First Week Completed!

I have officially been in Ireland for one full week! It seems like I left home with my big bed and home cooked meals years ago. I started my Early Start program on Monday, which is one course based on Irish Literature. So far the text, Elizabeth Bowen's "Last September," we have been reading for the class has been interesting because Mary chose a novel that is set in Cork. On Friday we are going on a field trip to the specific location in North Cork that the novel is specifically based on. The Early Start program is a great way to start the semester because we get a feel for the campus before the other 18,000 students arrive.

Everyone here has been so welcoming and helpful to us everywhere we go. I am definitely fascinated with how much we stand out to everyone here, apparently before we speak it is our clothing choices and teeth that set us apart from everyone. Many of the people that I have met have asked a million questions about what life is like at home, and what the differences are between the United States and Ireland. The differences do not seem that large, but at the most random times I remember how far I am from home. The most difficult adjustment has been shopping at the grocery store. My two roommates and I wandered around the grocery store as if we had never been in one before. We have not been able to locate some of our favorite foods that we did not even realize would be nonexistent in Ireland (pretzels, American cheese, and regular butter). This is obviously just something that we have to get used to and we will definitely make a list before the next time we go back. One big difference is that they charge you for bags, so we had to bring backpacks with us to bring all of our stuff home. I actually think that charging for bags really does dramatically reduce the amount of paper and plastic waste. With the exception of the grocery store, the adjustment to the Irish way of life is probably the easiest change to make. I could definitely get used to the half hour coffee breaks in class, the ability to sit in a restaurant for hours, and that everywhere we go is within walking distance. Life here is just very calm and relaxing.

Some exciting stuff coming up in the next couple of weeks is a three day trip to Dublin with my Early Start class. Then Mary gave us a three day weekend following the trip so we are flying out of Dublin on Thursday to go to London till Sunday!! I cannot wait for either trips, when I get to London I will have to reenact the entire Royal Wedding for sure. I will start posting more pictures when we start going to newer places!!