Classes

People have seem to be asking me how school/classes have been so I figured I'd post it on here. Here's the list of my classes:

1) Modern Irish (Gaelic)
2) Intro to Irish Traditional Music
3) History of the Media in Ireland
4) Intro to Irish History
5) Principles of Insurance for Finance

Classes are going well so far, not much homework really (fortunately). We are mostly graded on one or two papers and an exam or two during the semester. The only class that attendance factors into my grade is Modern Irish, which is three days a week for an hour. My other classes only meet once a week for an hour or two. My favorite class so far has to be Modern Irish (very exciting to learn the language of my ancestors).

On another note, I was supposed to have my first soccer game yesterday, but the game was canceled once we got there because the pitch (field) was frozen over. Big game apparently this weekend so looking forward to that! And some family flies over the pond in two weeks time! Hope all is well.

Visit to Limerick with the McGinns!

Had a lovely weekend with the McGinns! They took me to my first Munster rugby game, which was an incredible experience. I love how everyone sings here instead of typical chanting done at sporting events in the states (much more classier). Made it seem like I was the unlucky charm with a 0-0 first half, but thankfully there was a lot of action with a comeback victory for Munster 28-14! All the action was at our end of the field as well! That was definitely a great experience. Checked out some spots in Limerick as well as the University of Limerick and the night scene with Christina and Justin. Also had homemade fish n chips, which were amazing! Thank you McGinn family for having me, coming back soon! I have some photos from our walk along the Shannon River:

[Little Fisherman's house along the Shannon River]

[Some local fisherman]

Here are some photos that Christina took during the weekend as well:

[Sarah and Me]

[Sarah, Christina, and I in the People's Park]

[Justin, Sarah, Christina, Me, and Jack after the Munster game]

Kinsale

Took long enough to get these up but they're finally here! Went to Kinsale two weekends ago; it was a bit of a stormy day to go, but it was lovely to see anyway. Definitely want to go back during the tourist season when the weather is better and more things will be open. Was able to go to Charles Fort though which was a hike, but beautiful nonetheless. Loved the streets of Kinsale though! So colorful and tightly squeezed!

Some other differences

Here are a few other differences I've also noticed, trying to keep a list so I don't forget! (Getting used to all the lingo so its becoming normal to me)

1) You're not referred here as freshman, sophomore, junior, senior; instead you're called a first year, second year, third year, fourth year.
2) Houses that are SOLD are SALE AGREED.
3) Public buses come as they please
4) Never tried Brown Sauce until my visit to Limerick
5) Instead of "Call me," you say "Ring me"
6) Close to all cars are Manual and not Automatic
7) Cars and streets are much narrower than the states (cars and streets in the states tend to be pretty wide)

TRAD night

Went to a pub last night called An Spailpín Fánac where students play trad (Irish Traditional music) every Monday night. It's located right across the street from the Beamish and Crawford brewery so a pint was only 3.50 Euro! If you get there early they bring you out free baskets of chips and sausages. It was great craic, a bunch of students just strumming on fiddles and piping flutes. Great atmosphere for a classic Irish pub. Definitely have found my Monday hangout spot.

Success!

I believe I've had all (if not most) of the beers brewed here in Ireland. The list consists of:

Guinness
Murphy's
Beamish
Heineken
Carlsberg
Harp
Bulmer's Irish Cider
Smithwick's
Franciscan Micro Brewery

See anything missing? Luckily, Cork is the home of Beamish, Murphy's, Heineken, and the Jameson factory as well as the Franciscan Well Micro Brewery.

Differences from the states

Figured I'd tell you guys of some of the differences from Ireland to the States:
1) Driving on the Left side of the road/Drivers are on the right side of the car
2) Metric system meaning Kilograms, Kilometers,
3) The Euro vs. the Dollar (Also no single Euro bills, only single Euro coins as well as 2 Euro coins)
4) No Tylenol, but Panadol
5) Drinking age is 18, so some places look like High School hang out spots
6) Hygiene is less conscious here (Europe in general though)
7) The men wear sporting sweat jump suits, ex: Munster Rugby
8) Lots of make-up is seen as super stylish as well
Words:
9) Never hear the word "line" being used here, it's always called the "queue"
10) Ketchup is called "red sauce"
11) French fries are called "chips"

I'll keep thinking before I get use to these differences!

Pictures of Blarney Castle

My sim card was acting a little funny so I only got to take so many pictures, but here are some others from my friends cameras:

[Kissing the Blarney Stone!]

[Locked up!]

Settling in

Hey everyone,

I figured a blog would be the easiest way to share my thoughts and photos with you guys. Almost all settled in. I went to Penneys (a clothing department store) last week and purchased all of my beddings, towels, and room supplies. I also have been to the English Market (basically an farmers market that's open everyday and very cheap) and Tesco (a mini Cosco, Dad would love it!) for other groceries and necessities. I've been making great use out of my kitchen as well so I can save some Euros for other things. Last week was mostly Orientation, figuring out my classes (which is still going on), and getting my bearings with Cork. I feel extremely comfortable and feel as if I know where most places are in the City (at least that I need to know for now). The best night that I've had out here so far was last Friday. We decided to do a Pub Crawl and on the third pub, we all went out in the back crowded on empty kegs joint in singing Irish Traditional songs, which made me feel right at home as if I was at a family gathering. It felt great being able to join in with them, definitely looking forward to more nights like that. Anyway, the Guinness here is obviously amazing. We went out the first night to some random pub just to grab our first Guinness. Looking forward to that for the rest of the semester. Over the weekend we went to Blarney Castle. Literally explored every inch of the entire place! I wanted to make the most of it, so it was definitely worth all of the walking. I even kissed the Blarney Stone. It has definitely been weird getting used to the rest of the world and their metric system (thanks U.S. for being difficult!) but I've gotten used to it for the most part. That's it for the most part. I'm going to add pictures soon from Blarney Castle and will take photos of my school so you guys can see! It's so nice though, unbelievable architecture. Hope everyone's doing well, take care!