Castles, Kings, Knights and ... Classes

I'm finally 100% settled in! I registered with the Garda (police) today and got my visa so I won't get kicked out of the country. (this keyboard in the library is weird ... the letters are in the same place but not apostrophes and the @ sign) I also finally registered officially for all my classes although technically I've been attending them for two weeks. I had to register with both NUI Galway and Arcadia, so I'm glad that's all done. I also signed up for a trip to Belfast in February!

I picked a pretty random selection of classes to take and none of them have anything to do with journalism which is very weird (they only have MA in journalism here). But I figured I'm in a different country that offers totally different classes and I might as well study things I wouldn't at PSU. The classes are all lectures, except for one. I don't think the word quizzes is in the vocabulary here and neither is homework or busywork. All of the classes require quiet a lot of reading and each has about 1 to 2 essays and a final exam or essay. It's a bit weird to get used to because a lot of the reading has to be done at the library and there's really nothing besides that you can do until you have learned enough to get cracking on the essays.

Teaching style: it's a lot different. Especially because the majority of classes are large lectures (about 50-100 students) there's very little participation if any in class. Students come, take notes (well the Americans take notes) and leave. There's no attendance either. Most of the lectures can be found online, too -- it's a program called Blackboard but is the same as PSU's Angel and we also have webmail, but mine's not working. Ugh.

Another thing I've really noticed is there are a lot of nontraditional, or older students. They probably range everywhere from mid-40s to late 50s. I'm not sure why this is but there's at least two or three in all of my classes.

Here's a breakdown of my classes (modules):

The Development of the Castle (M T Th F - 12 to 1 p.m.)
This class is as simple as its title. It's about castles. The professor, Kieran O'Conor, is a nice middle aged man who well ... loves castles. As my friend Colin says the class is basically story time about castles. It was a little boring at the beginning because each lecture could pretty much be summed up in on sentence, but the class is definitely picking up. I mean it's an hour of looking at pictures of castles all over Europe! AND the class is four days a week so it's over Feb. 20th and we go on a field trip the weekend after class ends.

Women in Medieval Society (M W - 3 to 4 p.m.)
This so far is actually the most fascinating class I'm taking. Again the title is pretty self explanatory, but I just find it really cool. We're currently learning about all the ways people thought women and men were different physically in relation to the four humors and elements. The professor is a woman and while she seems a little strict she's very blunt and straight forward about the subject -- which is good. She tends to ramble a little, as many Irish do, but it's interesting rambling.

The History of the English Language (M - 4 to 6 p.m.)
This is a seminar and the only one I am in. Seminars are smaller classes that are more participation based than the lectures. Since you have to register for seminars separately from lectures I just started this one yesterday. I was a little wary at first because there's a lot of other languages that come in to play in the development of English but the teacher did a good job of explaining everything. I think it'll also be a way to meet other Irish and international students because of the smaller setting. I already met a nice Irish girl named Brite (pronounced breet). There's also a girl from Germany, a girl from Spain and one from Italy in my class so it's a good mix of students.

Celtic Mythology, Religion and Folklore (W 9-10 a.m. and Th 3 to 4 p.m.)
This class is definitely cool mostly because a.) I doubt they offer any Celtic classes at PSU and b.) It's very interpretive. There are two professors. A man on Wednesday who talks and looks like he hasn't slept in years and is perpetually light headed. But he's still pretty interesting and makes jokes, although they seem very dry because of the way he speaks. On Thursday there's a woman professor who always wears funky clothes and is very out there. She's definitely the kind of professor you would see teaching a mythology class. She told us from the start that the class is mostly interpretation -- nothing's definite in this class because mythology changes from source to source. A lot of it was originally oral, too and we don't know how seriously people thousands of years ago took some of it. Whether it's something they truly believed in or just stories they told to pass the time.

(Post)Modernism (M 2 to 3 p.m. and F 9 to 10 a.m.)
This is probably my least favorite class. And I think that's not because of the subject but the professor and the way the class is taught. The professor seems like a very intelligent man, but lectures as if this was a graduate class for those well versed in modernism and postmodernism. He speaks very slowly and is an extremely formal lecturer. The class is also HUGE so there is no discussion -- which I have never had before in an English class. So it's all his opinion and views of the works; I'm not a fan. But we will be reading some cool works, like Lolita and Clockwork Orange so that will be interesting to study when we get to them. Currently he's lecturing on Heart of Darkness ... I'm not much of a fan.

Political and Cultural Geography (W 3 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 6 p.m. ... yeah random hour in between)
I think this class so far is my favorite. Mostly because the teacher is much younger and very charismatic. The topic is also something I've never come close to taking before. Currently we're jut doing some background on the history of Ireland but since I am living in this country I am excited to learn more about the political differences around the country and Europe as well. The teacher is also good to talk about America as well in relation to everything because there are a lot of Americans in the class.

Those are all of them -- 6 is quiet the course load, but it's what's required. It equates to 30 NUIG credits but will be hopefully an 18 credit course load in PSU terms. And since there's really no busy work, only essays and exams, the workload shouldn't be bad at all. I just have to make sure not to leave all the essays to the last day because about 4 of them are all due April 6th. Ick. Well I should get going because it seems I'm in the only section of the library with computers and there's people waiting to use them. I also have to get my e-mail address figured out ...

Sorry for the incredibly long post! Hopefully I kept your attention!

Too beautiful for words (bus trip to Connemara)

Goal achieved and time to explore

Finished my first Guinness last night! I went out to a pub called the Crane Bar with some friends. It was a pretty chill night, but my Guinness goal was achieved.

I think we're going to a Rugby game tomorrow evening and then taking a bus tour to Connemara on Saturday. We also were talking about having brunch together Sunday morning and decided on having a Brinner (breakfast, for dinner!) at my apartment around 3 p.m. on Sunday. So all day everyone is going to cook up a storm in their apartments and head here for a Brinner party! I think more than 20 people want to join in. It should be a good time.

I'll update again on Sunday about the weekend. And I register completely for courses on Monday so I'll be posting about them early next week.

~ Katie

P.S. If anyone would prefer to get e-mails of my blog posts I can add you to a list that will send them to you every time I update. Just leave a comment with your e-mail address.

There's no one as Irish as Barack Obama

It's so exciting that we can finally call Obama our president instead of president-elect. And it was also kind of cool to see the inauguration from another country -- one that really likes Obama a lot. The bar on campus called the College Bar held an inauguration party. It ended up being packed with both American and Irish students. Everyone clapped and cheered for Obama when he came out. There were even Irish kids with Obama shirts on -- they really love him as much as we do. Now I feel the need to do some more research into their government and leaders since they seem so knowledgeable about ours.


They are also REALLY proud of the fact that Obama's great-great-great-great grandfather is from Ireland. There was even a whole segment about it on the news last night. His relatives were from Moneygall and a band there even wrote a song about it. It's pretty entertaining!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0xFWbarrsc

Watching the inauguration from College Bar.

Blustry Day and Cleaning Spree

This weekend was a lot of fun -- but very, very windy. Friday night I went to my friends' apartment in town and they made the group of us dinner. We then went to a pub in the Western (yeah the hotel) to see a friend of the boy who lives downstair play a session with some older gentlemen. It was a very calm quiet pub and the music was really good. Especially the little old man who played the tin whistle. The boy who lives below me, Colin, is here for the whole year so he'll be our go to guide for pubs and things to do. He's also very friendly with the Irish boys across the hall who live directly below my apartment. Both doors on that floor are always open and they just go in and out of each other's apartments as they please.

But before I get to that -- one thing that no one has yet to dispute is how horribly MESSY Irish students are. My apartment wasn't too bad, but nothing really seemed clean. I won't go into the gross details, but I just can't stand the kitchen to be dirty. I don't mind clutter or mess (my parents can attest to that) but I can't stand dirt and grime in a place where I have to eat and cook. So I spent two and a half hours scrubbing the kitchen, organizing my room and cleaning the bathroom. Now I don't have to wash every utensil before use and the apartment smells good.

On Saturday night the boys on floor two came out with us. Their names are Pauric and Keiran and their course is science (course = major) They are really nice boys and a lot of craic ... and they also seem to like to have a lot of craic because they had a party last Sunday and it was really loud. But now I can go to the parties instead of hearing it through my bedroom floor.

We went to a pub, which was more like a club, called the Living Room. It was pretty crowded and looked like an American bar so we left and went to the Quays - which is definitely my favprite pub here. It's huge so we can always find a table, the DJs are good and it more often than not has live music. And a lot of live trad (traditional Irish) music, too.

The Quays!

After the pub the boys showed me their apartments and ... GROSS. So I had to show them a clean apartment that smelled good and didn't have days old food on the table and counters. They were very impressed and didn't want to leave -- and subsequently stayed talking to my roommate and I until about 5:30 a.m. We just listened to lots of music loudly and talked. I'm really glad they live so close and I have a feeling I'm going to have lots of good times with those boys. Now I just need to work on understanding their accents, which can be a bit difficult at times.

When it rains, it pours

The uncharacteristically nice weather Galway has been having the last few days has finally come to an end. It's currently pouring out and has been since I woke up at 7 this morning (it's now 10:40) and it doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon. The 15 minute walk to campus was not very pleasant. My coat worked well to keep the top half of my body dry but my jeans got soaked and so did my face and even hair, despite wearing a hood.



I saw no one with an umbrella today on campus and realized why -- they're totally useless. The wind coming of the Corrib River is quite vicious. It seems to hate umbrellas and tries to pull them from your grasp or turn them inside out. I saw a few people (Americans, of course) struggling to keep control of theirs. But I guess the weather is something I'll have to just get used to, and hope that it doesn't rain like this everyday.



Here's a picture from a few days ago of the walk I take to and from school. (shot walking in the direction of my apartment) The body of water is the Corrib River -- it runs straight through the city of Galway.

Tons of Craic

This weekend was my homestay and it was a ton of fun ... erm craic. I stayed with a family in a county called Tuam. It was really cool to see how they live and interact with each other and Americans. There were two girls, Amanda age 10 and Rachel who was 15. They were used to hosting exchange students and travel to America about once a year. The house was pretty much in the middle of nowhere and very simple on the outside just grey stone and no garage. But inside it was very nice with oak floors and yellow walls. The family seemed to be pretty well to do. The girls had tvs in their rooms and a flat screen on the wall in the family room - but it was a small house. They were extremely welcoming and friendly. When we got there on Friday - I was with another American girl also named Katie, the mom had made dinner which was pretty simple but delcious. She wasn't sure what we would like so there was salad, pizza and chicken fingers.

The parents had to run out and buy some food so after dinner we just talked to the older girl for a while. It was interesting to talk to her and hear he talk about the lads in her class (she'd be a sophomore in high school in America) and they all wear uniforms in school. She also called a hair tie a go-go which was a little confusing at first. Later that night we watched Mamma Mia, which the girls adored and they sang along to all the songs -- even the mom and dad joined in on the singing.

Saturday we helped prepare for a party they were having with the neighbors that night. The neighbors had children ages 6-9, and they were adorable. We all played Sing Star together. For dinner our host mom served finger foods like veggie rolls, chicken wings, potatoes (of course) and pastries with a mushroom/chicken sauce which was absolutley delicious. I feel like all I did this weekend was eat. After dinner the drinking started, and I've never seen adults drink that much before. But they were all incredibly nice and just had a really good time. Even the older mothers new the words to current American pop music and we all created a dance to Katy Perrys 'Hot 'n' Cold.' It was hilarious. Later on in the night the Irish pub style music came on and everyone danced to Galway Girl -- even the older men. They really enjoy songs they can clap and sing along to. The party was probably nosier than any Penn State one I have been to -- and lasted longer. The neighbors didn't leave until 3:30 a.m.

I'm trying to think of the differences, but there aren't too many. The children are involved in a lot of activities from dance to swimming and singing. They usually spend the weekends haging out or going to friends houses or into Galway City - which is about a 25 min. drive. Sometimes their accents were hard to understand as were some terms of phrase. They cursed a lot (except for the 10 year old), fuck and shit are just part of the normal vocabulary. They don't use it excessivley but more than any American parents I have known. They also slag (kid) each other a lot more. They like making fun of one another and just making jokes. Irish people definitely love to laugh. They especially liked kidding us about our accents like the way we pronounced their county.


~ Katie

Class

We had more orientations today, and I'm getting a little tired of them. But these ones were more fun because they were about our classes! Because I'm mostly taking elective classes I can pretty much choose any ones I want. There's a lot of really neat classes and the system for registering them and the way the classes are run is so different here.

For the first two weeks of class there's a 'shop around' period where we can go to any class we want, check it out and then if we like it register for it in about 2 weeks. Lecture classes are large so anyone can join those, there's no cap on them. But the seminars are the smaller classes so to register to get into those you have to go to the department early on a set day and sign up for the class. Some people get there at 4 am to wait in line to register!! There's one seminar I really want to take, but I won't be getting up quite that early. It's a children's literature class -- they study books like Hole and Stardust! It looks like a really interesting class so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Most of the others are lectures so I won't have a problem getting into those. Some I may take include, a class about castles, women in medieval times, a class on modernism and postmodernism, an Irish cultures class, and Celtic mythology and folklore.

The classes are also run a little differently. There's not as much emphasis on class participation or attendance. In lectures the teachers pretty much just lecture the whole time and the students diligently take notes. And there's also not many grades about 70% of every class is based on one exam or essay. There may be another essay or mid-term for the class, but not for all of them. Another weird thing is how little it seems students are in class. We have classes until the beginning of April. Then it's a break for Easter and many teachers cancel classes at the beginning of the week because students like to go home, then we have a two week spring break, a week to study for finals and then about a month of finals. It's weird, but I think I'm going to like it.

Pubs

We went out to the pubs last night and it was really a lot of fun. The first one was called McSwiggens (sweet name!) since the students are still on break the town is pretty quiet right now. There's about 15 thousand at NUIG and another 7,000 at another school close by - it's a big college town. So there weren't many people at the first bar but it was quiet and had a fire going and was definitely what I imagined an Irish pub would look like. At the pub my friend Adrienne and I got Kopparberg pear cider. It was delicious. After a pint there we went ot the Kings Head, which is supposed to be one of the best pubs in Galway -- and I would agree. It was really cool with lots of floors and a live band EVERY night! The band last night was great. They played a lot of late 80s and 90s music. The Irish are really into 90s American music. American music plays everywhere -- which is a little disapointing, but it's pretty good American music I must admit. The band also played one of my favorite new songs, 'Galway Girl.' It made me very happy to hear it played and all the Irish people in the bar sang along because it's a very popular song over here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrwqLhhsMEU&feature=related). The pubs really are the hub of social life in Galway. People of all ages just go there to hang out, listening to music and socialize with family and friends.

The pubs close around midnight and then a lot of younger people go out to the clubs which are open later. On the main street here - shop street - people stand outside and stamp your hand so you can get into the clubs for free. It's really cool! And one of the clubs we checked out before going home had the Arcade Fire playing, which basically made my night.

Tonight is my homestay in the town of Tuam. I'm really excited for that! I get to stay with an Irish family from tonight until Sunday afternoon. I know a little about the family - the mother is a caterer, the husband a driver, they have two daughters who are 10 and 15 and a dog named Fluffy. I'm not bringing my laptop with me, but I'll post about the weekend when I get back on Sunday.

Keep reading!

~Katie

The Cultural Capital of Ireland

I'm finally all moved in and unpacked in Galway. I'll try to update as often as possible now that I have constant and secure internet, because if I don't post often my entries are going to be far too long.

On Tuesday we had to go to a lot of meetings and then went to see a play at the Dublin Theatre. It was a comedy called The Playboy of the Western World - a modernized version. It was funny at times and also kind of weird. But I enjoyed really hearing the Irish accents. After the play we went to a bar right near the hostel called The Bachelor. I got a Smithwick's which is actually really good and easy to drink. Guinness was a little much for me -- but I will finish a pint before I leave! Everyone is really friendly at the pubs. They like to chat with you and alway ask you where in America you're from and what university you study at. They just have a good time.

Today we got into Galway around 12:30. It's about a three and a half hour drive away from here. I may go back for St. Patty's day, be we'll see. The apartments are pretty nice. I'm rooming with another girl going through the Arcadia program, but there's three rooms in the apartment so we could have up to 4 other roommates -- presumably Irish girls by their stuff in the apartment. Hopefully they're nice ... it could be a great chance to really learn about the culture.

The city is soooooo cute! It's a lot less Americanized than Dublin and has cobbled stoned side walks that have so many different stores and pubs. Shop street is the main one. It's a very hort street but the pubs and shops are all crammed really close to one another -- it's great. I haven't seen too much of it yet, but I can't wait to explore. We also have Irish boys living across the hall -- I can't wait to meet them!

Some interesting things/differences:

** The Irish are very into the environment, so they try to conserve energy any way they can, and money too. They never turn the heat up too high or leave it on (the apartment is currenly freezing!) They try not to use plastic bags and actually charge you for them.
** I have to get used to a few things: Military time, metric system, roundabouts and cars being on the opposite side of the road.
** They usually attend school for 3 yrs and like most European countries it's free.
** You don't have to tip ... pretty much ever. They get paid $1o or so an hour so it's not necessary to tip.
** You don't say restroom or bathroom, it's the toilet
** Never say can I have a ride, it's can I have a lift. A lift is also an elevator.
** Craic (pronounced crack) means fun. Was a little weird when an Irish person says, 'are you having craic?'


~ Katie

Hops, Barley and Yeast

Today was quite a busy one -- and really amazing. There were meetings all morning about Ireland's culture and Galway but after that we were given free passes for a bus tour around Dublin. We went to see St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was really amazing. It felt a little weird because we had to pay to get in and right inside there was a gift shop section -- kind of a disconcerting thing to see in a church. But the inside we very beautiful with plaques telling all about the cathedral. Most of it seemed untouched as well which was neat. After that we took the bus to the Guinness factory, which was awesome!!

At the top there was a bar and we got a free pint of Guinness, my first ever! It was OK ... I'll have to get used to the taste. But the ost amazing part was that the bar at the top was very high up and had a gorgeous view of the city. You could see all of Dublin from up there. We spent a long time just looking out the window, we didn't want to leave.

After that we went to mass at St. Patrick's -- which was very beautiful. The men's choir sang and were just amazing.

St. Patrick's Cathedral (yes, sunny weather!)


The view from the Guinness factory (as the sun sets! Around 4 ...)

Finally here!

Hey everyone!

So I'm finally in Ireland typing this post from my hostel in Dublin. The hostel is actually pretty nice and right at the center of everything. The city is amazing, and it's still decorated for the holidays which is really cool. There's one street where there are wreaths hanging down along the middle of the street, dozens of them all lit up in blue lights.

All of the students here are really nice and we are getting along really well. I'm a little bit jet lagged but otherwise the trip here went pretty smoothly. Dublin is actually an amazingly clean city with shops and lots of cafes, restaurants and of course pubs.

After getting in this morning we had lunch at a nice restaurant with all the students and then some of those I sat with at the table (4 of whom are PSU students) decided to explore some of the city. We went to check out the Castle of Dublin -- which isn't anything too spectacular but was still neat. We wandered down the cobblestone roads looking at all the shops and pubs and then we went to Trinity College Dublin. The college was really nice and all the buildings are made of a light grey stone. (pics to come). We also saw a copy of the Book of Kells (for some reason the real thing isn't on display right now) which was really interesting and told all about how the book was written and the history behind it. We also saw the library there which was amazing. It looked like the library in the Harry Potter movies with a high dark wood ceiling and book cases reaching on forever with large ladders attached.

When we went to dinner tonight I had my first sip of Guinness -- and it was pretty good! But because of jet lag I'll wait a bit before I get my own pint, we have a long day tomorrow. So I'm off to bed, but I'll be sure to update again soon!

Much love,
Katie

P.S. Irish accents are amazing!!

Our hostel near Temple Bar in Dublin. It's the bright blue one!

TWO days

Happy 2009!

I leave on Saturday ... wow. I can't believe it's almost here. I'll be in Dublin until Wednesday morning, then it's off to Galway!

Some contact info:

Skype, if anyone happens to have that. My user name is ramonesgirl212. Same user name goes for Gmail (without the 212) and AIM.

My address in Galway is:

Katherine Dvorak
Gort na Coiribe
Apt. # 80
Headford road
Galway
(091) 746 400