TiKi'sphotoBar & Blog

Well its been a solid week since I have been living in Ireland and living the expensive Irish life!

After staying in two sister hostels in downtown Dublin and Galway, I was a finally able to move into my apartment here at Gort Na Coiribe!
I have been living in the apartment for just about a week and it has been great! I have met 2 of my 5 girl roommates and they are both really fun and cute. I was hooked up in the apartment with a nice double size bed on the 2nd floor of the apartment, with the first floor being the living room/kitchen, bath, and a single room. On the second floor lye 3 rooms (1 of mine) with a bath and the 3rd floor has 1 room (2 twin beds) and a bath. The apartment is pretty nice, but seems to get real cold as Ireland is experiencing some record breaking snow and icy weather.

This week Europe has experienced unprecedented lows and icy conditions which has delayed and caused several accidents transportation wise. I can’t believe how icy these roads get, just walking out of the apartment you start sliding like you are on a frozen lake! Temperatures have breached the negatives (in celcius) and many locals say they haven’t seen this weather in 30 years.

Besides the frigid temps and apartment descriptions, my overall Irish experience has been great so far! I have met so many people from all around the world, and I know that this semester abroad will be one of the best trips college experiences of my life! Everything has gone smoothly so far and I am very thankful to be over here.

This week I have been swimming a bunch, as I purchased a gym membership to stay fit this semester! The facility is great, with indoor basketball courts, squash and racquetball courts, volleyball, indoor soccer, indoor arena, 3 multi purpose fitness studios, a high performance gym, a large pool with a sauna and steam room, and it is the largest gym in Galway. I plan to spend alot of time here and meet a bunch of people.

Some of the biggest differences I have noticed so far are the crazy drivers and the dangers of the roads (when crossing them), I don’t know which way to look! Also the proportions and sizes of everything, from the cars, food, and even bed sheets and covers, everything is smaller. I don’t know if they are set for little leprechauns, but it seems to me that either America loves its extra large fries and cars, or Europe is living healthy and are alot more conservative then Americans. Going to the grocery store, you can’t buy anything in bulk, and everything from the milk to the jars of peanut butter are alot smaller. Maybe it is just the fact that I am comparing the prices and converting them from Euros to US dollars and finding out how expensive everything is. The sunrises at 9am and sets at 5pm, meaning the days are short and it seems the irish like to sleep in and get started later.

I have figured out the classes I will be taking, which start on monday, and I cannot register for them until a week after I go to them. My earliest classes start at 11am, and I have them about once or twice a week (at most). This academic system should be interesting as it is very different from the U.S. Keep you updated on that. As for extracurricular activities, I am looking to do alot of them, by joining several clubs and societies (international club, surf club, mountain club, snow club, rowing club?, etc.)

Well it is getting late here, I am heading off to bed early tonight as tomorrow will be interesting, the 3 other irish roommates of mine will be moving in and all of the irish kids will be getting back in time for school on Monday.

I will try to keep this blog updated weekly, not only for interested web visitors, but for my self to refer back to when I am in the states, writing up reflections and papers of my Study Abroad experience. Cheers!

Dublin Castle with Garda (police)

Christ Church Cathedral Dublin

Galway Cathedral, it was huuuge!