Hello again! I decided that since Sundays are usually lazy across the globe, that Sunday would be the best day to update the blog. So I'll catch y'all up on all the "craic" we've done this week (pronounced like "crack", but not the drug. Come on people, as Whitney Houston once said, "CRACK IS WHACK!"). Actually, "craic" is the Irish word for "fun". And I have had a lot of "craic" this week, becoming more and more acclimated to Galway life.
September 9
I was up early to try out the "Nazi Germany" history class with Kaitlin; perhaps it was a bit tooearly in the morning, considering that I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I decided soon after that class was over that it seemed like too much work for a study abroad class.
*A SIDE NOTE* I mean, after all, from what I've heard, study abroad is not about pushing your limits. I feel that (and many of my friends feel this way too) studying abroad the fall of junior year is a great time to "take the plunge". Although I miss a lot of things aboutRichmond and America in general, it has been really rewarding to experience "real life" in a totally different country. Even though there hasn't been too much culture shock, there have been many instances that have been frustrating about not being back home. For instance, everything at NUI Galway is extremely disorganized and inefficient (refer to last week's blog post about standing in line for registration for a little taste of inefficiency). Also, having to buy groceries is a constant chore since a lot of the food has a small amount of time before it becomes expired (plus our mini-fridges don't quite hold the plethora of food that would make bulk-buying monetarily efficient). But all of these tiny, mundane events will help us all grow up and become even more ready for "the real world" (but not the one on MTV, and it's not like we're jumping for joy about the fact that when we come back we'll be second semester juniors...woof!).
Back to September 9
After our boring Nazi Germany class, we went to Gender, Work and Family in Ireland from 1850-1922. This history class seemed a lot more exciting since it's about Ireland. I'm taking at least two different history classes that are just about Ireland. I mean, if I'm studying here, might as well learn about the country. "When in Rome!" "That phrase doesn't really work there..." (Quick--movie trivia, what's that from? ANCHORMAN! Congrats to everyone who got that pop culture reference). Any who, by the time we finished up two history classes in the morning, we were famished (perhaps it was all that talk about "the famine" aka one of Ireland's most dire and trying times, practically the only thing people know about Irish history). We decided to go to Ward's Corner Store for lunch, a little sandwich shop right across University Road from campus. It was very delicious, but best of all, CHEAP! They have daily specials and a "Top 5" list of sandwiches for only 2.99 Euro. WIN! Then we had some more classes in the afternoon. Later that evening, we went over to Gort na Coiribe, the student-apartment complex right next door to our apartment in Cuirt na Coiribe. One of Bryeanna's friends from home lives with an Irish girl and she had a a birthday party with her Irish friends. It was fun hanging out with the Irish kids. The girls over here get REALLY dressed up, so that's a bit intimidating. Yet you can definitely point an Irish kid out on campus since they love wearing Abercrombie and Hollister sweats...strange. We were talking to them about college life in the states, and of course they were fascinated about Greek life and wanted to know if all of the crazy stories about sororities and fraternities were true. They also had never heard of "beer pong" or "flip cup" or other American drinking games. It's only a matter of time before we teach them a thing or two...
September 10
Woke up. Went to class. Boooorrring. But then I decided it was about time to try out the gym on campus. Galway mirrors Richmond because Galway just got a new gym on campus, just like Richmond did a few years ago. Plus, Galway is doing tons of reconstruction, just like Richmond. I feel like sometimes I'm in the Twilight Zone (cue music). Frustration about Ireland for the day: I opened up my bank account earlier that week and received my PIN for it, yet no card. Essentially useless. Grr. The gym was fun, but the one at Richmond is much better in my opinion. Yes, Galway has lots of treadmills, spinning bikes, ellipticals, weights and more, but there isn't any variety within these cardio machines like there is at school. Well, Jeannie and Kaitlin peaced out to Greece for a long weekend of fun in the sun, yet the weather has been similar here in Galway. Warm and sunny weather continued from earlier this week into the weekend, which was awesome. Bryeanna and I went and hung out with some new Fairfield friends at the pub/club/bar Hole in the Wall. It was a fun, cool little bar filled with locals.
September 11
It was strange being abroad on such a patriotic day. There wasn't any mention of it on the streets or really even the news, so that was a bit of a culture wake-up call that our news in America isn't always that important to other countries. I went to try out an archaeology class that morning. It was kind of interesting, but the class's only field trip conflicts with a trip that I already booked for Barcelona in November (a little birthday present to me!), so I dropped that class like it was hot. Then I came home for lunch and signed onto Facebook (per usual), only to discover that three of our Richmond friends from Dublin were coming for a pseudo-surprise weekend trip. That definitely livened up my weekend schedule, which had looked pretty dismal since most Irish kids go home on the weekends. We went to the King's Head, our typical jammin' place to take newbies. Like all of the other times going to King's Head, there was a great band playing tons of covers. Everything from Kings of Leon to Cyndi Lauper to Black Crowes was played. Instead of trying out some other pubs like we had originally planned, we stayed the whole time until the band finished. On our way home, we pass tons of "danger zones"--late-night food shops, such as McDonald's, Supermac's (Irish version of McDonald's/Sheetz but really, really gross), and a crepes place. And I was feeling super good since I had been in the country for two weeks and hadn't done any post-pub snacking...until that night. Bryeanna had been to the crepes place earlier that day and veered into the restaurant. But it was well worth it, considering that crepe was delish (Nutella, chopped nuts, and ice cream since they ran out of whipped cream). MMM MMM GOOD!
September 12
After our late night the previous night, we all slept in and watched a lot of Saturday morning TV. The Richmond kids from Dublin don't have TV's in their apartments, so they were thrilled to do nothing but watch TV that morning. After resisting the marathon of Friends and Scrubs that are always on here, we strolled over to campus and took them to Ward's for lunch. Then we went a different way to the Claddagh and the bay by going down by the canal. On our walk, we saw some graffiti artists doing their thang outside the Roisin Dubh (sometimes called the "Russian Dove"), an hipster, edgy bar on the edge of the City Centre. Once we got down by the water, we saw a very unusual game going on the water. There were big nets set up and buoys all around and people in kayaks playing with a water polo ball...turns out it was kayak water polo! It was really cool! For all the Keystone ladies out there: it reminded me A LOT about how we play Quidditch on the canoe lake. We continued on down toward the bay and adventured on the many rocks that line the shore. We even went out onto the sand and dipped our feet in the cool water. Since it was such a beautiful day, we didn't think twice about sunscreen. I mean really, who goes to Ireland and brings sunscreen?! Well, we all got a rosy hue to our skin. That is definitely one thing I did not expect about going to Ireland. "You got sunburned in Ireland?!" Clearly that is a testament to how white I really am... And whenever there is a gorgeous day down by the bay in Galway, there are tons and TONS of dogs out. Seeing all of the dogs, big and small, young and old, made all of us miss our dogs. Woof. We then came back and cooked dinner and went out again to Hole in the Wall. The Fairfield people came and met up with us again and that was fun. Aside from the small amount of us Americans, the crowd was mainly "freshers" (aka first year students out on the town since they are starting this week) and young Irish guys. It turned into a fun dance party and we met some Irish kids. As we left, yet again the Richmond/Dublin kids' late-night munchies influence struck. We wanted to go to the McDonald's that is close to our apartment, but only the drive-thru was open. We decided to "walk thru" the drive-thru and try it out. When we got up to the order window, we were REJECTED. We were appalled. All we wanted was some good ol' Amurrican Mickey D's! We started coming up with tons of excuses about why we weren't in a car, almost hopping into a cab and going through the drive-thru, but then we decided: No matter! There is still Supermac's on the way home. Supermac's. Oh dear. It seemed like a good decision at the time...it tasted delicious at the time...but in the morning it was not such a good decision. Oops. Poor life decision.
September 13
Once again, we got another late start in the morning after watching some "Hangover TV" (a legit program over here where they play random shows, such as the old-school "Bewitched", of which, I am a huge fan of now). Then we went out searching for food like scavenging vultures. Ok, perhaps a bit too graphic, but you get the picture. Since our Richmond/Dublin friends had a train to catch, we walked into Eyre Square and were thinking of going down to Quay Street to try out a new restaurant, but we first stopped into Paddy's, a seemingly innocent pub with pub food. Not so. The waiter was really sketchy and didn't seem to understand English slash may have been more than just "high on life". After ordering drinks, we all came to the consensus that Paddy's was a big "X" and peaced (after paying a fortune for water... 2.40 Euro, no way). But then it was getting closer and closer to the Richmond/Dublin kids' train departure, so we just hit up the Bagel Factory a few stores down from Supermac's (don't need to go in there during the daylight, although we did get yummy ice cream from the ice cream place within Supermac's, so that doesn't really count). Then we just hung out in Eyre Square until it was time for them to leave for their train. Then Bryeanna and I walked down to the Claddagh again to meet up with some Fairfield girls and just soaked up the Irish sun on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Well, that wraps up my second week in Galway. The sunshine really does wonders to your outlook on life. Now, that may sound cheesy (and perhaps it is), but the weather has been such a blessing as I am still getting used to living in a foreign country, some 3,000+ miles away from home without my close friends and family, but I am confident that even if the sun disappears and the rains return, my love for Galway will continue to grow and grow, like the lush, green, Irish grass.
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