West Coast Ireland Adventures

This past weekend I participated in my first trip to another city in Ireland called Galway.  My roommates Sam and Katie, as well as myself, took about a three hour bus ride from Cork to Galway and it dropped us off right in the middle of the city centre. Our first stop was at the Salmon Weir Hostel. I was a bit weary about staying in a hostel in the first place because all I had heard from friends were horror stories.  The hostel we stayed at turned out to be wonderful as it had a very homey vibe.  Everyone was super friendly and I got to hear some great travel stories and advice. I'm going to partially going to debunk this issue. The quality of hostel's are completely dependent in the country and city in which you are staying. Ireland is considered one of the safest countries in Europe, even in their most touristy cities. Before you book a hostel do your research by reading the reviews and always lock your belongings in lockers.

Salmon Weir Hostel

It's not that bad!

 We wandered for a few hours and I got the feeling it was a largely touristy city.  Compared to Cork it felt a bit out of my comfort zone, as everyone on the streets was trying to sell me something. I found myself longing for the Cork atmosphere. For the remainder of the evening we listened to local music at one of the pubs then decided to call it a night. The next day we decided to head out of Galway and to some of the impeccable scenery in the surrounding area. I was initially against it but I took a tour bus around a loop of notable places within 2 hours of Galway. I usually like to explore on my own but it was only 16 euro and we were just dropped off at the locations and we got to have free time to ourselves.

Firstly we drove through an area called The Burren.  I had no previous knowledge of the area and was utterly shocked to see the incredible landscapes of thousands of flat limestone scattered through the plains. Some even covered hills in the distance.  I wanted to stay longer than I did, but there was heavy wind in which I did not preparedly dress myself for. At least I got to see the Poulnabrone Portal Tomb!

The Burren

Polnabrone Portal Tomb

Next I visited the Cliffs of Moher, which I recommend everyone to see before they die. I cannot put into words how utter breathtaking it was to see something like this.  The cliffs are so monstrous that one comparatively feels so small.  I was rendered speechless as I hiked the trail on the edge of the cliffs, which continued for several kilometers. I found my experience to be quite special as I experienced several types of weather in the 2 hours I was there. At first I was a bit disappointed because there was a misty type of rain occurring, as well as tremendous amounts of fog. There was heavy wind constantly, so much that I thought I was going to blow off the edge.  It was oddly mystifying and eerie to view. Thankfully the sun came out and the fog drifted away making the sea a bit more blue and allowing the cliffs to look larger than I thought!

Crazy winds and foggy cliffs

Everything is revealed, photos don't do it justice!

Finally we concluded our journey through the village of Doolin where I go to have traditional Irish seafood chowder.  We then all traveled back to Cork to prepare for the upcoming school week.  I never knew how much Ireland truly has to offer.  When I initially went through my search for schools in which to study abroad, Cork happened to be my third choice.  Yet there is still so much that I have not seen and that I look forward to experiencing in my remaining time here.  Cheers!

First Week of Irish Class....and Culture

Adjusting to the lifestyle of the Irish is most likely the easiest thing I have ever done. Let's put it this way; I would not be even the slightest bit upset if I lived here the remainder of my life. Before you jump to the conclusion that I am crazy for wanting to live in one of the most rainy places in the world, hear me out as I break down how I've fell in love with this city.

1. It does NOT rain every day, maybe twice a week at the most, but it's still January! The sun is out on most days and it may be a bit wet outside, but it's not as unbearable as people make it seem. Plus it even snowed here last week, which is basically unheard of.  The Irish were freaking out. If you don't believe me, check out this link. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbkOwoZLey0

Even with the snow, it's still beautifully green.

2. The lifestyle is a lot more relaxed and less of the hustle and bustle nature of America.  Here people work to live, not live to work.  I'm guessing the lacking of a tense atmosphere allows for everyone to be so friendly.  The Irish are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.  Many are more than happy to point you in the right direction if you're lost and they'll even throw in a suggestion of a good place to eat or drink.  The Irish take pride in who they are as a culture as most of the businesses are local and family owned.  I've made friends with the local produce owner and butcher already, as well as stumbled upon my new favorite brewery, Franciscan Well, brewed right here in Cork!

My favorite is the Friar Weisse!

3. I don't know if this speaks for the entirety of Irish education, but the courses at University College Cork are a lot more relaxed than at the University of Cincinnati.  Brace yourself to be ridden with jealousy as I tell you the details. Firstly, homework pretty much doesn't exist.  Courses, or what the Irish call modules, consist of a final exam and a paper/project.  This places a lot more emphasis on the importance of lecture material and emphasis on attending class.  The professors are extremely nice and always willing to help with understanding the material.

Me right before my first class at UCC!

4. Going out to the local pub for casual drinks and live music occurs pretty much every night.  Irish students usually tend to go out on the week nights and visit home on the weekends.  This pretty much allows for never a dull moment.  I think I've already made my point on how nice people are here, but you can sit down with anyone and engage in friendly conversation.  The live music is my favorite part.  The music ranges from cover bands, to indie bands, to traditional Irish bands.  All are so fun to listen to, so much better than the whole DJ movement. 

Local traditional Irish music every Monday at Abbey Tavern.

Cork is a phenomenal city and widely unknown to most Americans.  Usually the only city that comes to mind when thinking of Ireland is Dublin, well for me it was.  The city of Cork is actually the second largest in Ireland! I'm so excited to explore the entirety of Ireland and learn as much about the culture as possible.

The Study Abroad Emotional Curve

My first week in Ireland was filled with ups and downs with adventures I'd never even dreamed of experiencing.  Prior to my departure, my study abroad adviser informed me a chart titled "The Study Abroad Emotional Curve." This helps the student aware of the upcoming emotions that are affixed to studying abroad. 

I did not think too much into it at first, as I had a billion other things on my mind.  When I look back on it, I most likely experienced the entire emotional curve within 24 hours. My Departure from the United States was anything but smooth. Firstly, the goodbye to my friends, family and boyfriend was a lot more emotionally draining than I expected.  Long story short, lots of tears were shed.

My first flight to O'Hare was delayed to the point where I missed my second flight to Heathrow.  My only options were to fly standby on another fully booked flight or to wait until the next scheduled flight at 4pm the next day.  I in no way shape or form wanted to spend the night laying on uncomfortable airport chairs.  Thankfully, in the final minutes of boarding, United was able to get me on the flight.

By the time I got to Ireland I was excited for things to finally go smoothly, but I hit another road bump when the airline lost my luggage. I tried to push all of the negativity aside, falling in love with the beauty of Ireland and enjoyed pleasant conversation with my cab driver.  When I got to my apartment I briefly met my roommates and went straight to bed.  Even though everything was fine and I had arrived in Ireland safely, I just wanted to feel comfortable, yet all I knew was that I didn't even have a change of clothes for the night, I barely knew anyone here, and I didn't even know where anything was in this strange city. What really put me over the edge was when I drank a glass of water, my body completely rejected it. So now on top of everything I was sick. I Facebook messaged my family, friends, and boyfriend feeling pathetic not being excited being in a new country. They managed to calm me down enough to fall asleep for the night, but it was still such a frightening emotion.

So here's the ugly truth: traveling is not as fun as it looks, but once you get to your destination things get better. Studying abroad puts you completely out of your comfort zone and it's hard to get used to things. Yet, having a positive attitude makes all of a difference. One of my friends gave me a good piece of advice in the midst of all of the craziness, "The worst traveling always results in the best trips." The next morning when I woke up, my roommates and I attended our orientation for University College Cork and my outlook changed completely.  My roommates were in exactly the same situation I was, so I didn't quite feel so alone after that. We went to traditional Irish pubs, met new people, and experienced the culture! Ever since then everything has turned around for me and I'm so excited for the remainder of this experience!!

University College Cork (Hogwarts?)

So official

Guinness in Ireland

My lovely Roommates!