Homestay Weekend

So this whole blog posting thing is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I feel like I am always doing things, as in I'm very lazy and I will watch Netflix instead of writing my post. So, this one is going to be short and sweet seeing how school has actually started. It no more, OMG, I'm in Ireland! I need to do everything right now. It's more like, OMG I have a paper to write for Friday, but I don't want to do it. The normal thoughts that you have when going through school. 

But, my program, Arcadia, set up a really cool weekend were we get to stay with a local family in a small town for the weekend. Everyone on my program went down to the town of Gorey and spent the weekend there. We were all paired up with someone else on the program and then paired up with a family. My host mom's name was Linda and she had two boys. The first thing the youngest one said to us upon arrive is do we like to play soccer! He was so adorable and was constantly asking us questions. Unfortunately, the boys were staying at their father's for the weekend, so we didn't get to see much of them. But, it is common for these family's who set up the homestays with Arcadia to host other international students as well. At the time, there was the funniest, worldly young boy staying there. His name was Andres and he was 13 years old. He lives in Spain, but he has citizenship in Greece, America, and Spain. He has traveled so much and he was constantly asking us questions. 

The homestay wasn't quite what I thought it would be like. I thought we were going to spend all our time with the families and them have activities planned for us to do with the kids and all. It was nothing like that. We arrived Friday night and when we got to the house Linda had an AMAZING lasagna ready for us. Lasagna was Andres favorite food, so he had it breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then after that Linda asked us what our plans were and if we were going to meet up with everyone else to go out. We were shocked, but we messaged everyone and we all met up at a local pub named McGovern's. It was a chill night and there weren't may people out. 

It was SO nice to be able to sleep in. Linda didn't have any plans for us, so we slept in until 11:30. Two other girls for my program's family was living literally right across the street from us and their mom offered to drive us down to the beach. I'm really bad and I can't remember the name of the beach. It was a very beautiful beach, but it was extremely cold. Despite that there was someone surfing and others taking a dip. We ended up going to the Grandmother's house that she grew up in and met her parents. They were so funny. The Grandfather had thought he had one 5,000 euros off a scratch ticket and was so excited talking about it. The Mother checked the ticket and it turned out that he one nothing. It was something about there being to many zeros. It was great craic! See my great use of Irish lingo. Great craic pretty much means a good time. We sat there talking to the Grandparents for an hour or so drinking tea and eating biscuits. How Irish/British of us! 

For that night someone else's host family told us about this pipe band that was going to play, so we decided to check it out. They all were dressed up in kilts and walked down the street. We followed them and ended up in the hall. They played a few songs and then started to give speeches. It turned out to be a ceremony ended their season and a celebration for them winning some competition. They started giving speeches about each member and that is when we realized it was only families in the hall. We all felt a little bit uncomfortable, so we by twos left. We ended up back at McGovern's to meet up with the rest of the group. It was a totally different atmosphere then the night before. The pub was jammed packed. There was so great throwback music that we enjoyed singing along to. 

Irish pipe band 

Again, we slept in on Sunday. We really hadn't seen much of Linda up to this point. But, she made us a great breakfast and told us she was going to take us on this great walk. The girls who we went to the beach with the night before joined us along with Linda's boyfriend and Andres and his friend. They said it was a "hike", but it was like a casual stroll uphill. Linda says she always likes to bring her American students up there, and I understand why. It was called Tara Hill and you got to see a great view of the countryside and the coast. It was a beautiful day, so we spent most of the day there.

 Tara Hill view

The weekend was a great experience and a great change of pace for everyone. It was great to get out of the city for once and see the countryside. I finally got to see all the cows and sheep that everyone talks about. I am so mad at myself because I, the girl who loves talking pictures, forgot to get a picture with Linda. So instead i leave you with a nice picture of two people and we can all pretend it is me and Linda! Also that I guess wasn't as short as I thought it would be.

What is this thing called School?

So, I am wicked late on this blog post. But, I thought it would be interesting to talk about the schooling system in Ireland. So, for anyone who is reading this and doesn't want to learn about boring old school, just skip to the next paragraph. So, I was going to originally write this after my first week of school, but look were we are. 3 weeks later and I am finally getting to it. The biggest difference for me here is the size of the classes. The school its self is larger than UNH, but there are only 16 students in Civil Engineering in my grade. I get to go from big lecture classrooms were the professor doesn't even notice if you don't show up, to classes of 16 were everyone knows each other and the professor likes a more interactive classroom setting. I haven't decided which one I like better. Mom and Dad, I'm sure you are thinking that the smaller classrooms the better option. Another strange thing I noticed is that everyone runs on Irish time. That pretty much means that there is no sense of time. People will walk in 15 minutes late to a class. Classes never start on time or end on time for that matter. The first week, my professor showed up to class 20 minutes late and not having the key to unlock the classroom door. Walking around the campus, it feels like I'm back in high school. Everyone just have circles of people in the middle of the main walkway having conversations. No one, I mean no one listens to music while walking to class. I don't know how I would survive my 20 minute walk to class without my music.

Now that my rant of school is over, it's time for the good stuff. So that first week school really wasn't much on my mind. Yes Mom and Dad, I did go to all my classes, but I didn't have any work and on certain days I didn't have class in the afternoon. So on Tuesday, my roommate, Kaylin, and I took a quick trip down to Dun Laoghaire. Yes, everyone that is where in PS I Love You Holly meets Jerry. It was a beautiful coastal town. It was only a 20 minute bus ride from campus, which is wicked nice, but we only stayed for a few hours. We walked down to the end of the pier and got some ice cream. We actually met some guys from Mauritius. I had a very pleasant conversation with them about when I went there a few years ago and how my mom grew up there.

Dun Laoghaire waters

Walk out on the pier in Dun Laoghaire

Then, causally on Thursday 3 of my roommate and I decided we would like to go to another coastal town called Howth. We ended up on the bus that some Irish girls told us was the "school bus". So we had a great hour bus ride with a bunch of elementary school kids. But we did talk to these two girls who gave us some information on what we should do in Howth. That is where we learned about a nice cliff walk. I have to say we were not dressed to do this walk. We all decided before we left that we were going to wear dresses. I was also in flip flops, but i toughed it out and we made it through. We did about 3 miles of walking. But, the views were incredible, I finally felt like I was in Ireland. After all that walking, I was starving, but then again when am I not hungry. In the town, there were a lot of great shops. But, I was craving something gross and greasy. So of course I went for the fish and chips and it was delicious. 

Funny enough, 2 days later was a girl's birthday in my program and we all got together to do a hike she wanted to do. Turns out, it was the Howth cliff walk. But this time we did the whole thing which is about 9 miles. It is supposed to take about 2-3 hours. It took us more like 5-6 hours. We stopped at so many spots on the walk and of course with such a big group, we all ended up getting separated. We also followed this group of girls who were talking about a cute beach area on the path. So we went down to check it out and it was beautiful. It also was such a beautiful day out, so we were all working up a sweat walking around. Then someone had the fantastic idea that we should go swimming. The water was about as warm as it is at Hampton beach in the spring. To say the least, it was numbingly cold. And seeing how none of us planned to go swimming, we all just went in fully clothed. The best part is we were only half way down with the hike by then. But after that long day we were all exhausted and I think everyone fell asleep on the train ride home.  

Arcadia participants go hiking

Just a casual swim in the ocean

View of the Lighthouse on the Cliff Walk

My classic sunglasses pic of the cliffs

 Everyone warned me about the weather in Ireland. They said it was going to always be rainy, but it has been 3 weeks and we have had it only rain once. There has been a ton of sunshine. But, I think that is all I want to write about for now cause I am not a writer and it is very tiring. So, hopefully I'm not wicked late on my next post, but I will talk about my home stay that I did.

College Freshman Round 2

Finally the day came where we got to move into our apartment at the University. Living out of a suitcase in a hotel room isn't the best. And plus I really wanted to meet all my other suite mates. One was on my program, so I already got to meet him. When we got there, there was one of in the apartment, which was nice. I got to unpack all my stuff in the peace and quiet, granted I really didn't have that much stuff. I realized I forgot to pack a lot of stuff other people thought about bring. For one, I didn't have a towel, sheets, and a duvet cover. Those were the big ones, seeing how I am so lazy and it took me a couple of days to go out a buy them. We explored the campus a bit and got to find out how big of a campus is. It is much bigger then UNH. We also got free vouchers on our way in, one of which was for a food truck called Eddie Rockets. Yes, Eddie Rockets. It was like a rip off of Johnny Rockets. When I made it back to my apartment, I finally got to meet the rest of my roommates. Out of the 6 of us, 5 are American and one from Jerusalem. Also it is 5 girls and one guy. Everyone immediately hit it off and we all got along. Of the American's, we were from all over the states (Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Kansas).

Eddie Rocket's food truck

The next day was filled with my favorite things, more orientation. It was all the same old, same old. But later in the day, I got to go to the engineering advisory orientation as in it was mandatory. But finally, I got to meet some Irish students. Up to that point, it was all international students. I got to talk to some second year students about classes and stuff. Then they showed us around and told us all the ins and outs of campus. Turns out the Civil Engineering building is the farthest point on campus from me. It is about a 25 minute walk depending on how fast I walk. And then the Architecture building is even farther. To say the least, I will be getting my fair share of exercise in from just walking to class.

Right outside of the Engineering Building

Civil Engineering Building

The next day was a pretty open day as no one had orientation stuff, so seeing how I brought nothing with me, I needed to do some shopping. We took the bus into a town called Dundrum, which had a huge shopping center. After getting off the bus, I had an immediate flash back to Boston. There right in Ireland was a bridge that looked just like the Zakim Bridge. I was like I have never left Boston. It was very strange.

Random Bridge that looks like Zakim Bridge

After walking up a giant hill, we made it to the shopping center, which was beautiful. They had an area where there was a fountain show going on, just like the Bellagio and a small grass area where people were just chilling out. There was a store called Penny's which was like TJ Maxx. But funny thing is here they have a store called TK Maxx. But I finally got sheets and a towel, which was the most important things to get. My bed was so comfortable that night. But that's it for now. If I am on top of things (which I'm not because this post is a couple days late), my next post will be about my first week of classes!

Dundrum Shopping Center

Celebrate Good Times (late post)

"Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)

Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)

There's a party goin' on right here

A celebration to last throughout the years

So bring your good times, and your laughter too

We gonna celebrate your party with you

Come on now"

That fateful day had come. I was no longer a teenage and get to be at the beautiful age of 20. Most people on the program found out it was my birthday, so I got a lot of random happy birthdays from people I barely knew. It was a good feeling, but for the most part the beginning of my day felt like any other ordinary day of orientation.

Oh orientation! Hated doing it freshman year of college and guess what? I still hate it. We got to sit in a room full of 40 people for 4 hours listening to things we have already been told so much about. There were a few interesting presentations about Irish culture. That was one of the main points they wanted to get through our head. We need to immerse ourselves as much as possible in the Irish culture. And they did this by taking us to a Gaelic sports club. 

Now this is where things got interesting. Gaelic sports are extremely fascinating and complex. I did not know anything about Gaelic sports before going to the sports club, so it was really informational. We learned about Gaelic football, which is a combination of soccer, basketball, and rugby, and hurling, which is considered the world's fastest field sport. Hurling is kind of a combination of baseball, lacrosse, and i guess field hockey. Trying to learn the fundamental basics of these sports was a hoot and a half. Gaelic football was easier for me to pick up because my rusty soccer skills gave me an advantage. While on the other hand, my lack of hand eye coordination did not help with my attempt to learn hurling. The last bit of Irish culture that we got to learn that day was some Irish step dance. That was pretty much me seeing if I could not trip over my own feet as I was hysterically laughing. Even with my background in dance, I still found myself stumbling over my feet a little it. I know, very shameful.

After getting a bit of a sweat on, we got shuttled back to the hotel with wanting to pass out. There was still a bit of a jet lag. But, it was my birthday. So everyone know what that meant. We all rallied and managed to get out to Temple Bar which is the most tourist district of Dublin. It was also the most expensive, but hey I was birthday girl, so did I pay for anything? Not at all. The best thing about the pubs was they all had such great live music. They played a mix of old top 40s and Irish folk music. I didn't think I would know any of the Irish music, but come to find out I did. In the movie PS I Love You, there is a song that the main character sings to his love interest. It is called Galway Girl. Now that song is going to become the song for this trip for me. 

A New Beginning

So the adventure begins... as in a 6 hour flight with no sleep and trying to function for the first day. The flight was like any other flight, cramped with babies crying the entire way. I finally landed with zero sleep and local time being 5:00am. YAY, let's start the day bright and early before the sun has even risen. To say the least it was going to be a very long day for Amanda! I got to awkwardly sit around the arrival hall for an hour guessing if people who looked like student walking by were on my program or not. Turns out a good amount of them were and we all got to take our sleep deprived bodies to the hotel. Luckily, we had nothing scheduled until 12:30, so it felt like the perfect opportunity to take a nap. Or maybe to go back to sleep seeing how we passed out for 4 hours.

Now the actual adventure begins. I had a quick, informal group meeting where I got to meet a lot of the other student on my program. My provider, Arcadia University, provided us with a hop on, hop off bus ticket. Since we were all still really groggy, we need a way to keep ourselves moving and energized. The bus tour might not have been the best choice in the long run. There was some head bobbing during the ride.  But, it was the first time I got to ride a double story tour bus and I got a good overview of the city. One of the stops was the Guinness Factory. We thought about doing it, but we decided we would do it some other day. Got to save some of the fun stuff for later!

Entrance to Tour of Guinness Factory

 

We being the lost tourist that we were, randomly got off at a stop and tried to, on our own, find Grafton Street. Which turned out to be great because we got to see the Spire of Dublin. Literally all it is a giant needle point used as a landmark because in Dublin they have barely any street signs. So not knowing the city, you end up aimlessly walking around. It probably has more significance, but we didn't have the energy to find out. 

Spire of Dublin

 

Finally we meandered our way to Grafton Street. Granted this was after walking in circles for 20 minutes, but we finally figured it out. Life without smart phone GPS is just so tough. Grafton Street is like Ireland's version of Newbury Street. We fit right in as it was mostly tourist walking the streets looking at the shops. Any stranger looking in on our group would think we were the walking dead. We were all spaced out walking around without a clue to wear we were going.

 Grafton Street

 

We somehow managed to find this beautiful park. It turned out to be St. Stephen's Green which is the largest city square in Europe. We got to see some lady get bombarded by birds because she was smart enough to feed them. But behind her was this beautiful swan lake. At this point, I don't think anyone was functioning, so we hopped back on the bus and made our way back to the hotel. 

St. Stephen's Green Swan Lake

Tired as could be we came back and take a little down time before dinner. As in I get time to write my first blog post! YAY! So pretty much the phrase to sum up the day is the walking dead tries to find their way around Dublin! We will see what is in store for the coming days!