Elise's Irish Adventures: Orientation, Sunny Days, and More

Hello again!

As my first weekend in Galway is coming to an end, I thought I'd catch you all up on what I've been up to. Last Thursday and Friday was the International Student Orientation. We got a ton of information thrown at us, but it felt really good to have all of my ongoing questions answered. I also learned a lot about the university I'll be attending here, National University of Ireland, Galway. It was established in 1845, and was one of the first colleges in Ireland that didn't discriminate against religion. It is continuously ranked very high; it is the highest ranked university in Ireland outside of Dublin, and it is ranked in the top 3% of universities worldwide. Another cool thing about NUIG is that nearly 20% of the student population is comprised of international students, so I am definitely not alone! I've already met students from all over the world here. We also got all of the information I'd been anxiously awaiting about classes. Of course, after going through the list of classes I could take, I had a list of 14 that I was interested in. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I want to take everything! I narrowed it down to six courses, but I few of them I have to apply to get into. I'm already signed up for Irish for Beginners, and my history class (Ireland in a Global Context, 1922-2002) has no limit so I should be fine there. I applied to take Exploring the Indigenous Arts, a class about Irish music, song and dance that is only offered to visiting students from the United States. I also want to take two Sociology seminars, but there are only spots for two international students in each one, so we'll see if I get in. Last, I'm going to take Intro to GIS (Geographic Information System), which is a class I've been wanting to take at Madison anyways.

Enough boring stuff! On Thursday night, I got to go eat dinner with an Irish family! My Grandma's neighbor and good friend has family here in Galway, and they invited me over for dinner, which was so kind of them, especially since they don't even know me! They answered all of questions, told me about Irish culture, and we enjoyed a delicious meal of pork, ham, potatoes, veggies, gravy and cranberry sauce. The best part was the mulled wine, which is a drink that a lot of Irish make for Christmas. To make it, you heat up fruit with spices like cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, then add the wine at the end so you don't cook out the alcohol. It tastes kind of like a hot spiced apple cider mixed with sangria. After dinner, I went to a pub with them where their cousin was playing live Irish music. It was exactly what you picture in your mind when you think of a pub in Ireland- there were old men sitting at the bar drinking Guinness, people running into friends that they know, and random people joining in on the music by singing or playing their own instruments. I loved it, and I'll definitely go back!

On Saturday, I did some more exploring of the city, and enjoyed a gorgeous walk along the water at Claddagh Park. I also went inside the Galway Cathedral and lit a candle for Coco. I've decided to light a candle for her in every cathedral I visit throughout Europe. I also bought a St. Jude charm for her old charm bracelet, since she's my inspiration for helping my sorority, Tri Delta, raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I'm hoping to also get a celtic cross charm and a Claddagh charm while I'm here.

On a different note, on Saturday night I had my first experience at a nightclub. It was interesting to say the least. They played a lot of 80s and 90s pop, there were a lot of guys wearing Abercrombie and Hollister, a lot of girls in five inch heels with fake tan and poofed hair, and I have a feeling that clubs back home are a little different. It was fun, but I think next time I'm going to stick to the pubs!

I had a lazy Sunday. I figured out when and where the classes I want to take are, did laundry, and finished reading the book I started on the plane. My roommates finally moved in today, so I no longer have to live alone! My roommate Julia is from Spain, and after she taught me how to use the washing machine, we met up with two of her friends at a pub tonight. They were all so nice, and I learned a lot about both Spanish and Irish culture. My other roommate, Jonas, is from Ireland, and he just moved back in late tonight, so I haven't gotten the chance to talk with him very much. I'm very excited to get to know both of them!

Tomorrow is my first day of classes, but I only have one class, my history class. I'm excited to see how classes here are different than at home! I added a bunch of pictures below from my continued exploring of the city. Saturday was a rare sunny day, which made the city even more beautiful! Although I don't mind that it rains a lot, because that's what makes everything so green.

Thanks for reading!

Elise