There's a first time for everything: 14-20 Jan

Second week of classes down. I won't go into too much detail because it was basically the same as last week. The only big difference is the addition of the choir to my schedule on Monday nights. It's not exactly what I thought it would be. It's more of a community choir than a University choir. The music is certainly interesting. We're doing Shenandoah and a piece in Irish. That one is intimidating because the pronunciation for the word does not match the spelling. For example, the first word is sliebh. The pronunciation sounds a lot like leave...Oh was I confused when we started singing. Even some of the Irish members were confused on the pronunciation. I'm not sure what other pieces we'll do, but it will certainly be fun to see how it goes.

On Tuesday nights in Blarney, local musicians go to the pub to play traditional music. Margaret, our dance instructor, invited everyone to come out, and since I can't pass up a night of fantastic music, you can guess where I was that night. We had some great fun and got to watch Margaret dance. A little birdie had told me she was in Riverdance at one point, but I couldn't find her listed. Unless she had danced before 1995, which would make her under 10 at the time, I don't think she did it. However, she is a fantastic dancer. I'll have to get her permission and maybe put up a video of her.

Wednesday's bit event was earlier in the day. I am working a literature review as part of a research project for UNK. When looking for information on a region or a population, the best place to go is to someone who is involved with said region/population. I contacted the UCC Social Work Department and was forwarded to a professor, Alastair, with specific interest in racism and whiteness, sort of what my review will involve. So now I have some small guidance from a professional in Cork, and have maybe forged a link between the Social Work Department in Kearney and the one in Cork. Alastair certainly seemed interested in getting more students from the US involved in the department. In regards to the research, he forwarded several links to me and has given me much to consider. I certainly got a new light on things in Cork, and Ireland, that I was not expecting. You learn something new everyday.

Thursday was my first nervous breakdown. While planning for the upcoming weekend trip, I got a good look at my finances. ... My heart about stopped when I started adding things up. However, I know things are do-able if I just keep a tight reign on my spending. No more eating out because I'm too lazy to make something from what's in the kitchen. The situation is working out now. A bit of advice for anyone planning a trip: bring a heck of a lot more money than you think you need because expenses pop up out of nowhere.

Dunguaire Castle

The Cliffs of Moher

After dance class on Friday, in which I learned a new step for the reel, we took off for Galway. We didn't have any plans for when we got there. A few general ideas of what we wanted to see and do for sure, but nothing concrete. The bus ride was long, especially since I had missed lunch. The cit of Galway isn't particularly large. However, it was incredibly friendly, and I decided if I ever came back to Ireland, Galway would be at the top of my list of places to return. We took things easy on Friday night, walked around the city a bit, headed towards the bay, essentially just relaxed. Saturday was our big tour day. We caught a tour bus heading to the Cliffs of Moher and stopped at a few other big sights along the way, such as Dunguaire Castle. That's right, I saw my first castle. It wasn't as big as I was expecting, but it was also not Buckingham Palace. If I'm ever around in the summertime, there are great medieval banquets and field days at Dunguaire. That would be so much fun. Anyway, we saw so many different things, such as the ocean. First time I saw the ocean was standing on the Cliffs of Moher. Incredible. That night, after a quick dinner of giant pizza slices, we went on a pub crawl. If you really want to get to know a town, wander a bit during the day, then do a pub crawl in the evening. A large part of the crawl participants were foreigners studying English at a school in Dublin and had also come to Galway for the weekend. Somehow we got on the topic of dancing, specifically Irish dancing. It came out that I was learning. A Brazilian offered an exchange: I would show/teach him to step dance and he would show/teach me a Brazilian dance. It was good fun. I'll have to see if I can get the video from Jemma. It certainly gave me something to talk about the rest of the night because i had people asking me when and where had learned. Sunday afternoon we decided to do a walking tour. However, it wasn't particularly interesting and it was cold outside. So when we got to the Claddagh museum, we dropped off and had fun looking at all the handmade jewelry inside. We even bought a couple pieces. There's a tradition behind Claddagh rings, which are passed from mother to daughter. If you are open to a new relationship, the heart should be pointed away from you when you wear the ring. But if you are in a committed relationship, the heart should be pointed toward you So you can tell someone's relationship status by simply checking out their Claddagh ring. After a warming lunch, we headed back to Cork. After a beautiful, clear weekend in Galway, it was difficult to return to the ever misty Cork. But, life moves on and Monday brought a new week of classes.

Attempt at Brazilian Dancing

Paulnabrone Portal Tomb

Harry Potter was filmed here...to find where and what scene.

Home sweet home

So, living arrangements at UCC are a bit different than the traditional residence hall at UNK. We are in a more apartment style situation. Each of us has our own bedroom and bathroom, which is incredibly nice. There is a common kitchen/living room area. Our room is on the 5th floor, but realy since there is a ground floor and then 1st floor, it's like we're on the 6th. I'm not going to complain too much because the exercise is doing me good. I have done fairly well at avoiding the elevator. Beyond our apartment is a common room with desktop computers, couches, tv, and vending machines. Next to that is the laundrette. The apartment complex is broken into 'blocks'. We are in Block D, while the laundrette and common room are in Block B. So it's a fairly easy walk to do laundry. Farther than at home, but I will be fine with where it is because at least it is in the same apartment complex. Back to 5th floor of Block D. There are four people in our apartment, including myself. Two of the students, Jocelyn and Katherine are from the Northeast US. Jemma, the final flatmate, is from Australia. I was a bit disappointed to learn that I would not be living with an Irish student, but so far the arrangement has been a positive one. The University does not provide a meal plan, which from my understanding is a uniquely American design, much like Greek life. It is necessary that we provide our own meals so that we do not have to eat out several times a week, which would get expensive fast. Luckily, there is a Tesco Express just down the road. Tesco is simply a grocery store with a few other essentials such as alcohol. I am extremely lucky in my flatmates in that they can all cook to at least some extent. Jemma has proven herself to be an excellent chef. This is fortunate because I am a horrid cook. Many of the people I know can this as true. I have set my mind to learning something while surrounded by so many talented people. So far I could theoretically bread a chicken. Theoretically. So, up to this point, Victoria Lodge has been very welcoming and is quickly becoming home. It will not replace Kearney or Nebraska, but for now it is a fantastic place to live.

Settling In: 3-6 Jan

Our first day on campus was largely spent in the Devere Hall in the Aras na mac Leinn, or Student Centre. Our time was filled with a series of information sessions. We learned about the various classes offered, how to register with immigration, he best way to get involved through clubs, societies, and the chaplaincy. We also had a quick tour of campus and a short lunch with some of the Irish students. We were dismissed for the day with an open invitation to the pub (and free pizza) that evening. So of course, more students showed up than was expected and a change of plans was made. After two or three pubs, all of which were closed, we finallly found ourselves at an establishment that was barely large enough to fit everyone. Many people were standing, and those who were sitting were crowded. Despite the crowd, though, it was a good time. We all met students from around the world, mostly from the northeast US.

Saturday was a good day for relaxing. After having our heads filled with so many things to do, it was nice to have a break and maybe get some of them done. I took the time to make a preliminary class schedule and examine the various clubs and societies. My interest was peaked by the parachute club and the Simon community society, which does volunteering and community service. Classes were much more difficult to decide on. The first week of classes is referred to as "shopping week". Basically, registration doesn't have to be finished until the first week of classes is over, and so the purpose of going to class is to decided if it is a topic that is interesting. Some of the classes I had been planning on taking were not available anymore, so I got to pick almost all new ones, including the Rise and Fall of Athens, Management of Public Health Systems, Religions of East Asia, Introduction to Modern Irish, Step Dancing (Old Style), Democracy and Citizenship, and Choir. My schedule looks very exciting this semester. So essentially, the entire day was spent whittling down the to do list created by orientation.

Sunday was started with mass at the Honan Chapel on campus. It was interesting to experience the Irish service because there are elements that are practiced universally by the Catholic Church, but there are some points which are flexible. Again, the day was filled with relaxation and letting our bodies recoup from the jet-lag. After dinner, some of us sat down and began talking about where we wanted to travel. It was fun to talk about, but intimidating to know that soon we would have to act on these imaginings and make solid plans. But, we made a good start and have some general ideas from which to work. The only downside to the weekend was the onset of a nasty cold. I have a terrible sounding cough and a dreadfully runny nose. Probably a combination of allergies and really moist air.

Sheets and Shampoo: 2 Jan

Fun fact: Irvine is apparently an Irish name. The gentleman at customs asked me if I had any Irish in the background. When I said no, we're Polish, he gave me a funny look and said it was definitely not a Polish name. So I asked at home. Turns out we are Polish, from the Erikson line, but that my dad's great-grandma had remarried and so her son changed his last name to Irvine. I thought that was interesting, but was a bit disappointed that there was no Irish in me.

Anyway, I made it safely through the airport in Cork, Ireland. My taxi driver was a bit rude, but I'm sure his job can get boring real fast. Of course, I had to check into my room right away. The guy behind the counter must have gotten a chuckle watching me because I was so flustered and exhausted by that point. And of course, the room I was assigned was on the fifth floor. Fortunately, there was an elevator so I made it upstairs with my bags. It was well past noon at that point so I decided to hunt down some lunch and get some of the essentials for my room, such as sheets and shampoo. When I asked at reception where the best place to go shopping was, I was directed to the Penney's up the road, about a 20 minute walk. As you can imagine, going to a big shopping center in a foreign country by myself was kind of intimidating. I had to go though. So I wandered the shopping center, trying to look like I knew what was going on. I found several of the items on my list at Penney's. However, there was no food. So I wandered some more. Just as I was giving up, a Tesco pops out of nowhere. If Tesco and Penney's were squished together, they would be like a Wal-mart without an electronics department. Penney's was the home goods store, and Tesco had just about everything else.  After finding just a few things on my list, I decided to call it a day. I'm not sure how heavy my bags were, but I was sure there was at least 25 pounds in each hand. As tired as I was, I knew I wouldn't be able to walk 20 minutes back with those bags in my hands. So, I took the bus. First time I have ever ridden a city bus in my life, at least by myself. It was kind of scary, but I was out of it enough that it wasn't too bad. By the time I returned to the room, my other roommates had checked in and were just deciding to go down to the shopping center to get what they needed. I decided to stay home and do some unpacking. After dinner, a simple pasta, we all went back to our rooms to do our own thing. I was so tired that I decided to go to bed at about 7:30. Unfortunately, at about midnight, I woke up. After reading for just a half hour, I fell asleep again, not getting up until noon the next day.

Leaving on a jet ... You know, I never really liked that song... 1-2 Jan

Well, I'm off. Flying isn't as great as it's made out to be. All it's done for me so far is make my ears hurt and give me a headache. Ok my first embarrassing moment, I didn't know what to do for security. There was just a pile of bins and I had to know what to do with them. So I asked the lady in front of me. She was very nice and explained quite well. Second embarrassing moment, I sat in the wrong seat. Not seeing the seat numbers, I thought I was supposed to just pick a seat. Then a family came by, speaking onyy Spanish and tried to explain I was in one of their seats. I figured out what was going on quite quickly because I was afraid it was going to happen. My first flight, from Omaha to Chicago was in a tiny little thing. There were two seats on one side of the aisle and just one on the other. I was lucky enough to get the single seat in front of the emergency exit. The wing was just behind me, so I had a nice view. The landscape was pretty cool, like a piece of white vinyl stretched over the land with cotton lightly scattered over top. The towns and the hills and such looked like they had been gently etched into a canvas. Sister Eileen would tell me it was a GOD moment.

After landing in Chicago I headed straight for my next flight. The only problem, there was no gate number on my boarding pass. Starting to feel slightly panicked, I walked. I didn't have any idea if I was going in the right direction or not, I just picked one. Luck was with me because I found not only a restroom, but also an arrival/departure board. Plus, my flight was in the direction I had been walking. It wasn't hard to find the gate once I knew where I was going. When I turned in my boarding pass, the lady took it to another counter and brought me a new boarding pass. To myself I thought, oh no, I gave her the wrong pass. She told they had moved my seat and was I ok with that? I said sure since she was putting me in the exit seat, which has more leg room. And it's a good thing she moved me. My original seat had been clear in the back of the plane, while the new one was right as we entered. As I was settling into my new seat, a couple that had been split asked if I was willing to trade them seats.  Since I'm not too picky, I told them it was fine with me. So I flew from Chicago to Manchester in the exit seat near the middle of the plane. It was nice because I wasn't right next to the main door, nor was I clear in the back.

Once I landed in Manchester, I had to go through all the hoops again, plus some others. I had to go through security, again, my boots set the alarm off, apparently there is enough liquid in contacts to trigger an alert, then to top it off, the lady at the UK Border desk and I did not communicate with each other very well. She had to find me at the gate in order to straighten everything out. Waiting for my final flight, it hit me how far I was from home. Nowhere in that airport would I find a Nebraska accent. Maybe an American one, but definitely not Nebraskan. By the time I got through the gate and somehow managed to get my carry-on in the overhead, I was ready to be done flying. I had been sitting for so long, I wasn't sure I'd be able to walk again. I once thought it would be fun to be a flight attendant, but today has made me realize that job is the wrong choice for me. Just three flights in 15 hours and I'm ready to keel over. One of the cool moments during the flight from Manchester was the clouds. They were like a secret landscape that was simply beautiful. It looked like a piece of cotton had been given to child who was allowed to pick and pull at it however the child pleased. Going over the clouds and seeing that definitely made the the last leg of the journey easier.