Classes here are run in a very different manner than they are at BW. They only meet 1-2 times per week and are taught to a group of around 100-150 people. Most of the classes are accompanied by small group time slots as well. These only occur about half of the time and are meant for discussion and more participation in what you are learning.
Most of my classes are held in the afternoon as well, so it is really nice that I can sleep in a little and not have to rush to get to my classes. The lecturers so far have been very entertaining and passionate about their area of interest. I am excited for us to get further into each class and discover more about the classes that I am in.
After this first week of classes, I decided that I deserved a little fun and something completely new. So I decided to take an introductory to the Irish language class with tea and local treats. It gave me a great start into learning this beautiful and complex language.
The Musical Soc put on their first Open Mic Night on Friday too. It was amazing. The people had some great talent and voices to match. There were a couple groups performing too. I cannot wait to go to more of their events and enjoy their wonderful talents.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Day 7: Baile Átha Cliath
Over the past two days, I have spent the majority of the day discovering the city of Dublin and just exploring the area via foot and bus.
I started off on Friday morning by going to the Grafton St. area around St. Stephen's Green. My first stop had to be Carroll's Gift Store because of how my family has raved about it from there trips. I ended up buying a tea towel to hang on my wall and a CD of pub music to just listen to.
After just browsing the shops there and walking around the area, I decided that going on a hop on hop off bus and allow them to show me the top sights around the city. I sat on the top level and just rode it around once to get an idea of where everything is and to take pictures of the area too. The only bad thing about doing this though was that it got very cold up there and the wind made it hard to hear every once in a while. It was a great tour and it had a lot of useful information and trivia facts about each thing that we were able to see.
On Saturday, UCD offered a trip into Dublin where we were given guided tours of the Guinness Factory storehouse and Croke Park/ GAA Museum. I had a lot of fun at these because I was able to hang out with some more people going to UCD and see some of the things at the top of my list very quickly and at a cheap price.
At the Storehouse, I learned how Guinness is made and how this factory has made an impact on the community. They also had an area where they taught us the correct way of drinking Guinness so that it is not as bitter tasting. I then attended "Guinness Academy" where I learned how to pour the perfect pint of the stout and I was able to then pour my own.
After eating lunch at Guinness we then made the drive to Croke Park and had a great tour of the stadium and learned about why hurling and gaelic football are beloved sports in Ireland. Our tour guide was very enthusiastic and passionate about these games. He had a lot of stories about his favorite moments from being at the games to the history of them and why he believes they are better than any other sports.
The tour had us going through all parts of the stadium. We started off under the stands to see where the dressing rooms are and the player's lounge for them to celebrate after the matches. We then went onto the field and finally through the stadium. The size of the stadium and the field is something that has to be seen. The pitch is so much larger than a traditional football field and the stands hold over 80,000 people.
The most amazing part about the GAA is that all of the players have day jobs and do not get payed for playing these sports. The stadiums themselves are not paid for by corporations, but were built off of money given by the community and is maintained in the same way. They are some of the most humble people and play just for the love of the game and the pride of their county.
These past two days were full of information and memories that will last a long time.
I started off on Friday morning by going to the Grafton St. area around St. Stephen's Green. My first stop had to be Carroll's Gift Store because of how my family has raved about it from there trips. I ended up buying a tea towel to hang on my wall and a CD of pub music to just listen to.
a view of St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre
entrance to the Olympia Theatre
Christchurch Cathedral
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Original Guinness Gate
the River Liffy
On Saturday, UCD offered a trip into Dublin where we were given guided tours of the Guinness Factory storehouse and Croke Park/ GAA Museum. I had a lot of fun at these because I was able to hang out with some more people going to UCD and see some of the things at the top of my list very quickly and at a cheap price.
At the Storehouse, I learned how Guinness is made and how this factory has made an impact on the community. They also had an area where they taught us the correct way of drinking Guinness so that it is not as bitter tasting. I then attended "Guinness Academy" where I learned how to pour the perfect pint of the stout and I was able to then pour my own.
one of the more modern gates
wood carved memorial celebrating Guinness
my first taste of stout
I graduated from the Guinness Academy!!
After eating lunch at Guinness we then made the drive to Croke Park and had a great tour of the stadium and learned about why hurling and gaelic football are beloved sports in Ireland. Our tour guide was very enthusiastic and passionate about these games. He had a lot of stories about his favorite moments from being at the games to the history of them and why he believes they are better than any other sports.
The tour had us going through all parts of the stadium. We started off under the stands to see where the dressing rooms are and the player's lounge for them to celebrate after the matches. We then went onto the field and finally through the stadium. The size of the stadium and the field is something that has to be seen. The pitch is so much larger than a traditional football field and the stands hold over 80,000 people.
outside of the stadium
inside the player's lounge
(custom chandelier with 32 footballs= 32 counties and 70 hurling balls= total minutes in game)
inside one of the dressing rooms
view of the stadium from the field
The most amazing part about the GAA is that all of the players have day jobs and do not get payed for playing these sports. The stadiums themselves are not paid for by corporations, but were built off of money given by the community and is maintained in the same way. They are some of the most humble people and play just for the love of the game and the pride of their county.
These past two days were full of information and memories that will last a long time.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Day 4: Dia duit, tá mo ainm Maggie
After being here for several days, I have been able to get a better idea of this campus and how things are run here. I spent this past day just walking around campus and getting my mind wrapped around where I now live and go to school. I also found some really interesting things around campus too.
I was able to find where all of my classes are being held and about the average amount of time it takes to walk from one to the next. The size of these classrooms are so much bigger than the ones at BW. Even my upper level classes here are larger than the intro classes there.
This is the room my Kinesiology class is being held. This is a class geared for people in the third stage (Junior year).
Walking around, I was also amazed by the size of the buildings and how beautiful some of the architecture is here. They also have some great murals painted by the science buildings. One in particular let my inner nerd fall in love with its color and variety if subjects covered. I just had to stand there and look at it for a while before finally taking a picture of it.
Student Centre (from the back)
Inside the Student Centre main area
Outside of the main library (but it goes further back than what this picture shows)
Health Sciences building (where my major is located)
The full mural on a sign next to the wall
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Day 1: fáilte roimh Éirinn
My first day here was one full of many different firsts. Living in an apartment means that you have to provide/cook all your meals. So i made three different trips to the store on campus and one off campus to get everything I could possibly need for the week. It also means learning about electricity controls. When I plugged in my extension cord for my room, the switch board shut off all electricity going through sockets and it took me awhile to discover it and get the electricity working again.
My room itself is of decent size and has a good amount of storage space. The only downside is that I have no drawers or under the bed storage space so everything is exposed and my suitcases are just tucked into weird spots/ corners.
2 of my roommates showed up today too. They are both from the same school and came with a big group of people from their school. They are awesome people and accepted me into their group and we were able to hang out for the rest of the day.
My room itself is of decent size and has a good amount of storage space. The only downside is that I have no drawers or under the bed storage space so everything is exposed and my suitcases are just tucked into weird spots/ corners.
2 of my roommates showed up today too. They are both from the same school and came with a big group of people from their school. They are awesome people and accepted me into their group and we were able to hang out for the rest of the day.
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