(Ashleen's Carbonara!)
Friday was our second day of orientation. We really didn't do much and it was in no way helpful to us at all. I'm pretty sure they left out all of the important details, which meant that all of us were confused about registration and had to e-mail people left and right to figure everything out. (More to come later in this post about classes).
The weekend was very fun! Saturday morning, Mary Helen (henceforth to be referred to as 'Melon'), Mike, and I went in to town around 9:30am to check out the market. It was unbelievable! I'll have to take pictures for you guys later on. It had foods of all sorts, clothing, and handcrafted items. I will definitely be going there every weekend that I'm in Galway! Probably the best part of the whole market (and the reason I was told to go by Diana and Nick) was the Donut Man (that's how I got Melon to come with me that early in the morning... all I had to do was say the word 'donut' and she was in). Yes. There is indeed a Donut Man who is there every Saturday and Sunday at the weekend market. He makes the donuts right in front of you and puts either cocoa, cinnamon or plain sugar on them. You haven't eaten a true donut until you've had one of Donut Man's donuts. Donut Man sells his donuts for 70 cents a piece, so it's tempting to buy two... but we haven't yet. Maybe one day we will. Also, Melon and I plan on making friends with Donut Man and taking a picture with him before we leave. So maybe you will see him up here someday!
After the market, the three of us waited for the rest of the 'Nova group to go meet up with Mary Madec for coffee. Mary is our leader and teacher for this semester. She is an Irish woman who married a Frenchman. They live here in Galway together with their son. Mary is hired by 'Nova to guide the study abroad students during their stay in Galway as well as teach a class to them. The class is Irish Culture Seminar. For me, it will count as my international social science requirement for my International Business minor. She meets with the group once a week (Tuesdays 6-8pm). I'm not sure what to expect because we don't start her class until this upcoming Tuesday, but I'm sure I'll let you know! We also take two trips with Mary. The first is two weekends from now to Co. Mayo. We have a full weekend planned for us! I will save the details of that until after I get back! Our other trip is to Dublin some time in November. I'm so excited for both trips because the activities we will be doing sound incredibly fun!
(Chelsea, Allie, Me, and Hope at coffee with Mary)
Sunday was a beautiful day in Galway! Ashleen, Melon, and I went in to town and walked over the the beach on Galway Bay. Along the way we met an old man named Joe. Joe called us over to the bench he was sitting on and talked to us about Galway and the history of the city. He also told us about the different running clubs that we could join at NUIG and a man that we should go see about the running clubs (he apparently lived up the street from where we were...). Joe was a very sweet man who had quite a foul mouth. Ashleen was taken aback by the number of times he dropped the f-bomb. (Though I must admit.. it doesn't sound nearly as bad with an Irish brogue) After our chat with Joe, we headed down to the beach. There is so much beach glass here! I'm in heaven! I had to pick only the best pieces because I know I'll keep on collecting more everywhere I go.
(Villanova Loves Ireland on the beach on Galway Bay! Melon and Ashleen)
Monday began classes... well... sort of. For the first two weeks we just 'sit in' on classes that we are interested in to see which ones we want to take. We don't actually register for classes until September 17th... which I find to be very bizarre. Of the four classes that I am taking at NUIG, I have three locked down. I know I am taking Irish Economic History, New Enterprise Development, and Media & Marketing Communications. As of now I'm still waiting to hear back about a class called Landscapes of Cult and Kingship. Diana took it last year as her upper level Theology requirement, but for some reason it's not on the list of approved courses, so I have to find a way to get it approved. If not, I will be taking The Cultural Impact of Christianity on the Celtic World. I sat in on that course today and it wasn't too bad. The teacher is a bit bland, but the information seemed to be interesting enough. Either way, I guess it will work out.
What's great about my Media & Marketing course is that it has a project that is almost identical to the one I did for Competitive Effectiveness last year. So I guess it was worth saving all of my papers for that project after all! That class seems like it will be the most work as of right now because we have a quiz every week, a project, a presentation, and a final exam. Every other class just has a final exam or essay so I'll only really have to buckle down once the semester starts to come to an end.
I feel like I'm not taking enough classes because each class is only two hours per week. Therefore this is my tentative schedule:
Monday- Cultural Impact 3-4pm (tentatively), Irish Econ Hist 4-5pm
Tuesday- Landscapes of Cult and Kingship 1-2pm (tentatively), Media & Marketing 4-6pm, Mary's class 6-8pm
Wednesday- Landscapes of Cult and Kingship 12-1pm (tentatively)
Thursday- New Ent Dev 10am-12pm, Irish Econ Hist 1-2pm, Cultural Impact 2-3pm (tentatively)
No class Fridays. So, technically if I take Cultural Impact... I won't have class on Wednesdays or Fridays... that's once in a lifetime... I'll need to pick up a hobby here.
The poor engineers. What to say about them. They had quite a scare at the beginning of the week! Last year, the one civil engineer on the program ran in to the issue that the two hardest courses she HAD to take while here overlapped one day. This meant she had to choose which one to go to each week. Anyway, the adviser for the CivEs came to NUIG last spring to make sure that that would never happen again. Well... it did. The eight CivEs that are here has one class Monday Wednesday 9-11am and the other Wednesday Friday 9-11am. Thankfully, Mary and the CivE adviser kicked into gear and sorted the whole matter out and got one of the times changed. Yay 'Nova for taking charge!
The only other things that have happened this week deal with food. Melon and I made our first few meals together (Chicken, rice, and veggies one night and chicken, potatoes, and veggies another night). Mary took us all to The Spudhouse for dinner last night. IT. IS. SO. DELICIOUS. Melon and I split cheesy garlic bread and potato lentil soup for an appetizer and then I had a potato loaded with chicken, peppers, garlic, and of course, cheese. It was to die for. Melon and I have decided it is definitely a place we will frequent... even if we just stop to get some of their scrumptious chocolate cake!
I'll end with an overview of the night life. By this point (night 10) I have been to a few different pubs and one night club. I would pick the pubs any night. Hands down. The night clubs just aren't my scene! Sorry to all of the Irish folks who love to go there! The pubs are just a more welcoming environment (and I can wear what I had on for class!).
(Erin, Hope, Melon, Me, and Ashleen at The Front Door)
Sorry I was so long-winded in this post! There was a lot to cover because so much has been happening! Hopefully I'll write shorter posts more frequently from now on!
Off to bed it is!
"May the sun shine all day long, everything go right and nothing wrong. May those you love bring love back to you, and may all the wishes you wish come true."
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