esposizione (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} esposizione) wrote,@ 2005-10-22 12:42:00 |
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No, Kara, I am not trapped in a Sid thank God
Whoa, an update! Right on! It's Saturday morning and I'm in Devere Hall, top floor, computer lab on the right (near the window, so I can be sniped?) aka the campus center at the University College, Cork, Ireland. The sun is shining, which is AMAZING because even the Irish kids were like 'no, really, it doesn't normally rain this much this time of year.' Ok so for starters, here's what my first two months have looked like:
-Aug 22nd: arrive in Dublin for our three day Arcadia orientation
-start up with the early start in Irish music class, which lasted about a month
-fieldtrips to the Aran Islands, the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, Gougane Barre, Doolin and Ballyvourney
-also with the class went to see Altan and Liam O'Flynn in concert
-home stay with an Irish family (10 kids... the 'young ones' were my age)
-visited Hannah C. in Galway
-daytripped it out to Bantry Bay with Lauren
-Sept 27th: classes start
-joined the rugby team, last week I played in my first match!
-signed on board the philosophical society and have attended two of their debates (one on abortion... that was mad)
-went x-tream mountaineering in county Waterford... someday I'll get pictures up of this... it was so windy at the top you had to like throw yourself into sheep crap and mountain heather to not, literally, be blown off. That's hardcore.
Cork is the European Capitol of Culture 2005 (image how high my nose is in the air right now) (also Murphy's Irish Stout printed limited edition pint glasses that boast this so naturally I stole one and it now holds all my little euro coins) so there's been a folk music fest, a jazz fest, a short film fest, and all kinds of art exhibitions coming to town. I'm getting into the brog, too. The people around me, both American and Irish, are friendly and I've made some cool friends to go pubbing and clubbing with.
Ok, so now that that's out of the way... I love Cork. I love who I am in Cork. It's a small enough city that you can walk everywhere, but big enough not to feel claustraphobic. I have my own flat with two Irish sisters from county Kerry. It took me a while to warm to them and their party-girl lifestyle, but they're alright. I really lucked out on location (Amanda Colgan, this is for you): Deanshall is about 15 minutes from campus and 7 from Patric/Oliver Plunkett Sts (downtown). After chatting up the L.Inc (lesbians incorperated, hahaha awesome) folks and people I meet at pubs and the LGBT society, Cork is known for its visible queer scene and it's generally high level of tolerance in that arena. I'm so glad to be here, and Ireland is one of those places you could imagine permanently immigrating to. I talked to Miss Ashley on the phone last night... score, dude, she's going to come visit me for a couple weeks this winter break! As are Alli and Brian (and Kara?) which I'm also really looking forward to. It's weird to think that none of them will meet my friends that are only here for the semester but with this Certificate in Irish Studies program that I'm doing I've met a lot more full year students now, too. Rugby is rocking my world. The girls on the team are great and it's masochistically fun to go out there and get my ass kicked three days a week.
Ok that's sort of a whirl-wind tour of my first two months. I'll TRY to keep updating, but I really do much perfer email than this sort of mass posting.
Whoa, an update! Right on! It's Saturday morning and I'm in Devere Hall, top floor, computer lab on the right (near the window, so I can be sniped?) aka the campus center at the University College, Cork, Ireland. The sun is shining, which is AMAZING because even the Irish kids were like 'no, really, it doesn't normally rain this much this time of year.' Ok so for starters, here's what my first two months have looked like:
-Aug 22nd: arrive in Dublin for our three day Arcadia orientation
-start up with the early start in Irish music class, which lasted about a month
-fieldtrips to the Aran Islands, the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, Gougane Barre, Doolin and Ballyvourney
-also with the class went to see Altan and Liam O'Flynn in concert
-home stay with an Irish family (10 kids... the 'young ones' were my age)
-visited Hannah C. in Galway
-daytripped it out to Bantry Bay with Lauren
-Sept 27th: classes start
-joined the rugby team, last week I played in my first match!
-signed on board the philosophical society and have attended two of their debates (one on abortion... that was mad)
-went x-tream mountaineering in county Waterford... someday I'll get pictures up of this... it was so windy at the top you had to like throw yourself into sheep crap and mountain heather to not, literally, be blown off. That's hardcore.
Cork is the European Capitol of Culture 2005 (image how high my nose is in the air right now) (also Murphy's Irish Stout printed limited edition pint glasses that boast this so naturally I stole one and it now holds all my little euro coins) so there's been a folk music fest, a jazz fest, a short film fest, and all kinds of art exhibitions coming to town. I'm getting into the brog, too. The people around me, both American and Irish, are friendly and I've made some cool friends to go pubbing and clubbing with.
Ok, so now that that's out of the way... I love Cork. I love who I am in Cork. It's a small enough city that you can walk everywhere, but big enough not to feel claustraphobic. I have my own flat with two Irish sisters from county Kerry. It took me a while to warm to them and their party-girl lifestyle, but they're alright. I really lucked out on location (Amanda Colgan, this is for you): Deanshall is about 15 minutes from campus and 7 from Patric/Oliver Plunkett Sts (downtown). After chatting up the L.Inc (lesbians incorperated, hahaha awesome) folks and people I meet at pubs and the LGBT society, Cork is known for its visible queer scene and it's generally high level of tolerance in that arena. I'm so glad to be here, and Ireland is one of those places you could imagine permanently immigrating to. I talked to Miss Ashley on the phone last night... score, dude, she's going to come visit me for a couple weeks this winter break! As are Alli and Brian (and Kara?) which I'm also really looking forward to. It's weird to think that none of them will meet my friends that are only here for the semester but with this Certificate in Irish Studies program that I'm doing I've met a lot more full year students now, too. Rugby is rocking my world. The girls on the team are great and it's masochistically fun to go out there and get my ass kicked three days a week.
Ok that's sort of a whirl-wind tour of my first two months. I'll TRY to keep updating, but I really do much perfer email than this sort of mass posting.
