Dad suggested I post drinks that I've had here. Yes my dad. I think he was joking. Oh well.
So far:
Tescos fairtrade tea
...what did YOU think? :-p
No seriously:
Kilkenny
Gaelic
Heineken
Miller light
Bulmers (Irish cider)
Kopparberg (Swedish cider)
Jameson
Baileys
Bacardi (Tropical orange)
Haven't had any darker ones yet like Guinness, but Murphy's is actually more popular here in Cork because it's brewed here.
I don't know what the styles are like in the states now, but here's my tips on current Irish fashion:
Stripes. Stripes are in. Horizontal stripes on shirts. Wide ones, small ones, all colors. Even better, a V-necked horiztonal striped shirt. Yeah.
Slippers. Like those Chinese slippers except not just toes but all the way around the foot. They look funny. (edit: I found out they're called flats)
Headbands. I kid you not.
Long plain beaded necklaces. With plastic beads like I have from when I was a child.
Also, seems like more girls part their hair to one side. Not sure if I just didn't notice this back in the states.
That's all I got and that's all you're getting until I come home dressed like a European!
I am craving an everything bagel with veggie cream cheese from...oh shoot. Have I already been in Ireland too long?! That little shop in Living/Learning. Is it Annies? Aaah! I can't remember what it's called. >_< As they say here, "feck."
Anways! Classes just started yesterday. After a month here of getting used to an empty campus, it is slightly overwhelming to walk through a sea of students. Aaah... So many people. And don't get me started on classes. Aaah... I feel like a freshman again!
So I think regular students at UCC (University College of Cork) choose a degree and then all they have to do is look at one timetable (schedule). So they don't really have a choice in what they take, no general education requirements and such. SO we visiting students can choose pretty much ANYTHING we want which is amazing. BUT that means we have to swim through dozens of timetables and keep referring back to the book of modules (course catalogue) and SOMEHOW fit our classes together. AND we only have a week and a half to figure out what we want to take. One of my classes was cancelled and the syllabus for the chem class I wanted for specific credit won't be available till NEXT week, which means I have no time to forward it to UVM and see if it can be approved.
I've only taken five classes so far, but lectures are pretty much the same as back home. Two of the lectures were so slowly paced compared to UVM. Granted they were the first lectures. Somehow I feel like classes here are even more laid back to back home. No attendance except for in practicals (labs I think) and tutorials (discussions). Pretty much all my classes seem at least 50 people, so there's no weekly homework assignments I don't think.
BESIDES classes...
The first week of class is called Fresher Week (aka Week of Welcome) and the most interesting part of the activities the UCC student union hosts are nights out at the local bars/clubs. Last night was preparty at the Thirsty Scholar and a pirates themed party at Redz. Some friends and I were pysched about it, I even made us cardboard swords! But you needed a ticket to get in. So we couldn't get in. And we were bummed. It was 7 euro chrage though, so I guess we saved ourselves money for an extra drink. :-p Instead we went to An Brog (Irish for "The Shoe") which is a pretty popular student pub. It was fun, Nicky made out with some drummer, this drunk guy talked to us and later got kicked out for, well, being too drunk. And we met these nice four Irish guys! All in all a good night.
Tonight the party is School Uniform Disco which sounds great, but we're gonna pass. 12 euro ticket is a major ouch. But I'm really looking forward to a Ceili dance Wednesday night. Went to one last week, and it was AMAZING.
But yeah.
Last weekend, all the students in the Butler program stayed with a host family for the weekend. We all stayed in pairs of two with families living in Carragaline, about 10 minutes from Cork. I was with Erin and we stayed with a family of four. Two kids, a girl Laoise age 9 and a boy Conor age 8. Conor asked if I was from China when he first saw me. We had a great time with them. Friday night (Sept 1) we watched War of the Worlds and they kept making fun of Tom Cruise. Saturday and Sunday for brunch, the mother made "fry up" which I thought was gonna be BBQ. But was totally eggs, sausage, bacon, white pudding, tomatoes, bread, and mushrooms.
Very decent and heart stopping. Saturday night dinner was delicious. A meal she learned from friends in France, chicken in an onion soup with rice pilaf and peaches. Mmmm.
Erin and I also got a driving tour of Carragaline, plus a trip to the beach with the kids! Laoise and Conor totally pulled me into the water, it was fun and the waves were huge! To top off the trip, all Ireland hurling finals! Cork vs Kilkenny! Apparently a big rivalry. See it's a big deal if a team wins three years in a row. And four years ago, Kilkenny was going for their third in a row, but Cork beat them. This year, it was Cork up for their third in a row, but Kilkenny beat them. It was my first hurling game and it was very exicting. Why don't we have that in the states?!
All in all it was a great weekend. Learned that the school system is a little different. Got lectured to in Gaelic by Laoise, who was showing off :-p And played soccer with the kids.
Some things have been easy to adjust to, other things hard. It hasn't been too hard to prepare food for myself, things at the grocery store is pretty much the same. Except no Annies mac and cheese or reeses peanutbutter cups. It has been annoying having to buy new things such as tape and towels, which I have at home. And it has been real hard to face a completely new world. Everything is new. The land, town, and people. The only thing familiar is the clothes I brought with me.
I really miss my family and friends. Bummed picturing what I'm missing back home! At UVM, my friends have moved in, and classes have started. Back in Mass, Mom and Dad are going to help Emily move into school. And stuck here trying to make new friends and aimlessly wandering around the city trying to find a notebook that's college ruled! I feel like a freshman again!
But I'm looking forward to classes, even though I'll probably have to stay another semester at UVM because of it, enjoying the city, even though I don't know where anything is, and looking forward to seeing parts of Europe, even though traveling scares me.
It's weird how such change can affect you. I realize that my friends and family make me who I am. They help myself identify who I am. I know that's probably terrible grammar.
It is hard to check email or go on AIM. Reading away messages, talking with people occasionaly, and getting loads of UVM emails about events and club things...
As I much on my seventh cadbury digestive, I will recount my first week in Ireland...
My trip began with a cancelled direct flight from Boston to Shannon. After waiting in line for praticaly 3 hours, I made it to the front of the line. They transfered me to British Airways. I flew to Heathrow airport in London, which I think is possibly the largest airport in the world? I slept most of the flight and had two surprsingly decent in-flight meals. In Heathrow, I had to go through customs, grab my luggage, get my ticket at Aer Lingus, check my bag, go through security, and find the gate, in only an hour and a half. Yes, definately cut the line for checking bags and the security line, "sorry, but my plane is boarding now!" And definately wound up running on conveyor belts to get to the gate. But I made it safe and sound, although slightly sweaty.
The Aer Lingus flight was short, being only and hour long, and sweet, chatting with an old French businessman next to me. Once I arrived, I took a taxi to Jurys Inn, Limerick. The Butler orientation took place on the Tuesday and Wednesday (August 22 and 23) and covered things from health and safety to Irish sports. The meals we had were gourmet (wonder how much I paid for that!). Even lunches had an appetizer and dessert, and everything involved potatoes and tea. The 20 or so people I met were all real nice. Most of us spent our first night in Ireland listening to live traditional Irish music and drinking a pint at a local pub called Dolans.
We also had a lot of free time to walk around Limerick. I found it nice, but unfortunately it's nicknamed "stab city." Glad I'm not there anymore!
We moved into our housing in Cork on Thursday (August 24). I'm living with these two girls Kellie and Nicky. We each have our own single and share a bathroom and kitchen/dining/living room area. There's also another girl coming in a month. Kellie and Nicky have been great so far and I really like the apartment. Our first night there we spent almost an hour trying to find a chinese restaurant that delivered. Half the time I would get someone on the other line with a chinese accent, the other half the time someone with an Irish accent, then the third half of the time it would be someone with both accents! But we got our chow mein and sesame chicken.
roommates:
my apartment:
my room:
Friday (August 25) we had UCC orientation with all the other international students. It was boring and long. The campus is nice. We have a castle!
student center:
random cork street:
The weekend was slow, didn't go out to the bars or clubs at all. But wandered the city a lot. Cork is really really nice. The down town is surrounded by the two river channels and consists of a confusing street layout. The shops are cute and there's a lot to see. A little easy to get lost in, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Christmas shopping will be a blast!
I had my first class August 29th (Irish Ecosystems) and it seems like a lot of fun. It's the class with the most field trips. We have class only three times a week and two trips a week. The only downside is that we have long days (sometimes 10am-6pm). Plus, we get four day weekends!
The first trip, we were bused about 15 minutes away to a river alongside a field with grazing work horses. We collect samples and identified aquatic invertebrates, comparing the results of rapidly moving water, stagnant pools, to water with vegetation. Because of this lab, I now own a pair of "wellies." But I'm mad that I spent all of last afternoon looking for cheep boots, which some students found for 10 euro) and all I found was a pair for 37 euro (which could have been 34 with my student ID.
The second trip was Killarny National Park. That was pretty chill. Valleys and lakes formed by receding glaciers. Invasive Rhododendron plants. Rare Kerry Spotted Slugs!!!
This is my Ireland blog, I will keep it as long as I am studying abroad in Ireland. It is probably mostly for myself, because I don't expect others to check it regularly or anything. I am also keeping a written journal while here, so I don't know why I'm bothering with an online journal too! Crazy like that I guess. "CRAZY?! I WAS CRAZY ONCE!!"
Would be nice if I post pictures here too, but it takes too long to resize them and upload and such. So I'll probably just be uploading the best photos to a folder here: http://uvm.edu/~kchang/ireland where ya'll can see them if you like!