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Hi! So it's my...fourth(?) day in Ireland--still don't want to go home yet. Our flight got into Shannon at 5:45 am saturday morning, where we found out there's like, 50 students from Quinnipac here. Crazy. Then we waiting until 8:50 for a bus to take from the airport into Cork. The bus brought us from Shannon to Limerick, then down to Cork. From there we took a taxi to Farranlea Hall (where we're living).
Of course, with my luck, the room I was assigned was already taken by someone who was apparently supposed to be leaving but decided not to. I'm not living in Apartment 68 rm 2, and my roomates are all from Ireland. We found out all the Irish students (or most of them) go home on weekends, which is when most of the Americans explore the country/travel out of the country.
After we settled everything saturday, we walked into the city. Its about a 30-40 minute walk depending on how far you're going. We bought all our necessities: blankets, pillows, shampoo, conditioner, cereal etc. Came back, video chatted with mom and dad, took a shower and went to bed around 5pm. Woke up at 11am the next morning. Jet lag much?
Sunday we went into the city centre around 1ish. It was raining and the sidewalks were horribly icy. We discovered some awesome stores of course. We went to Argos, where you walk in and find what you want out of a catalog. Then you write all the catalog numbers down, bring it to the register where they give you a receipt and you wait for them to bring out your items. It was pretty awesome. Then we found our way to Dunnes, which is like a 4 story walmart. Everything there is pretty cheap. We got some food for dinner at Dunnes and trekked the half hour back, the sidewalks weren't as bad but we could see all the ice this time. We came back and had potatoes and beer for our first legitimate dinner. Score.
Monday was orientation. We walked up to campus, everything still very icey, and sat and listened to people talk about the school all day. We got about a 3 hour break to eat lunch and we explored a little bit. The campus is absolutely beautiful, old and new mixed together. After orientation we were all pretty shot, and just made pasta for dinner and made up our class schedules.
Classes started yesterday for everyone else, today for us. The sidewalks are STILL icy, I fell on the way to campus twice this morning. We got ID cards at 10am, then coffee in the student center. Me and Cara explored the library for a little while, then I had my first class at 12 (Of Monsters and Men.) The classes make me feel like i go to a real college, one that you see on TV rather than StRose where there is 15 people a class. All the classes are lectures, and theres at least 25 people a class. After class I wondered back to Farranlea, had lunch and went to my number theory class. I'm little worried about it, but the professor said the course is pretty easy, and I have it 3 times a week (once a week is a tutorial class) which eased my feelings a little. Now I'm back in my room, just ate dinner, and getting ready for my next class (Irish History for Visiting Students). I have no classes tomorrow, so be prepared for exploration stories. Adios!
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Heidi Karen, what an exciting opportunity. I couldn't help but read about your Cork experience. I will be watching for updates. Having fun exploring!! I sure miss my ddays of travels. Look foreward to your pictures too!! Heidi