Wednesday Night

These last few days have been a whirlwind of emotions.  One minute I am happy and comfortable and the next I really want to come home.  People have said that it will get better once I have a set schedule and I agree. But let me update you all on events that have happened!

Well, I got into Cork on last Friday and checked into my apartment around 7ish.  Oddly, when I opened the door to my room someone else's stuff was still there! There were clothes hanging up, papers still on the desk, food on the floor. Not exactly what I expected. I called the warden and he moved me into another room within the suite that was empty. I was all alone. No one was in the suite. I was not expecting this either. I was also without internet. The entire suite was a mess too. Dirty, molding dishes were in the sink, the fridge had frozen over and its door was propped open from the giant ice cube, the floor had clearly not been vacuumed for months. THe worst part was that they hadn't taken out the garbage. It smelt quite bad despite all the windows being open (it was maybe 38F out= COLD!).  I have cleaned it up now. 

The next morning I was awoken by someone coming in to the suite, a girl named Kelly from Montana, and she was supposed to be in the room I was (and am) currently in. SHe saw the condition of the place and we went immediately to the warden. She has gotten switched to a different suite, but I am still here. I have two flatmates, two boys named Oren and Phillip (thanks goodness I have my own bathroom!). Oren is from Waterford, Ireland, the county right next to Cork on the East, and I don't know much about Phillip as I just met him tonight for a quick second (he had to leave for a rugby game). I'm pretty sure they're 18 or 19. THe other two rooms in the flat are empty.  

The apartment complex, Farranlea Hall, is about a 15 minute walk from campus. I take the more "residential" route up College Road to look at the pretty houses and things, but if I needed to go by shops I could take the main road that actually goes into Cork City Center (downtown).  I haven't walked directly to town from the Hall, but I am guessing it would be 25 or 30 minutes. But from the UCC campus I can then walk into town in about 10 minutes. So basically campus is between my apartment and town, which is pretty nice. 

I have been to town four or five times now, twice by myself. For the first few days I was hanging out with Kelly and other friends she knew from Montana, but yesterday I decided I would branch out and explore things on my own, and I ended up getting a lot done. I haven't seen them since but I am guessing they are doing okay.  Traveling on my own is nice because I am in control of everything, and I never am scared (Cork is known for being very safe, and the locals are quite helpful when I ask for directions), but sometimes I do just get lonely. I don't really know anyone here, unlike some groups who have come from the States. Thankfully I am good at meeting people, it would just be nice to have someone to be able to be with for longer than 15 minutes. My classes will help with this, I think.  

That's another thing I forget about. I have gotten frustrated many times because I feel like I am not doing anything, I have too much free time and don't know how to go about spending it. I must remember my priority here is school, that is why I came for an entire semester and not just a J-Term trip with fellow Gusties.  The act of actually registering for classes is kind of amusing to me. At Orientation on Monday the director said to just go to whatever classes interest us this week and then hand in our registration sheet on next Monday. What I don't really understand is that some classes started on Monday so if we wanted to join those classes we are already behind.  At a meeting I had tonight for English Majors, the instructor said that the classes here are really just like recommendations to students on how to acquire the information, but it is the responsibility of the individual student to go about doing the work, reading, whatever they need to do to learn.  I like that approach: The professors don't hold your hand. I am going to my first lecture class tomorrow, "Irish Celtic Lyric Poetry," so I will let everyone know what it is like.  (I'm interested to see how a lecture class in an English Department works, as my classes at Gustavus are mostly discussion based...)

The other classes I am interested in taking are "Intro to Anglo-Irish Literature," "Philosophy of the Mind," "Intro to Modern Irish" (I'm going to learn Gaelic! Which will be very helpful as many people speak it, more than I thought, it is the official language after all...), and then possibly a music class in which I learn to play the Bodhran, the traditional Irish drum. This is still pending. 

I tried chatting with my parents online last night via Skype and was quite upset that it was not working. I could hear and see them just fine, but I guess they only heard the first word I said, and I am not sure if they could see me or not. I at least got to see Bobber who was handsome as usual. Dad lifted the poor boy up onto the seat and he just looked embarrassed.  

Taking pictures is not as easy as I thought it would be, as there never seems to be a "good" time to take them without looking really silly. Because my only regret from Scotland was that I didn't take enough photos, I will try my best to keep a good pace of picture taking. I just need to have my camera readily accessible so I don't have to stop, put my backpack down, get the camera out, take a picture, then put it back. I will put up a couple I have taken. 

I hope this was a good update! I am going to do some more research about classes and clubs as I need to find ways to meet more people!

Cheers,

Susan