Miscellaneous Observations

1. There are dogs everywhere. They definitely seem to be the pet of choice. I see lots of people walking them around campus and I am always impressed by how well trained they are. Rarely are the dogs kept on leashes, and I have yet to see one stray from its owner’s side. It makes me really miss having a dog. Also, there are a few stray cats just walking around campus. I’m not sure if they have homes or not.

2. Just because we speak the same language, doesn’t mean we speak the same language. I have an extremely hard time understanding what many of the Irish students here are saying. This lack of understanding stems from both the accent and the use of slang that I am unfamiliar with. The professors, for the most part, are more easily understood. Some terms I have to get used to are:

            - using “lads” instead of “guys”

- saying “craic” instead of “fun” – this is hard to get used to because I’m so conditioned to immediately think of “crack”, when someone tells me where to find “good craic” or asks if I have “had craic” that night.

- the overwhelming use of “f***” being sprinkled throughout every sentence, by students and professors alike.

3. These Irish students are not nearly as dependent upon the internet as American students are. Sure, our classes provide information on a website called Solis (think Ctools), but the internet is not necessary to these kids’ survival. My internet is spotty at best and completely cut off at its worst. Also, none of the websites I use to watch TV shows on work in Ireland (gahhh right when the new season of Tosh.0 started). I can’t even convey how disconnected from the world I feel when my internet isn’t working. It’s frustrating and puts me completely on edge. I asked one of my roommates how to get the internet fixed. He said that he had noticed that his wasn’t working either (in fact it was out in the whole house), but he wasn’t worried about it. “C’est la vie”, he said, and my jaw dropped. I’ve pretty much been occupying my time by drawing, choreographing, wandering around, and going to the pub with friends. Oh hey, wait a minute…this is actually a good thing…? I’ve never once thought that I would appreciate not having internet, but it’s interesting to see what sort of activities I fill my time up with.

4. I charged my phone for the first time a week ago and it still has 2/4 bars of charge left. Amazing.

5. I live with four boys and one girl (apparently, but I’ve never seen her). I’m interested to see what it’s like living with so many guys, excuse me, lads. I wonder how the mess/noise level will compare with the last two houses I’ve lived in.