no classes this week

so monday afternoon was the orientation for masters students at ucc. yay!
the actual information was nothing really new, i already knew about the library, the campus and such. but it was still good to go to. so as the director of the graduate program is introducing herself she tells us to turn to someone by us and introduce ourselves. and i was so excited that the girl i introduced myself to is a history grad, and even better she is in the diaspora option too! so after we started talking, there was a little reception after with wine and she seems super fab! she is from chicago, went to a small school in illinois and studied in limerick two years ago. so while her and i were talking we were also mingling with others, when these two guys comes over and starts talking to us, they told ust they were starting their postgrads in law (and i was thinking is there such a thing here?, and they looked really young) and then they started telling kara and i all about the 'super awesome' freshers week parties. now i'm thinking, i have absolutely no intention on going to any of the freshers week stuff, because do i really want to be around thousands of 17&18 years olds away from home for the first time? so i excused myself to get another glass of wine, and the guy was like so you're blowing me off, i was like no, i just wanted more wine. so he walked away (ok, so it was part of my plan) and when kara and i, and another person who had joined us were like seriously? they were absolutely hammered, and i was like i think they might be freshers, and guy who came over agreed with me. so then the two 'freshers' came back again and were like guess what? we're freshers and we heard there was wine here, so we are going now before we get kicked out. so they were party crashers, it was highly amusing and it made me laugh. so kara and i were talking about when we had class, and neither of us knew anything for sure, so we exchanged numbers and said we would let each other know.

sometimes i miss the simplicity of wac.
so yesterday i thought we had our postgrad seminar, for all history postgrads, because its on tuesday and classes started monday. so on monday, i looked at the timetables online and saw when i had class and wrote it down just to make sure it hadn't changed in the last week. well i had to go to the international student office for something else and asked to double check i had the right times and places, because well they change and don't update the website, and when she printed out something for me, it only had one class and in a different building. ok so i figured this would happen so i tried the history secretary, but she wasn't in. so now i was even more confused.
so tuesday i went to the history secretary and she wasn't in again. grrr. so i went and did something else, and then i went to another history secretary, who i actually think is the postgrad secretary? she was there and it turned out that history masters classes don't start until next week, and the rooms were both different than the timetables. so i was glad i had this figured out, but i have a week before classes start. hmmmm.
luckily i learned last time that things were slightly disorganized so i wasn't as ahhhhhhhhh! as i was last time.

the house mates are fab so far! so i am lucky to have found such a fabulous place with really awesome girls. there is one girl who we know nothing about yet, who hasn't moved in, so we don't know about her, and the girl who has said nothing besides hello. but the other 4 are great and we get along so yay!

i have registration tomorrow so thats exciting, and its clubs day. so i have stuff to do tomorrow! friday i have a few errands i need to run, hopefully, that i get my id card. and sunday is the first hike! yay!

so i am excited for class next week and finally starting my masters. its weird because everyone who is has class has already been there for a month, and i'm ready to start.

rugby and irish tv

It’s been a good few days in Cork, since the last update. Thursday it was absolutely gorgeous in Cork so after going to Tesco to get some things I forgot I went out and read in Fitzgerald Park for the afternoon. It was sunny and warm, I was comfortable in jeans and a short sleeved shirt. Yay! I’m loving the sun and am soaking up as much of it as possible as the fall weather will be here soon.

I’ve become quite fond of rugby. I forgot how much I love it, seriously it is way better than American football. I don’t understand why American sports are so slow compared to the sports around the world. I guess I just love sports, but the atmosphere here towards the gaelic games and anything with Ireland teams is crazy. The pub on Friday night for the rugby world cup was crazy, everyone was singing the Irish national anthem and cheering while the players were being announced and it was great. Until coming to Ireland last time and seeing this for the qualifying Soccer World Cup, I had really never seen anything like it, but it is like this all the time for Ireland games, and I love it.

Unfortunately, Ireland lost to France in the game Friday night, and they didn’t play well. It was 26 to 3. So they have to win their game next weekend against Argentina to advance to the next round. I went to the pub to watch the game, but right before half I felt like crap and left. It was good I left because I threw up once I got home. I think I just ate too much for dinner and it was so hot and crowded in the pub, I wasn’t even drinking, because I didn’t feel good I just had water. Oh well, I watched the horrible second half from my couch.

So I met another one of my housemates, she seems nice. She is in her final year, pharmacy student. she came to drop off some stuff and her and a friend went out Friday night and she left this morning to go home, but will be back on Sunday. The same with Aiofe,, who had her 21^st party today. So I guess everyone will be arriving tomorrow into the house. I’m excited to really meet everyone and get started with the term.

I forgot how much I love shows here. I’ve been watching Home and Away, Hollyoaks, Coronation Street and other “soaps” here. I just figured out yesterday that I will not be able to watch Grey’s or Ugly Betty on abc.com. I was hoping I’d be able to get them online, along with some of the new shows but I can’t. Luckily they air grey’s here, but its about a month or so behind? I also love RTE4. It’s the Irish channel, its funny, because they have the randomest things on, all in Irish with English subtitles. I’ve enjoyed cooking too. AND tea time is my favorite time of day, I am drinking tea constantly and its great. I love barry’s.

Today was the info session for full degree international students. it was pretty much everything I knew from the info they sent to us and last time, but it was good to get some clarification on a few things. I can’t wait until I get my UCC card, so I can go to the gym and climb! and so I can go to the bank and open an Irish account, so I can register with immigration, so I can get a tax number so I can get a job. So it should take about a month, grrr.

Just going to relax today and tomorrow and Monday I need to head over to the International Students Office because I have a few questions and then the Masters Orientation on Monday afternoon. YAY! Things are finally getting started :)

yay for my house

yay!! i am all moved into the house and it is fabulous!

it was a fun weekend in cork, friday night i went out with the club and it was nice to see everyone. saturday night i met up with the wac kids who are studying abroad in cork and i went out with the dave, lindsey and colleen, which was fun. it was great to talk about wac things and to hear about their early start trips and such. it was also funny because at the brog, we ran into the other wac kids, and the whole time i was in ireland the first time i don't think all 6 of us were ever together. it was exciting at the senior lunch for graduation to get a picture of all 6 of us, finally!

sunday i went with the 3 wac students again to watch the cork - kerry football match, and it was fun. cork didn't do so hot though. i forgot how much i loved football. yay!

monday i moved into my house! yayayyayayayyyaay! it is fabulous and so nice. i love being able to have a place of my own. i've met 2 of the roommates, and they both seem cool. one just dropped off some stuff, while aiofe and i have hung out watching tv and talking a few times. yay. monday was sure tiring, as i went into the city 3 times to pick up stuff such as bedding, hooks, hangers and other silly little things, and to tesco to go food shopping. tuesday i also made 2 trips into the city to get things i forgot. but i love my room :) it really is huge and i look out into the street and the college which is nice. i love being across the street from the college. yay!

tuesday night i went to the international office movie night, and i finally got to see the wind that shakes the barley. omg. i loved it. so amazing, i wish i could have seen it in the states. i'm not sure at the choice to show to many who didn't know much about ireland's history though, especially international students. but i enjoyed it. then as today is my brother's birthday, i called home. it was good to talk to everyone.

today i was lazy and didn't really do anything, but i found if i sit on the stairs i get a wireless signal. so that is what i'm doing now. i can't wait for everyone to move in so we can talk about getting internet for the house though. but it is sooo nice to be on my own computer. yay! i've missed it.

so here are some pictures of the house.

the house - fern lodge


my room

more of my room

front entry

dining room

one of the two living rooms

the kitchen is being re-painted still, and the other sitting room is pretty much the same without the tv. there are 5 bedrooms upstairs, with 3 of them being ensuite, and then my bedroom and another downstairs. i can't wait to meet the rest of my roomates. yay!

and as its wednesday, i'll be off to tom barry's for a laugh.

:)

anyway, cork is grand. i spend my days wondering about the city and just exploring. i love it. i also spend a lot of time in parks, especially fitzgerald park, just reading. its very nice. wednesday night i met everyone at tom barry's and it was a laugh. a really fun night. then i went with a bunch of people to this really fab pub, crane lane, its where club 1 used to be, now its a really fab place, where we just talked and laughed.

today i went to cobh for the afternoon, it was grand. i went through the museum again, and walked around the town and sat along the harbor reading. it was nice and relaxing. while i was reading and sitting there i kept thinking about my thesis and how this was the last place in ireland many of them saw, and how gorgeous cobh is. it is one of my favorite places in ireland.

so i'm off to tom barry's to meet up with everyone again!

IRELAND

I arrived safely in Ireland on Monday morning. There was a gorgeous sunrise over the clouds which was cool. Arrived in Shannon at 7am, took the bus to cork, a taxi to the hostel and then went out to get a phone. yay! the last two days I looked at places to live and things are great!

Things in Cork are fab! It is Wednesday afternoon and I found somewhere to live! YAY!! It’s a house on Donovans Road, which is alongside the college, which is fabulous! It’s a huuuge house, and I will be living with 6 other people, my bedroom is huge and bright and there is a nice window. So I am very very excited! The rest of the house is awesome too, there are 2 large sitting rooms, a large dining room and nice kitchen. Also the house was getting renovated over the summer so a lot of it has just been fixed. So I move in on Monday! YAY! I am very very excited.

Yesterday was exhausting, I walked all over the city looking at places to live. I looked at 7 different places and walked pretty much everywhere. Today I sat in Fitzgerald Park and ate lunch and read. It was very relaxing. i just went to the cinema to see Run Fat Boy, Run. It was directed by David Schwimmer from Friends, and it was really cute. I enjoyed it. It topped the British box office over the weekend and apparently it comes out in the US at the end of October.

Tomorrow I think I’m going to go to Cobh and walk around and go to the museum and people watch :) Other than that I'm not up to much yet, trying not to spend too much money and trying to find all the fun free things to do in Cork.

yay!

tomorrow!!!

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! i leave tomorrow!!!!

so i am almost done packing, i need to make my bags lighter, so i need to go through it all again. but the coolest thing happened when i was packing. i bought a ring in kinsale, one of my first weekends in ireland and i wore it all semester and i lost it right at the end of my semester and i was really upset. so i brought out the bag i used for my laptop when i was in ireland and packing some stuff in it for my carry-on when i found my ring! i was sooo excited!

its just starting to hit me that i'll be in ireland soon, i'll be going to tesco, the english market, walking down patrick's street, going to the pubs, walking around campus, seeing signs in irish.

i have been waiting for this day since december 20th, 2005 when i left cork and now its finally here.
and i'm not going for a visit, i'm going back to live again.

i think i need to pinch myself to make sure this is real.
seriously.

my flight leaves sunday night at 7.25 and monday morning at 6.55 i should be in shannon and in cork around lunch time!


YAY!!

packing!

it is tuesday the 4th of september and i leave for cork on sunday the 9th. yay!

i am getting very very excited to be back in cork!
i'll be moving back to cork to begin my masters in history at university college cork. i will be taking classes on the irish diaspora (irish emigration) and doing more research on irish domestic servants.

i had a fabulous weekend in boston visiting my loves jeanne, kaity and also seeing my twin and blythe and in connecticut visiting amy. the irish heritage trail photo scavenger hunt in boston was so fun and a great day with my friends, plus other funny photos. mystic seaport was fab with amy and getting to play with boats and a picnic!

now i'm back in jersey for a few more days and i'm trying to organize my life. i'm getting out everything i want and seeing how it fits. since i want to bring some books and research i'm bringing a third suitcase. and i have a ton of errands to run and making sure i have everything figured out for the next year or so.

i leave on sunday night from newark and i arrive in shannon on monday morning, i should make the first bus from shannon to cork, i'm going to take a taxi from the bus station to the hotel and from there get a cell phone and start calling to find somewhere to live. i'm excited to be taking classes, to meeting new people and to be back in ireland :)