I have entered the double digits. I now have six more weeks and about forty days until I am back home. I would be lying if I said I was not homesick. After a while you begin to miss the things that you are used to. I know I miss some of my favorite foods and meals. I also love Fall in Michigan, so I miss bonfires, apple cider and so on. The thing that I miss most though is my family and friends. I have definitely learned that each place holds something special for a person, but it is always good to go back to your roots from time to time. Do not worry, I am doing great and love Ireland and everything it has to offer. I am combating my homesickness with many Skype dates, phone calls, and cards from home. I tried to stick to the frequency that I usually talk to my family back in the States, so it does not feel as strange for me. In regards to my week there was not much going on and I didn't take a single picture, so I figured that I would post some pictures from a variety of my trips and places that I have been in Ireland. I wanted to remind everyone of how beautiful everything is here. The pictures include ones from Limerick, Killarney, the Ring of Kerry, the Aran Islands, the Cliffs of Moher, and Galway!
Tuesday were my society activities with the International Society's book club and the Anime and Manga Society's hangout/manga reading time. The book that we are reading for the book club is getting more intense. I will not give away any spoilers, but each chapter is from a new character's perspective and they are all connected in this small town in some way. The book takes place during the recent recession in Ireland, so it addresses things like job loss and emigration to places like Australia. The author uses a lot of Irish slang, so I am getting a proper education. As always I love spending time with all of the nerds that meet up for the Anime and Manga screenings and hangouts. The anime screenings on Wednesdays are always my favorite part, and we usually pick new shows each time we meet up. How it usually works is that we send in our suggestions for anime to watch on a website that is sent to the screenings officer of the society. He then will choose about three or four shows, and we will watch two or three episodes from each show if everyone is liking it at the end of the first episode. It is really laid back though, and we have a blast each time. Some members of the society are preparing to go on a trip to a convention in two weeks, but I will talk about that more when we get there.
As for my classes they have all been going pretty well. I had a paper due on Tuesday and a midterm exam on Thursday, so that kept me pretty busy all week. There have been a few new professors introduced in two of my classes, which are both engaging and great people. In my Traditional Irish Music and Dance class we have moved on to traditional Irish song. My professor for this is an older woman that likes to sing the examples that she gives, which is awesome. Sometimes she will have us join in for the chorus, so there are a hundred of us that are joined together singing or clapping. Speaking of that class, did I mention that at the end of the semester in the tutorial there will be a concert where each tutorial class plays one song? Well if I did not, now you know that I get to look forward to that. All of the International students have been invited to attend, so that adds a bit of pressure. However, the professors have said that the concert is always a riot, and they never expect people to actually play well. It is just really fun to get together and show what we have learned to our peers. Anyways, the song that we will be playing is called "Britches Full of Stitches," and if it sounds familiar to you that is because it is. I have already posted a video of my instructor playing it in a previous blog. I will give you updates on my progress with the song, but I give no promises for actually sounding good while I play it. This week we also were given a schedule for final exams (no wonder I am thinking so much about my time almost being up here). As far as I know I only have two or three exams that I need to be present for, and one online. They are scattered across a few days as well, so it is a lot different from the schedule at home.
During my time here I have heard a lot of different opinions about Americans from Irish people and people from other countries. The stereotypes that are held here are not always pleasant ones. Americans are thought to be loud and sometimes annoying. American politics are strange, and no one really understands what is going on with our government. Despite all of the negativity I wanted to mention all of the positive things that I have heard. The produce vendor at the mini market at UL says that Americans are the nicest people that he has met. We are easy to talk to and get along with. He keeps a dollar bill in his wallet to show his American customers every now and again. A taxi man that took a few of my housemates and myself to the rugby game said that he had been living in Limerick since he was 18, and the nicest people that he comes across are Americans. In fact, he said we were nicer than most Irish people. Sometimes I think that Americans come into Ireland with this notion that we are always looked down on or hated, but do not realize that there are people who really like us being here. Even if we are stereotyped, it is our job to break them down and help others to understand that we are all people, and everyone is unique. You cannot stereotype a nation. It is not fair and does not ring true to the diversity and unique qualities that each citizen possesses.
I realize that I am jumping around a bit (call it a stream of consciousness in honor of James Joyce), but I wanted to finish talking about my week. Thursday night I spent some time with my roommates and some friends playing cards, and then we decided to experience some of Limerick's nightlife. A big group of us went to several places where we danced and enjoyed each other's company. By the end I was exhausted from all of the dancing, but I had a really great time with all of my friends. There are several places in Ireland that have a great nightlife, and Limerick is definitely one of them. Some places have DJs, while others play live music, but either way you are guaranteed a good time. Friday I sat around most of the day, but during the evening I went to see the movie "Interstellar" with all of my guy roommates and Stephanie. This recently came out in theatres so I will not give away any spoilers (can you tell that I hate spoilers?) but it reminded me a lot of "Inception." If you get a chance to see it I would recommend it. We went to see it at Odeon again, but this time i got some popcorn, which was surprisingly saltier than the American version, and a pop which were a bit pricey. The funny moment of the night was when the lights in the theatre did not go down until someone hunted down an employee to turn them off at the beginning if the movie.
I think it is about time for the Fun Facts segment! Yay! So here is what I have for you today:
#1: Movies in Ireland are usually released later than in the United States. However, for popular films they are released at the same time, if not sooner. Speaking of which, I will be seeing the final Hobbit movie about a week before you Americans do. The perks of studying abroad!
#2: The University of Limerick is actually split between two counties: Co. Clare and Co. Limerick. The Shannon River is what separates the two. I have my Music tutorial and Linguistics lecture in Co. Clare, while my other classes are in Co. Limerick.
#3: Daylight savings time occurs on different days for each country. For Ireland, we had daylight savings time a week before the United States did, so for a week I was only four hours ahead of my family instead of five.
#4: A lot of Irish people really like American accents. Who knew!
That's all folks! Tune in next week for my trip to Tipperary. This means a whole lot of castles lads.
