Well, I'm officially the worst blogger ever. I am now resolved to keep this updated with my thoughts and adventures as I live the Irish life. Therefore, I am going to start with an overview as opposed to a day by day account.
Firstly, Ireland is beautiful once you get out of the city. Yes, cities are beautiful in their certain aspects, but I didn't come to Ireland for buildings. I came for breathtaking scenery! Unfortunately, I didn't find that until I traveled up to the North Coast two weeks ago, but it was well worth the wait.
I am currently residing in the splendid little town of Maynooth, which would be more of a village if you took away the University. The culture here basically revolves around the students, and it is a very interesting culture. All of the Irish students go home on the weekends (apparently they still don't know how to do laundry after 20 years), so all of the partying happens on the weeknights. There is a different pub/club for each night of the week (except Tuesdays, don't ask me why...), which is where you will find everyone. I don't know how anyone goes to class after staying up until the wee hours of the morning, but they do.
I am really thankful for the Irish university lifestyle at the moment though because they don't do much. Most of my classes, or modules, are only once a week, and no one assigns homework. In my English class, my entire grade will be based on a two-hour final exam! However, this gives me a necessary break from grueling U.S. studies and more time to travel.
Here are some more interesting facts I've learned along the way: The Irish have something against non-fat milk, so I have to buy it in 1 litre containers; they DO have peanut butter here!; they do not have Mac & Cheese (except in a can?); it takes twice (sometimes 3x) as long for something to get done here than it does in America; tea cakes/biscuits are yummy!; coffee, not so much; Irish care WAY more about their appearances than Americans (they actually dress up for class); the Southern diet was invented here (in my opinion); you bag your own groceries; sandwich toppings are odd, yet delicious!; there is a surprising amount of foreign food eaten here (mostly asian), but the only thing they use tortillas for are wraps.
Going to Cork this weekend, so hopefully I'll have more news soon!
