Only 3 weeks left...

Sorry I have been so awful at updating the blog but I figured since today starts the last 3 weeks of my semester I should reflect a bit on how the semester has gone so far.

While helping out a friend from home who is applying for a summer abroad program I came across the personal statement I wrote for NUIG last March. It was really neat to see what my hopes were for my semester here in Galway and what I was expecting to find here academically. I have to admit that academically I have been disappointed here since not only were almost none of the classes I expected to take offered this semester but the way the curriculum is set up makes it very difficult to make sure I truly understand the material the class has covered over the semester. I was honestly excited at the idea of taking classes that only required 1 paper for the entire semester but now that it has come time to write those papers I've realized how much pressure there is to write a great paper about topics I didn't pay nearly enough attention to since the end of the semester seemed so far away. While obviously it was my own fault for not paying closer attention at earlier lectures, I have definitely realized I am the type of student who thrives on numerous assignments that keep me on my toes with studying and reading. Maybe now when I return to SJU i'll embrace the idea of multiple papers and exams, especially around finals time.

Aside from academics I also found it interesting to read in my statement that I wanted to be in public policy at the time of my application. Since March I have decided to apply for nursing school after college since I now realize working with patients is where I will be the happiest. To think that only 8 months ago I was considering a vastly different career makes me realize how much one can grow and discover about their selves in a short span of time.

The line that stuck out the most for me when rereading my statement was, "I hope that by leaving my comfort zone to go to a new university, I will be able to look at new experiences as opportunities rather than challenges." Knowing the way I was just a few short months ago and seeing where I am now, I really cannot get over how much i've grown. A year ago I was e-mailing my mother telling her there was absolutely no way I could go abroad since I knew there was no way I could ever handle being away from home and SJU for 4 months. She agreed and the idea of going abroad was dropped until about January when I began thinking of applying for the NUI Galway program. Making the decision on my own with my parents support and encouragement was probably the best thing that could have happened to me. I am happy to say I went from hating traveling to realizing how amazing it is to see places many only dream of seeing. I had to put my fear of flying aside to take advantage of being in Europe and 6 flights later I'll admit I'm still a nervous flier but I would never turn down an opportunity to go somewhere just because a flight was involved. I have also learned to relax and let things happen without flipping out over every little detail that goes wrong. I've realized that time is a precious thing and wasting it on stress is simply foolish. I am truly proud of myself for growing into the kind of person I wanted to be 8 months ago... one who views new experiences as opportunities.

So as I go into my final 3 weeks here in the beautiful Galway, Ireland I hope to continue to take advantage of this amazing experience I'm lucky enough to have and I hope that all of you will be able to see the positive changes I have made over the last 3 months.

I'll do my best to update again before I leave but if not I can't wait to see everyone back at home and SJU (just pardon my saddness for having to leave Galway).

Kathleen

Scotland!!

Sorry I haven't updated this in quite awhile... NUIG has decided to start assigning work (I keep forgetting I should be STUDYING abroad).

Since I last posted I have traveled to various places in Ireland as well as some other European countries. Being able to say that I spent the weekend in Scotland and Rome makes me feel as though I must have done something unbelievable in a past life but the fact of the matter is that if you are in Europe weekend getaways are as easy as going home from Philadelphia for a weekend (ok maybe not THAT easy but you get my point).

I'll start with Edinburgh, Scotland, a city that I fell in love with almost the moment I saw the cathedrals and castle. The city is so often overlooked by travelers but honestly it was my favorite trip so far. Aside from the colder than expected temperatures, we really lucked out weather-wise. Edinburgh offers a "Free Walking Tour" around the city which was really awesome. I the history geek in me (that i have courtesy of my father) was like a kid in a candy store on that tour and I have decided that not only should Irish history be studied more in America but so should Scotland's history. Scotland has such a cool, rebellious teenager-like history that made me fall in love with the Scots. Now I have many geeky alter-egos but anyone who knows me well knows that I am the biggest geek in the world when it comes to Harry Potter so alas I must set aside an entire paragraph for Harry.

As some of you may not know (and to be totally honest with you I was ignorant to this fact as well), J.K. Rowling wrote the first two Harry Potters in Edinburgh. She wrote in many cafes including "The Elephant House", which is where I obviously insisted we eat lunch. The Cafe is great. Great atmosphere, great food, and amazing views of Edinburgh castle. Again, being the that geek I am, I decided to buy a pen from a nearby souvenir shop and write on a napkin the same way J.K. allegedly did when she first began writing the most epic series I've ever read (yes I know... it's probably the only book series i've ever read but go with it). To attempt to be even more authentic I even walked around the graveyard with my friends to find character names the same way my idol found her name inspirations. While doing so we found the graves of "Tom Riddle" and "Professor McGonagall" It was truly a tacky-tourist to the max experience that I loved every minute of (and my travel mates were good sports and went along with it).

When I get another free moment i'll fill all of you in on some of my other adventures. Miss you all!!

Giving meaning to "Studying" Abroad

I will start my blog post the same way Mr. Jimmy Hamill started his...

So, I never thought I'd say this but I REALLY miss SJU registration. Now I know what you are thinking... "Kathleen, clearly you don't remember how absolutely atrocious SJU registration is" the thing is I do remember the waking up at 8am to register for classes only to realize I have no internet connection and my pin number has mysteriously disappeared. I know the pain of seeing that "X" appear at the top of your screen saying the class that you have to take in order to graduate is filled. The sad thing is, that registration system is decades ahead of the registration system here at NUIG. Each department here has their own method to registering students and none of them are entirely clear on what that method is. It was a stressful process to say the least.

After 2 weeks of stressing about choosing classes I have finally chosen the five classes that will be giving meaning to the term "Studying" abroad. Luckily I will only be using up one elective here at NUIG and even though the classes seem as though they may be rather painfully boring at times I have faith that I will find a way to make it through one way or another. So, the classes I will be taking are:

1) Saints and Sinners of the Celtic World (for Theology)- Now I have a soft spot in my heart for this class since it was the only one that was easy to register for. All I had to do was write down on my registration form that I want to take this class and BOOM I’m in! That simple fact will hopefully help me to get past the fact that for the first three classes the professor gave virtually the same lecture. The positive in that is I can tell you what the earliest recorded date in Irish history is… go ahead ask… 431! If that is the only question on the final exam I’ll ace the class for sure!

2) Philosophy of Science- This class seems as though it will be a tad more interesting than the previous course. The professor is British so I will be able to spot the differences between an Irish Brogue and a British accent much more easily after this class. No worries, I am planning on learning about Philosophy of Science and Epistemology as well. So far I have learned that the letters of the alphabet can become a scary and horrifying thing when used in a complex logic question but I’m planning to move past the initial fear and once again be at ease when I hear the letters “S” and “P”.

3) Northern Ireland: The Politics of a Divided Society- This will more than likely be my favorite class. I never really knew much about the history of Ireland and while I did know Northern Ireland was separate from the rest of Ireland, I never really knew why. The history of Ireland is so fascinating to me and I honestly do not understand why they don’t teach it more in the U.S. so I’m really excited to learn about the Northern Ireland conflict. To make it even better, the professor who teaches the course actually grew up in Northern Ireland during the violence so I don’t think I could get a better account of the events than from someone who lived through some of the events.

4) Romanticism- This is a huge class that is taught by two different teachers. It’s so weird being in a class with around 150 students in it and having one teacher on Tuesdays and a different one on Thursdays but it is a cool change of pace. The class isn’t the most interesting but it isn’t awful so I’ll manage.

5) Environments and Landforms- Now I had looked forward to my “science free” junior year for a long time so the fact that I have decided to use an elective on a science course is making me think Ireland has made me go insane. The good thing is that even though this counts as a “natural science” at SJU, it’s really just a geography class about preserving national parks and it sounds really interesting so I’ll suck it up.

Now that you have all heard about my classes ad nauseum I’ll be sure to make my next post all about my Scotland adventure this weekend… yes that is right I’m going to Scotland for the weekend… I love being in Europe!

Week One of My Amazing Semester Abroad

Well it’s been one week since I arrived in Galway and I’m honestly in love with this place. So here is how my adventure has gone so far…

Anyone who knows me well knows how much I hate flying and how much the idea of being in a plane for 6.5 hours scared the living daylights out of me. To make matters worse right after we pulled away from the terminal we had to wait to take off for almost 2 hours... to say that was a pretty miserable experience is an understatement but we finally got in the air and made it safely to Shannon Airport. The moment I looked out of the plane window and saw the coastline of Ireland I started smiling and I basically haven't stopped smiling since. We had to take a bus from Shannon Airport to Galway, which was about 2 hours but I was lucky since I had about 40 Irish songs that a friend of mine downloaded that I was able to listen to as we were passing the gorgeous fields and small towns.

Once we arrived in Galway we lugged our bags to Niland House, the place we will call home for the next 4 months. Our apartment is great and the location is fantastic since we are only about a 20 minute walk to campus and about a 5 minute walk to center city. We had absolutely amazing weather from the day we arrived until Sunday. I almost forgot that it has a reputation to rain in Ireland! Unfortunately, the good weather did have to end and it ended on the day we decided to go on a tour of the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. To say the Cliffs of Moher should be on every single person’s bucket list is definitely an understatement. Even in the cold and rainy weather they are absolutely breathtaking.

Yesterday was the first day of classes at NUI Galway so I attended my Saints and Sinners of the Celtic World Theology class and my Philosophy of Science class. The classes here are going to take some serious getting used to since many of them only really have a final paper or exam as opposed to the way classes at home are set up where we have multiple tests and papers throughout the semester. Another strange thing about the classes are the fact that almost no Irish students attend class so even if the class has around 100 students it wouldn’t be unusual for around 20 to show up to class. Registration here is a huge pain in the butt so it can be a bit frustrating since I still don’t know for sure all the classes I’m taking since we don’t technically register until September 17^th. As of now I’ll be taking a Celtic Civilization class for a theology, Philosophy of Science, a class on the problems in Irish history, an English class on 20^th century short stories, and possibly Gaelic since Ireland is in fact a bilingual country and there are signs in Gaelic EVERYWHERE. Gaelic will definitely be a challenge but I do feel it will be worth it in the end.

Switching gears a bit, here are just some random thoughts I have thus far of Galway about some things that will take some getting used to:

1) Cars driving on the opposite sides of the road- crossing the street is rather difficult when you expect cars to be coming from one direction but suddenly they come from the other direction

2) The vocabulary- even simple differences such as “To-Go” being referred to as “Take-Away” has thrown me off the first few times I heard it. The accents are a serious challenge but I’m slowly beginning to understand people without having to ask them to repeat themselves.

3) The lack of urgency- everyone always hears about how Europeans are much more laid back and take the time to enjoy themselves as well as the company of others. A few years ago when I went to France I noticed it but never got used to it and after only a week here I’m still not even close to used to it. When we go out to dinner here we have to wait quite a long time to get our check and even though we are all enjoying the atmospheres of the restaurants and pubs here, we are all still Americans who are used to much faster service. I love the fact no one here seems rushed to be anywhere and eventually I will follow suit (hopefully it will be long before I go back to the hustle and bustle of America).

That’s all I can think of for now! I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day weekends!