"Freshman" Again

Hello, readers! 

For starters, I just want to say that I'm very happy that my blog has allowed me to connect with so many people from home that are interested to hear about my experience, and I'm glad that I have found a way to stay in touch and reach out.

Yesterday was my first day of class, and I felt like a freshman attending my first college class all over again. To summarize my day, I would say that my first obstacle was finding my lecture hall. After the thirty minute walk to campus from my apartment (exercise is not a problem in this town, no wonder Europeans are so skinny!), I wandered around with a map until an Irish student asked me if I needed help navigating my lecture hall. I'm sure you can all picture this pretty easily, I am navigationally challenged in my own home town, so adding a foreign country on top of everything was quite a treat.

I found my first class, Human Resources Management. It is taught by two professors, one being British and one being native Irish. The accent was manageable and they both seem very educated on the topic and will be a good lecturers. The class started at 1:05 pm, and they were delighted to be starting fifteen minutes earlier than usual. (Irish professors have a reputation for not showing up until 20 minutes after the start time). The class will be pretty straight forward - there are two exams, one of them being our final exam, which is 75% of our total grade. Every week we will be learning about different topics like corporate social responsibility or Irish HR Corporations and how they utilize their programs to stimulate employee involvement and work ethic, but there will be no required homework or readings. 

After my class, I found myself in one of the 15 restaurants on campus. This one was filled with Irish students reuniting after a summer away from each other while eating Subway and Starbucks (No, you can't escape it, those chain restaurants are everywhere). For the first time since arriving, it really hit me that I don't know a soul in this room. Intimidating? Yes. But, I put my chin up and tried to act like a native. If I didn't open my mouth the entire time I was there, no one would be able to tell I'm American! But, it seems that people really like the American accent, it is especially a hit amongst the Irish females. (American men, take note.) I believe that feeling out of place and awkward is part of being an international student, and it helps us to build character and grow. Throughout this semester I will be pushing myself beyond my comfort zone, but I will be grateful for it at the end of the day. I know that once I can join the kayaking club, hiking club, and other student organizations, I can start recognizing faces and build a community here at NUIG. 

An interesting thing happened earlier today while I was emailing a professor. I started my email with the usual greeting of "Hello," at the top left hand corner, and continued explaining my purpose of the email. In the response from my professor, she pointed out that it was improper to address her that way. Apparently you need to address everyone with the beginning of "Dear ______". I felt terrible! I didn't know if it was taken offensively in Ireland if you greeted someone that way? Well, I'm great at making first impressions, aren't I? 

Here's the most beautiful part of all of this - I don't have class before 1:00 pm ever, and I don't have class on Tuesdays and Fridays. Tomorrow will be a big day for me, I have Management, Marketing, and Corporate Law lectures to attend. I will have class until 8 pm, and a half hour walk home, so it will be a full day! I hope I can find my way around, be on time, and learn something while I'm at it.

Today I opened an Irish bank account and spent the day cleaning my apartment, researching my next European getaway, and went for a run by the ocean. I think I could get used to life as an Irish student. My roommates and I took a walk along the ocean tonight after dinner and stopped into a little café for tea, and it was delightful. Hours later we were reading an Irish guidebook, and that exact café was highlighted as one of the best in Galway and had the best hospitality. It's funny, the things you discover without even trying.

The Irish soccer team has moved into our apartment building area, so the volume level during the late hours of the night has increased dramatically. Irish boys are strange - during the day they are awkward and quiet, but at night they are talkative and on the verge of being too talkative. A group of us international students were walking to the University Pub to check it out the other night, and two random Irish men walked up to us and said, "Hey'ya, where's the party at tonight?" We all exchanged awkward glances, waited too long to speak, and lamely answered that we were just walking to the University for the evening - safe to say that they didn't join us for the evening.


Another set of cultural learning experiences to note:

1. McDonalds in Ireland are not open 24 hours.. After 10 pm, don't even try. 
2. BUT, SuperMacs = Ireland's version of McDonald's.. Open late :)
3. Don't try to pet the cute dogs running around town without leaches, their owners are somewhere nearby and they don't appreciate you cooing at the "cuteness". This is not a conversation starter.
4. This isn't a small town where everyone waves, if you smile at a stranger, it's creepy. I need to tone down my Minnesota nice tendencies because I'm just getting weird looks.
5. Once again, look the opposite direction when crossing the street because, they drive on the other side of the road.
6. When someone asks you how tall you are, try to avoid explaining in feet, that will give them no reference. To do: calculate my height in meters.
7. I can play an Irish flute! Yes, I tried yesterday.

My roommate, Astrid, on our walk this evening by the Galway Bay.

A great attempt at being artsy.

Until next time, have a good one! Sending all of my love to the States.

"Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." - Unknown