First Week in the land of the Irish

This is the Quad on campus

    So I have been extremely busy this week with the start of classes, getting situated and, most importantly, consuming my first Guinness! First of all, and the main reason I am here, lets talk about school. I will be taking 5 classes, if I can find another!! I will not have class on Monday's which allows for travel with my roommates! I think we are going to go to Dublin, Italy and Paris!! Italy is still up in the air, but I am crossing my fingers that it happens!! Anywho, classes are weird here because we only meet once a week for two hours or twice a week for one hour each session. I guess it is nice in one way, but I will have to spend a lot of independent research time in the library, which might not be as exciting as one may hope! It is also different in the sense that my grades are basically 1 essay and a final and the passing rate is 40% in most classes... I just don't know whether the classes are going to be extremely hard, so a 40% is doing really well, or if Europeans just do not put as much effort into their work so their standards are lower, guess we will have to wait and see...

3 out of my 4 roommates at the Blarney Castle

     I have officially become as situated as I am going get here in good ol' Cork! I have 4 roommates, two from Chicago and 2 from France. All four of them are really great! We all have at least one class together, so it will be great when it comes time to study =) I can officially make the walk to and from city center with groceries. I still might break a sweat coming up that steep hill, but I can do it without dying and that is all that counts. The best part out of all the walking here is that I do not need to go to the gym!!

     After getting situated, I made my way into the true Irish tradition of drinking!! There could not be a better day than Arthur's Day (a day in honor of the founder of Guinness, Arthur Guinness) to have my first Guinness. Although it was not as bad as I expected, especially since it was not warm as most said it would be, I found a love that will forever remain in my heart: Bulmers! It is Irish Cider and basically a mix between cider and beer and tastes utterly delicious! For those interested in trying it in the states it goes by the name Magners! There are 3 flavors, original, pear and berry, but I have only had the original. I will keep you posted on the other flavor...

Our Guinesses were out of control!!

     Beyond drinking, I had a fabulous time seeing the heart of the city this past weekend by visiting historical sites on Cork's Culture Night. Luckily it was a Culture Night and not day because we did not find out about the event until 5pm. We were able to visit  Cork's history museum, the butter museum as well as this really cool church where we climbed to the top of the bell tower and was able to overlook the entire city! I have also encountered multiple street fairs that encompass crafts, food, music and any other thing you could imagine would be at a street fair!

The Blarney Castle 

     Last but not least, I visited the infamous Blarney Castle and of course kissed the stone this past weekend. It is about a 30 minute bus ride away from city center ( in addition to a 20 min walk, 30 if you cannot find the bus station) The grounds were very gorgeous and fit into the typical Irish image of rolling green hills! After picking up a couple of souvenirs, we headed back into town and crashed! I never realized how much muscle I would be building up in addition to my studies =)



I best be on my way, but we shall meet again next week! Until then... Slàinte!

Arriving in Cork.. or as they say it, Cark

     It is roughly 1:30am in Cork and I cannot sleep so I thought I would post about my journey across the pond. Side note, my body is freezing and the only warmth I have is the blanket I took from the airplane and that is not very warm needless to say!! Back to my journey... So i get to the airport to find out that not only is my flight delayed in The States, but I am not going to make my connection in London unless I am Superman, which we all know I move at the slowest pace ever, but they still said that they were going to leave me booked on that flight, just in case, ha. I said okay, but figured there was not a chance in hell that I would make the plane, so they also booked me on a later flight.
      Moving forward, I get on the plane and have to do a double take because I saw a DU water bottle next to me. It turns out that the couple sitting next me had a daughter that graduated from DU in '08, so I was able to ask them a lot of questions about her experience and enjoy my flight with a fraction less of my original nerves.
     Upon arrival at Heathrow, I booked it off the plane and made the first bus to Terminal 1! I was running up escalators and over people, well maybe not literally, but running none the less. I get to passport check to find out that I needed to fill out this card that i told myself I did not have to, twice. So I completed the card only to get stuck behind 3 elderly people in line. Past that I have to have my picture taken and go through security again, where of course I have to get patted down and have my laptop wanded.
     Finally arriving within the terminal, I see that my plane is closing, so I book it, at least a mile, to see my plane still sitting there, but unfortunately, unable to board because that is what they do in Europe, ugh! I along with 5 other people had to sit in the airport for 4 hours without any British pounds, so I was unable to buy anything to drink!
     17:30 rolls around and I am finally able to board the plane, to discover you are only able to purchase food and drink, so I slept until I reached the bitter cold land I shall call home for the next 3 months. I made my way to the passport check to find the nicest man who ironically has spent time in Legacy Ridge, a subdivision roughly 10 min. away from ny house back in Westminster!! I then got in a Taxi with a driver who didn't know where my lodging was, but was able to find it anyways!
     I arrived and met my 4 roommates, 2 from France and 2 from Chicago, all extremely nice!! I do already miss home, but you are just 97 days away from me and within that time I plan to make many memories to share with you!!!

Until then... Slàinte!

Tester Post

I have one week left in The States before I depart therefore I am so excited and nervous at the same time. I still need to pack, say goodbye to sooo many people and complete my last few days at work without exploding!!! I need to head out, but I will be seeing you soon, Ireland, so prepare yourself, becuase Maggie is about to be invading you for the next 3 months =)