Róisín Dubh

Eileen and me

at the Roisin Dubh

I wasn't much of a techno fan before I got to Ireland.  Sure, it was fun to bob my head back and forth for about thirty seconds when someone played it at a party, but then it just got boring.  I never knew how to dance to techno and I thought all techno sounded exactly the same, so I didn't really like it.   A lot of the pubs/clubs that we have been going to play nothing but techno--and it's grand.  It is so much fun to dance to and it really doesn't matter if you're good at dancing or not because everyone is just there to have fun.  Also, usually you aren't really dancing with a specific person, mostly in a group of people who are all dancing just as crazily as you are.  Róisín Dubh  is the pub that you can usually find me at on a Friday or Saturday or Sunday or Monday or Tuesday (you get it) night.  In the front of the pub and on the second and third floor, it is just a normal Irish pub with multiple bars and multiple stools/tables for people to sit at.  When you go to the back of the first floor, things get crazy.  The first night that we went there, after a grand suggestion from our super cute campus tour guide, a guy was playing the fiddle in the back of the first floor.  When I say he played the fiddle, he didn't just play the fiddle.  He had it set up to a synthesizer and he had a keyboard and a whole bunch of other electronic things.  He played the fiddle like a fiddle, he played it like a guitar, he plucked the strings, he basically did anything that you could imagine.  His name is Daithi O Dronai and he is amazing.  YouTube him. 

Classes...what classes?!

Modules begin tomorrow.  I'm trying to incorporate the Irish language into my life and modules are what they call classes.  I have no idea what classes I am taking.  I have no idea which building holds which classes.  The Irish do it so much different than in the States and they are pretty unorganized (they would admit that to you themselves.) 

Basically, modules begin tomorrow but we do not register for specific modules until the end of next week.  We can choose whatever module we want to go to and just attend it(or not attend it) for the next two weeks.  After that, we register for the classes that we like.  It is very strange but also makes sense.  You don't have to go through all of the drop/add, withdrawal B.S that we have to do in the States when you realize halfway through the semester that you have no idea why you are in that class.  So, I'm going to campus tomorrow with a few friends to wander around aimlessly and possibly walk into a few classes or check out the lovely scenery on campus.

Everything about Galway and NUIG is amazing, minus the €195 that I had to pay for a five-month gym membership.  I'm thinking that it will give me a reason to actually go to the gym...that and the fact that cute Irishmen work there and work out there.  The campus has some old, mid-evil buildings but also some new, modern buildings.  It's a semi-small campus but it is somewhat confusing.  It's the only campus in Ireland that is bi-lingual, so everything is written first in Irish and then(in much smaller font) in English. The campus will take some getting used to but I think after the first two weeks I should be ok.

Slag

The term 'slag' can be used in various ways.  It can be used as a verb by saying, 'Oh, I'm just slagging!'  Or it can be used as a noun by saying, 'She's such a slag.'  It can even be used by saying, 'He was just taking a slag.'  I don't know what type of grammar that would be (my mom would be disappointed) but...whatever. 

You WANT to be slagged.  If an Irishmen is 'slagging' you, it means that he is teasing you or making fun of you.  They only do it when they like you and you want to slag them right back to show them that you aren't offended and that you understand it's all just a joke.  As I walked into a pub in Dublin, called 'The Auld Dubliner,' on our last night there(great craic if I do say so myself), an Irishmen walked up to me and started slagging me.  We had just learned the term earlier that day in orientation and I was so happy that I got slagged!  It kind of sounds inappropriate...but it's all in good fun, until you get called a 'slag'.

Being called a 'slag' in Ireland is the equivalent to being called a 'slut' back in the States.  No one wants to use the term but sometimes it is just necessary. 

While in Dublin, other than learning the local vocabulary, we took a bus tour through the city.  It was freezing and windy but we decided to sit on the OPEN top of a double-decker bus.  It made for great sight seeing, but also for numb fingers and cold ears.  Although it was bitter cold outside, it was a beautiful, sunny day in Dublin.

 

We also took a tour of the Guinness factory and the Jameson factory.  Both were interesting but the Jameson one was definitely better than the Guinness factory.  At the beginning of the tour, I, along with seven other people, volunteered to participant in an experiment at the end.  The experiment turned out to be a taste test between Scotch Whiskey Johnny Walker, American Whiskey Jack Daniels and Irish Whiskey Jameson.  Of course Jameson won out on the taste test but it was interesting to taste all three back to back and really realize how good Jameson really is. 

The first night in Dublin, we went to 'The Quays Bar' (pronounced 'keys').  I had a grand time there when I was in Ireland two years ago and it was just as grand this time around.  There was a live band playing awesome Irish music.  So many locals were out that night because they had holiday the next day because of the new year. 

Dublin was a grand time but I am happy to finally be in settled in Galway, the best city in the world.

It has begun!

I have arrived safely in Dublin, Ireland! 

The airplane ride was not bad at all...I ended up sitting next to a girl who graduated from Dickinson, so it was pretty cool to chat with her about Carlisle.  Her and her boyfriend were on the way to visit her sister who moved to Dublin years ago and they introduced me to a monk who they met in the terminal.  His name is Brother Columbo and he is a young guy who has a crazy long beard.  He was very funny and nice; telling stories about his life before becoming a monk and making jokes about tickling people while they are sleeping on the plane.  He is originally from Dublin, Ireland and moved to NYC eight days before 9/11.  Very interesting guy and he told me that I had a good handshake...which is something that I've never been told before. 

Currently, we are relaxing at the Abbey Court Hostel in center city Dublin.  We have a lunch at noon that is mandatory and then we have the rest of the day free.  I have to go shopping for some essentials after lunch because, of course, I forgot to transfer my toiletry bag from my checked bag to my carry on and my checked bags are on their way to Galway, while I am in Dublin.  So now...I will nap because I got zero hours of sleep on the plane!

In a week...

...I will be in the fabulous country of Ireland!  As each day comes and goes, I feel like I get more prepared but less prepared....if that makes sense. 

I am getting more mentally prepared because I think that I am completely ready now to leave the states for five months and start a new adventure.  The past week and a half spent in Carlisle has been relaxing and full of festivities, but I have realized that it is definitely time to get out of here, be in a city and be on my own.  Don't get me wrong, I love Carlisle and West Chester, but I need something new and different. 

I am less prepared because I realize that I have about five days to finish making all of my last minute purchases, say bye to everyone, and last but definitely not least, pack.  Packing will be a struggle for me because I always over-pack.  The advice given from past study abroad students is always, "You will never regret packing too little," but I keep thinking that I will!  I never know what I will be in the mood to wear or what the weather will be like or what kind of clothes the Irish wear to go out, etc. 

There is still a lot to do before I leave, but I'm sure that when 7pm on Saturday rolls around, I will be completely prepared. 

Final days at WCU....

After sitting in the library for six consecutive hours now....I've decided that it's time to take a break from the always exciting Political Communication studying and write my first blog ever!

Finals start tomorrow....am I prepared?  Partially.  I leave West Chester on Thursday...am I ready?  Somewhat.  I have to say goodbye to all of my college friends throughout the week...do I want to?  No.  I leave for Ireland in exactly 18 days, 13 hours and 29 minutes...give or take a few seconds...am I excited? YES!!!

Studying abroad is something that I've always known that I wanted to do.  Being in Ireland for five months will change my life completely.  As much as I know I want to go and as much as I know that it will be an experience that I want/need/have to expose myself to, I am terrified to leave my comfort zone of West Chester, Carlisle and the United States of America in general.  


But that's what studying abroad is all about, right?  Getting out of your comfort zone and figuring out who you really are.  I can not wait to see the person that I become while in Ireland; hopefully a more independent, confident version of myself.

And now that I've procrastinated enough...there is exactly 18 days, 13 hours and 9 minutes until I leave for the Emerald Isle...