Finally Settling Down

Hello! It’s about 6:15am in Ireland and once again I can’t sleep past 5:30. No matter how early or how late I go to bed. The benefit to this is I get to speak with many of you since it’s the evening time and I get a head start to my day! Today I officially start classes. I wasn’t able to sign up for them until yesterday. But on Wednesday I was able to go to the school and sit for an orientation with other visiting students.  There are about 200 other visiting students on estimate from all around the world. The school is HUGE! I mean were talking I am used to about 2,500 students and this has 25,000 students. A little different for me then what I am used to. My school looks like a cathedral and it’s about four blocks in length and I still can’t tell you how deep it goes back. I will put up pictures of the school hopefully within the next couple days. I have to take six classes at UCC (University College Cork) in order to fulfill the 15 credit requirement at home. Since I normally take 5 credits at home this should be pretty easy.  I am taking French, Social Psychology, Community and Social Work, Intro to Irish History, Irish Folklore and Celtic Religion and Mythology.  I have three classes where I will have Irish students and three classes where I will have mainly visiting students so it’s a great way for me to also meet different people.

                My room is really coming together now that I have bought and organized everything. I am not in my dorm much because there is not a lot to do up here especially with no internet. No complaints because it forces us to get out and do things. I have finally met my dorm mates and they are both Irish girls. One’s name is Clair and the other Marisa. They are not in their dorms much either so it has only been in passing that we have talked. I can’t wait to get internet in my room! I am missing you guys because I feel like I haven’t had the opportunity to really have a conversation besides on the computer for 10 minutes.

                My second grocery store trip was much more successful than the last.  I bought lots of things and spent only 36 euros. It should be enough to last for a couple weeks. The only down fall is I had to pack it all home with me!! Then my bag broke and it started piss poor raining. We grabbed a taxi but he couldn’t understand where were trying to explain so he dropped us off at the wrong place and we had to walk another 15 min! It was an experience to say the least but we laughed about it the whole way home thinking THIS IS LIVING! haha.  Once we got home and we told our stories to the other girls they said, “oh don’t you know that there is a grocery store just 3 minutes from your dorm going the other direction?” I am sure you can only guess our reactions to that. We also found out that the grocery store we shopped at has delivery! But that’s how you learn things… do them the hard way the find out the easy way later haha. None the less our goal was completed we know how have food to eat! We visited the English Market yesterday and I can't wait to go back. It’s similar to Pike’s but bigger and fresher food. All the farmers and their wives are selling all the yummy foods of Ireland. I just want to stay there forever and buy it all!

                We have been exploring Cork as much as we have had the time and it seems to get bigger and bigger every time we go into the city. This weekend my friend and I have made it a goal to hop on the buses and just ride everywhere we can to learn where things are. We have all weekend to get lost so what the heck! As soon as we start classes officially next week and get our schedules worked out we are going to plan on going to different counties in Ireland. My friend lives with Irish girls who wanted to take us out! So we lived the life of an Irish student and they took us to the best places only locals know about it. It was quite the experience to say the least haha. I wish I had the time to write our entire night out but that would be 8 pages long so if you talk to me remind me to tell you all about it! In Ireland going out is very common and hearing about hangovers is a second part of every conversation. At home if you were to hear that it would be so taboo. In Ireland it’s the way of life. It’s not a stereotype to say they are drunks haha because even they admit it but in Ireland it’s more of a social gathering and if you don’t drink beer you drink tea or watter(much cheaper too!!) and that’s ok! It’s very hard to explain the way of it here. I just hope every one of you has the chance to experience this life… even for a week! You will experience more of Ireland hanging with the locals then you ever would taking tour buses.

                I can’t wait for the weekend to explore the beautiful parts of Ireland and visit more of the smaller towns around it. I should better sign off the now even though I wish I could write more. I need to shower and get ready. Also eat breakfast not that I have food :). I still need to register with the Garda and I should be done with all my major tasks (wahoo!) I finally got a phone here and it’s a pay as you go. Fun fact: All of Ireland has pay as you go plans! They said they wouldn’t prefer any other way because they don’t pay that much money a month. I don’t know if I could do it haha. But I will be for 6 months so I guess I have too!

                My computer is registered so my internet will be up in 48 hours. I CAN’T WAIT TO SKYPE!!! Love you all and miss you gobs!

-Britt