August 29th
We arrived into Shannon at around 6 AM. After going through customs, I sat down for breakfast with my best friend Bridget, who I get to share this amazing experience with. We hung around the airport until the last person in the group arrived. The ISA group we are apart of consist of a extremely nice bunch of students from all of over the United States. It was shocking to me that this was all of their first time in Ireland. I found that to be extremely brave coming a place you've never been before by yourself for the next four months. I admire them for that. Tuesday was a very long day, especially because we didn't get any sleep on the plane ride over. The group arrived to our housing complex at around 12:30 PM. We received our keys to our houses and were able to drop our bags and then right on the move again. Our house is different than we are used to in college dorms in America. It is three floors. On the first floor is a kitchen and sitting area. Our bedroom is on the next floor with a bathroom and another housemate' s room. The next floor is the same lay out. We only have one housemate moved in so far. He is a boy, which is different for us having lived with all girls at Manhattan College. He is very sweet and is a second year student at NUI Galway. After seeing our house and dropping our luggage, we went on a tour of the school. The campus is beautiful and HUGE. Coming from MC, we are used to everything being so close. Trying to find all of our classes should be interesting for the first few days. After that, we did a tour of the city and I fell in love with it. Shoppe Street, which would be the town center, is filled with cute stores, live music, and smiling faces. After our tour around the city, we walked back toward the housing and shopped for the essentials we needed. Bridget and I misjudged how much we bought and had a quite interesting journey back to the apartment with bags filled with groceries and bedding. While it was tough, we laughed about it the whole time.
August 30th
After a long day of traveling, we were able to sleep in late on Wednesday. We spent the day making our way around town and going into all the little shops. We found a place that sells iced coffee, which we were nervous about missing coming to Ireland without Dunkin Donuts. The day before our group leader told us that Salthill Beach was on right up the road, so we decided to take the walk because the weather was very nice. It was absolutely gorgeous. We had dinner on the strip of the beach. When I put in my phone the address to go back to our apartment to our surprise it was an hour and a half walk... but we did it!
August 31st
Reality set in that we weren't just here to admire the beautiful city of Galway. We started our day off with orientation. I was shocked that 22% of NUIG students are international. In the evening, we went to dinner with the ISA group. The food was delicious!
September 1st
The morning began with another day of orientation. I received my student ID and we were informed on how we register for our classes. After orientation, I went on my own to run a couple of errands. It really set in that I was here at that point. In the afternoon, we traveled to County Mayo to spend the night with my cousins. It was amazing to see them. My Cousin Kathleen always takes the best of care of me when I am at her house. Her house feels like home to me. We had a great night together.
September 2nd
We traveled back to Galway this morning. It is great to know I have family just a bus ride away. The rain has arrived after a few gorgeous days. When we arrived back, I spent the evening FaceTiming my family and friends back home and tell them how everything is going. I have talked to all of them everyday throughout the day, but this time I actually was able to have a full conversation. I was able to organize all my things and really settle in now.
We arrived into Shannon at around 6 AM. After going through customs, I sat down for breakfast with my best friend Bridget, who I get to share this amazing experience with. We hung around the airport until the last person in the group arrived. The ISA group we are apart of consist of a extremely nice bunch of students from all of over the United States. It was shocking to me that this was all of their first time in Ireland. I found that to be extremely brave coming a place you've never been before by yourself for the next four months. I admire them for that. Tuesday was a very long day, especially because we didn't get any sleep on the plane ride over. The group arrived to our housing complex at around 12:30 PM. We received our keys to our houses and were able to drop our bags and then right on the move again. Our house is different than we are used to in college dorms in America. It is three floors. On the first floor is a kitchen and sitting area. Our bedroom is on the next floor with a bathroom and another housemate' s room. The next floor is the same lay out. We only have one housemate moved in so far. He is a boy, which is different for us having lived with all girls at Manhattan College. He is very sweet and is a second year student at NUI Galway. After seeing our house and dropping our luggage, we went on a tour of the school. The campus is beautiful and HUGE. Coming from MC, we are used to everything being so close. Trying to find all of our classes should be interesting for the first few days. After that, we did a tour of the city and I fell in love with it. Shoppe Street, which would be the town center, is filled with cute stores, live music, and smiling faces. After our tour around the city, we walked back toward the housing and shopped for the essentials we needed. Bridget and I misjudged how much we bought and had a quite interesting journey back to the apartment with bags filled with groceries and bedding. While it was tough, we laughed about it the whole time.
August 30th
After a long day of traveling, we were able to sleep in late on Wednesday. We spent the day making our way around town and going into all the little shops. We found a place that sells iced coffee, which we were nervous about missing coming to Ireland without Dunkin Donuts. The day before our group leader told us that Salthill Beach was on right up the road, so we decided to take the walk because the weather was very nice. It was absolutely gorgeous. We had dinner on the strip of the beach. When I put in my phone the address to go back to our apartment to our surprise it was an hour and a half walk... but we did it!
August 31st
September 1st
The morning began with another day of orientation. I received my student ID and we were informed on how we register for our classes. After orientation, I went on my own to run a couple of errands. It really set in that I was here at that point. In the afternoon, we traveled to County Mayo to spend the night with my cousins. It was amazing to see them. My Cousin Kathleen always takes the best of care of me when I am at her house. Her house feels like home to me. We had a great night together.
September 2nd
We are so glad your blog is now up and running. We can feel your excitement in beginning this adventure. Looking forward to keeping up with your reports.
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