I'll get back to you on that one.

I was told about how "easy" classes were here and they are in comparison to what I'm used to, but I think that it will all balance out when exams arrive. I have had a lot of days where I feel that I should be doing homework or studying of some kind and just not knowing what to do since nothing was assigned. Many classes don't have textbooks and the professors don't include class participation as part of the grade. I love having the free time but it is starting to drive me crazy. I'm not used to having so much freedom with my schedule.

I haven't met as many Irish people as I was hoping for. There are so many international students and people in general that I've met more Americans and other nationalities than I have Irish people. I hope to be able to search them out a bit more in the coming weeks and when I travel to different towns where there are less internationals. Part of the problem with this I think is the fact that all of the Irish students go home on the weekend. "It's the Irish way" someone told me. They go home on Friday after their last class and don't come back till late Sunday. They go home for their Mum's cooking and free laundry. That leaves us 'internationals' to entertain ourselves on the weekends, which is harder than it sounds when all we want to be doing is meeting Irish people.

I was surprised by how much they love American music and tv here. I was hoping to find new TV and music (Irish culture tv) to see and hear, but there isn't much of it readily available. There is traditional Irish music being played in several pubs in town almost every night. It is nice to be able to go hear that a few times a week. I haven't seen any Irish dancing yet. I'm guessing that will change with the week long festival they have planned for St. Patrick's Day.

I have a few new pictures that I will post soon. My roommates and I will be traveling to Brussels and Amsterdam with a possible side trip to Brugge this coming weekend (Thursday till Tuesday) so I will update you all with those pictures when we get back.

Taking an Irish Language class!!!

This semester I get to take an Irish for Beginners class and I am so excited!!! We had our first class yesterday and learned how to say hello and introduce ourselves. It is such a cool language to be learning and I can't wait to learn to read and write it. Our class only meets once a week but we have so much material (including audio) that I hope to at least have a basic working knowledge of it by the time I leave in June. As a part of the class we will be taking a trip to An Cheathru Rua, which is a Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area). We will go for a weekend in February and get to immerse ourselves in the language and the culture for a few days. This is my first time taking a formal foreign language class so I am a little nervous. I am praying that God will help me through this one and that I would be able to learn the language and connect with the people better through their native tongue. (pictured is a scene from An Cheathru Rua)

Just Another Monday

I only had one class today. So despite still not feeling the greatest I dragged myself out of bed and got ready to head to campus. I was rather pleased to find that it was gloriously sunny outside and quite warm. After checking my schedule I realized that this one and only class that I had to walk to campus for was actually the one that I had liked. Last week I only made it to some of my classes because I was sick, but this class was one I had gone to and had really liked. I particularly liked the teacher. She was everything a fun and inspiring teacher should be. She was confident and pretty and had beautiful red hair ;) So now as I'm remembering all this I am now excited to go to this one single class all the way on the other side of campus. So I set off and joyfully walk to class. I am a bit early so I find some classmates and get my choice of a seat (right in the very middle by the way, if you wanted to know). I start to tell a friend how awesome this teacher is and how I think this class is going to be tons of fun and now we're both excited. The classroom fills up and the teacher comes in and gets set up. Before she begins the lecture she gives some announcements, "For any visiting or non BComm students there has been a special section set up which will meet downstairs, please excuse yourselves now to go find that class." Darn it. Segregation was supposed to be history here people. They split the Irish BComm students into one group and visiting students into another. With another teacher, in another room. Might as well have made it a different class. All hopes and dreams dashed to pieces in the first 5 minutes of class. Great, now what did I come to campus for today? I thought of Anne Shirley and felt that I too was now in the depths of despair. Like I had lost a kindred spirit. In the teacher, but also in everything I was hoping for that class to be. So my classmates and I picked up our things and brokenheartedly made our way downstairs. Way to point out the Americans. Now we are stuck in a class with all the other visiting students. This was so not the point of studying abroad.

But I still have a few things to look forward to. Glee is on tonight :) Happy Monday!

The Sun Comes Shining Through

The sun was out today which was a lovely surprise. I got caught in a torrential downpour the other night, completely caught off guard without my umbrella. I got completely soaked and it was so windy and cold out that it took me hours to fully dry off. Needless to say I won't be caught without my umbrella and proper footwear anymore. Which means that I end of carrying more than I need to. Like today with the weather being so lovely I probably didn't need my umbrella and raincoat, but nonetheless both got brought.

It is simply lovely here when the sun is shining. Everything takes on a cheerful welcoming air and the city comes alive with music and excitement. I attended orientation this morning on the campus and then had time to walk around some unexplored parts of the city. It was a great day. Orientation was tons of fun and very helpful. I explored the library

and walked around the Quad.

The river crosses through campus several times so there are some beautiful little bridges. I also got to walk around Galway cathedral. I stopped into Kelly's for a cup of tea and a scone (simply delicious if I do say so).

It is the quintessential cafe and there weren't any other foreigners in there at the time. You can here the Irish language being spoken in most places in this city and there were a few gentlemen talking about the economy today with drinking their tea. Things here are just as bad, if not worse, than in the States and it is very hard to find a job for most. There have been continuous layoffs and lots of stores closing. While I was drinking my tea I was reading the Galway Advertiser, a local newspaper. There was an article about  Chris Dodd and his cottage in Connemara. Many think that he was given the estate as a reward for helping a friend to evade tax violation penalties. The Irish view Washington as being corrupt and typically have distrust for most politicians. (can you blame them?)

As I walked back along the street the sun was shining brilliantly and there was music being played in the street. It was a lovely afternoon. Tonight I go visit a new church, hoping to find some like-minded students there. Things here are different than I expected, but it's still good in it's own little way. I can't wait to get out to the countryside.

All moved in

Today I moved into my apartment and got all settled in. It is a really nice place and I am excited about how close it is to everything. The sun was shining for most of the day which was great. I still haven't seen any rain. Staying with Vinny and Lindsay and La Dona for the weekend was lovely and I am so grateful to them for being such wonderful hosts! This introduction to Galway has been great but also very different from what I expected. Tomorrow I will continue to explore and I am sure I will  find many more surprises.

One of my roommates also arrived today and she is great! I think we are going to have a lot of fun this semester. Tomorrow we will go shopping to get some things to really make this place our own. The apartment is a bit echo-y and cold, so we want to get rugs and pillows to warm it up.

Orientation starts Thursday and classes start next Monday, it is all going to go by way too fast. But I am going to enjoy it. One day at a time.