:)

Hello everyone! Its been a bit since I last updated but I've been busy getting into the swing of things with classes starting this past week. Let me tell you, this campus is awesome but its so incredibly big! Its probably about 20 Sage's put together, maybe more. Which is definitely taking some getting used to, but I tend not to mind getting lost because its so pretty. The room numbering system for classes is probably one of the most confusing things I've encountered thus far on my adventures at UL. It has even lead me to barge into an already started lecture to have the students and professor look at me funny as I promptly turned around and ran out of the room. I quickly noted to myself, "triple check room numbers before entering classes no matter how long I've been wandering around searching for them". The other thing that is a lot different from home is the way they schedule classes. For one class you might have it three days a week but have it on random days, with different professors, and different times and room numbers for each lecture. Plus then there are also tutorials for every module, and sometimes a lab, but thank goodness I have none of them this semester. Its a fun time trying to remember my schedule. It will probably take until the last week of school for me to have my schedule down pat with out having to look at it every so often to see what my days look like. But besides figuring out this delightful but confusing college system I've done a lot of exploring in the city. There is a market that takes place in Limerick every Saturday that is similar to the "farmers market" back home but its called the "milk market" here. Not only do they have fresh produce and meats but they also sell other homemade goodies like breads, jams, honey, soaps, chocolates, jewelry, scarves...est. its so fun to explore. The funny part is that I have yet to find any "milk" being sold at this so called "milk market". The market is all under a huge circus like tent so even on the rainiest of days its a fun place to spend some time wandering through. Its so big that there are even 4 little cafe stands under it that make some of the most delicious food I've had yet here. The four stands are all connected and in the back there are stairs that go up to the top of it and you can sit on the balcony and eat looking over the whole market. Its so neat! My favorite part though is probably seeing the  lovely man playing the accordion every time we enter the tent. I love all the musicians you see around the city playing in different places along the streets. Sometimes the music makes me feel like I'm on the streets of Italy which is interesting. We also went on a double-decker bus tour through the city. We were able to see different sights around the city like St. Johns Castle, the Treaty Stone, the Rugby stadium, many churches, and spectacular looking houses along the Shannon River. The houses here are so neat and every one is so different and unique in its own way. I saw a house worth a million euro, a house that still had the wholes in the bricks from being fired upon in WWII, and many houses covered in vines with the most elaborately decorated courtyards. I love the variety you see even in a short walk through the city. The other cool thing about the houses are how they write their addresses. Home addresses don't have numbers like in the states but names for the houses. So where I would say I live at 133 Lindskoog Rd, they might say they live at Adele House or whatever the name given to the house was when it was build. I really loved learning that little fact, maybe I'll see if the post office will let me name my house when I get home. I'll have to look into that. There is so much I could add to this blog post but I think I'll stop here for now. My bed is calling my name. (little fact for you: birds chirp happily into the night here. its such a relaxing and lovely thing to fall asleep to at night.)

Lovely start to my weekend

 

The lovely puppy that came along exploring

 

One of the many trails along the Shannon River

 

The latest coolest thing I've found on campus. Its part of a tower from an old castle but sadly I haven't been able to figure out the history behind it yet. I can't wait to go back and get pictures inside!

 

Part of the castle by the tower on campus. Its absolutely beautiful.

 

View on my walk to the store.

King John's castle. Which you see as you cross the Shannon to come into the city of Limerick.

Grand Ol' Irish Slang

Words/Expressions I have learned so far:

1) QUERIES are questions. This has recently become one of my favorite words. Not only because I like the sound of it but because I get to use it on a near daily basis. Its normally about getting lost but for the most part I'm okay with that because even the the locals do.

2) PRESS is the kitchen cabinets. of which you can find not only your typical kitchen commodities but also things like the occasional high heal, maybe some toothpaste, and towel racks that are supposed to be attached to the bedroom walls upstairs, 3D glasses, and maybe a marble or two. Whatever you may need, apparently the Irish store it all in the kitchen press. 

3) DOTE. To be called a dote is a compliment. No matter now funny it may sound it just means that you're very nice.

4) MUPPET. A muppet is someone who is not completely sane or just incredibly silly. For example: "He's a bit of a muppet tonight, no?" meaning, "He's a bit crazy this evening. Don't you agree?" This is one one of my personal favorites as well. It may just be the Kermit reference that goes through my mind every time I hear it, but who's to tell.

5) CRAIC AND BANTER: I absolutely love hearing these terms. They both mean to have a lot of fun. This is sort of how the conversation will start, person 1: "What's the craic?" person 2: "So much craic, like, yesterday was absolutely mental!" This may seem silly but its just their way of asking, "Whats up?" Its very simple but quite funny to be asked if you're not Irish.

6) ABSOLUTELY MENTAL: This goes along with the theme of "craic and banter" just taking it to the next level. No longer is whatever your doing fun but its so fun you can't contain yourself.

7) RUNNERS: Runners are just what the Irish call sneakers/shoes. Very simple to understand but I just like the switch in words.

9) "Don't be such a wet blanket, love." means "No reason to be shy/reserved". My friends and I heard this a couple times when we were quite tired from being up late and still trying to adjust to the time change and loved the expression. I've come to find I don't think the Irish believe in sleep here. But I love it because that means they're always incredibly friendly no matter what time of day.

10) Last but not least I've learned how much the Irish use the words "Like" and "Ya know". They are both used so much in a conversation that we were actually warned in orientation. And now from just a couple days of experience I see what they mean.

Ireland and Chinese Chicken

Horray! I finally made it! After two days of traveling, three flights and many shuttles later, I'm finally here in the lovely "Emerald Isle"! My goodness is it beautiful. The first thing I thought once I landed (after the initial laughter on of the fact that I probably just saw more sheep flying over Ireland than people in Heathrow airport) was, "Yes, I could definitely call this place home for the next couple months". We landed in great weather I thought to see our first glimpse of Ireland, no rain! The Irish students that were there to pick us up said it was the perfect day to arrive as well, "Its like a sunny day!" they said with clouds covering the whole sky, which made me laugh. (Oh and a little fact about Shannon airport: it literally goes from sheep farm right to airport runway. Hope those little guys don't ever get squished, there's not even a fence!) Anyway, like i said before, it is truly and genuinely beautiful here. From the history you pass by on a simple ride through town, to the warmth of genuine kindness, to the soft deep GREEN grass and foliage everywhere. I don't care how cool Crayola thinks they are with all their new cool crayons and markers these days they don't do the color green any justice. One of my favorite sights so far was taking the shuttle across the Shannon where we got to pass through the massive King John's castle to enter Limerick. Definitely will be going back to explore more in person because just a short drive by is not enough for me! Another new experience was witnessing cars driving on the opposite side of the road and seeing the drivers on the other side of the vehicles. For some reason they look so smushed over on that side, but they seem happy enough... I'm sure since its normal to them. Next stop was Plassey Village where we got our apartment assignments and room numbers. This was an easy and quick process besides the part of dealing with my spasticly cranky little fob. Seems to not enjoy letting me in. It keeps pretending to unlock the door and re-lock it before I can get in. Its probably its silly little welcoming trick it likes to play on new international students..crazy thing. Hopefully this fun will end and it will learn a new trick...like turning into a pot of gold, that would be nice..and very fitting. :) But the apartment is nice, and very cozy. I've only met one of my 7 roommates so far, a friendly fellow American girl from DC and she seems to be very informative about things on campus even though shes only been here a day like myself, but its certainly helpful! After unpacking we had a meeting in Plassey Village Hall for all of the AIFS students. Basically it was a time for them to tell us very tired Americans a bunch of very important information we need to know for through out the semester all at once. Then they told us everything will be emailed to us. Thank goodness for everyone looking so exhausted. But it was after that discussion that they proceeded to tell us they were taking everyone out to dinner and we all perked up at seeing the light of food coming in the near future. Especially since most of us hadn't eaten since the muffin at 2 am on the plane. Now here comes the funny part. I was all excited to go eat thinking this is awesome: free food and a chance to try the local Irish food already! But oddly enough we spent the evening at Chung's Cuisine, a lovely Chinese restaurant down the road.haha It was a very nice place will very delicious food. And when I say nice, it was very nice and beautifully decorated. The food was great but it certainly made us laugh that our first meal in Ireland was Chinese food. Although, like I said in my first post, maybe I should have been expecting something random on my first day. Never thought it would be Chinese chicken that would be giving me a laugh though. But as for now its time to catch up on some sleep! Tomorrow, I explore Limerick!

Falling asleep today in the US, waking up in Europe!

Today's the big day! I still can't believe it's finally here! The past few days have been spent between packing, visiting friends and family, and eating the delicios food my sister and scott keep cooking up. Its made me realize how blessed I am to have so many wonderful people in my life. Some even came over 3 times to say good bye... For some, twice in the same day! :)I can't express how much everyone's love and support means to me; definitely helps calm any nerves I have about leaving the country for a while. How lucky am I to even say I have these people in my life that can make saying goodbye a bit difficult. Kind of bitter sweet. But! I'm so excited for my trip to Ireland and its amazing how much calmer you actually feel when you start off on a new adventure you know is right for you at that moment in time. It's funny, I'm not even that tired today from not sleeping too much last night. Must be the excitement. Ya know I figured last night I would dream about Ireland, maybe even me getting through airports on my way, but no... Instead I dreampt of meeting and traveling around NYC with Ryan Seacrest and a bunch of kindergardeners... Some one please tell me where my mind come up with these things. Hopefully itll just go to show how random and exciting my new adventures will be.haha But as for right now, its GAME TIME, and I should probably go get ready. Well until next time, keep posted!