Each Day is a Lesson

I would like to share an entry from my travel journal that I just wrote. I find myself writing notes to myself in it whenever something is bothering me. This one was in response to me being alone on a Friday night:

"Take it one step at a time, Susan. You got groceries today. On your own. That is good. It has only been one week, and a very unorganized on at that. Much of that was not your fault.  People love you and support you, that's all that matters. If anything, this was a trip for you, to show you something about yourself.  If you are able to picture yourself going home at any point in this trip and being comfortable with that decision, you have grown. If you are able to learn more in one week than in the rest of the semester, so be it. Each moment, each day is a lesson. Figure out what that lesson is. You're smart, you'll figure it out."

Sometimes it just takes me writing freely to truly understand.  I realized that with each second here I am being pushed beyond my comforts, pushed beyond my idealized expectations, and each push takes a little bit out of me, wears me down.  I need this grounding force - reflection through writing- to build me back up.   I keep thinking of the line from one of Coldplay's songs, "Nobody said it was easy," and that's so right, nobody said this was going to be easy for me. I guess I was thinking that is was. 

 

I finally got the picture upload to work! I took the first three on my way to get groceries this afternoon and the last two on campus yesterday.  The road you see in the first photo is the main (national) road into the City Center. Walk about a half hour from this point and you'll be there. I walked in the opposite direction from town to get to the food store, Tesco, the European version or Target. I got apples, a half-loaf of bread, laundry detergent, shampoo, pasta sauce, cookies, frozen broccoli, organic peanut butter, and strawberry jam for just 14 euro, as most of it was what we would call the "general" brand. 

I find this funny: I received an email yesterday saying that I should contact the bodhran instructor by phone and give him the times I am free on Thursday, and then he would call or text back when to come to class. I did this and got everything scheduled, I just think it is funny that texting was the mode of communication!

My First Classes and Beautiful Men

Today was my first day of classes, and they went okay I guess.  But first I had to register this morning to take this seminar class (more discussion as opposed to a lecture) called "Erotic Bodies: Pornography, Sexuality, and Writing in the Early Modern Period." I am thinking about possibly doing a Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies Major or minor as well as English and Philosophy, so it will apply somewhere. If not, it will cover and English Major elective. For some reason though I just couldn't get out of bed. I did go to bed quite late (like 1am-ish) because I was writing in my journal, so waking up at 8:30 was hard. I had to book it over to campus, which I made it in like 13 minutes walking VERY FAST. My legs hurt really bad afterwards and I was kinda sweaty, but you couldn't tell. My hips and legs hurt in general the last few days just from walking everywhere and keeping pace with the Irish who walk surprisingly fast considering their laid back attitude. (I figure if I walk fast people will think I am Irish not American and won't judge me or try to abduct me.)

But I made it in time to register and then had 4 hours to waste until class. Luckily I had brought a book with me per suggestion of my friend Jeff who's in Dublin (he says he read a lot the first few weeks he was here and had a lot of free time and didn't really know what to do).  I read for about two hours, albeit really wanting to just go back to bed.  At about 1:30 I went over and got some lunch (soup and roll for 2 euro!, I had brought an apple with me too) and then just chilled until class at 3. 

I was somewhat surprised to have an American professor (he reminds me for some reason of uncles Bob and Dave), considering the study of  early Celtic poetry requires extensive knowledge of Gaelic.  But boy did he move fast through the information! I don't know if it was because I missed the first class but it felt like he was all over the place. Perhaps it was because I was not mentally ready to just jump right in without any previous reading. He talked about filid (highly knowledgeable celtic poets, not to be confused with bards, who were often for entertainment...I think that's right...) and rankings among poets. I took 2 pages of notes in a matter of 45 minutes, and my notebook has big pages and I condense a lot.  I was also unsure about what we are required to know and what reading we should be doing. Yes, the syllabus had some selected readings, but he was also providing quotes from other sources, which he said could be found in the library.  Since I am taking 35 credits (also another 2.5 for the Bodhran class) which is equivalent to taking 5 full classes at Gustavus, I might drop this classes depending on how the others go. Friends back home who took 5 classes found it to be VERY difficult, so I'm not sure if I can handle it.  I'll give it another class or two. 

The other class I had today was "Intro to Anglo-Irish Lit" where we look at poetry, drama, and prose by Irish authors (written in English). This class seems more laid out, if that makes sense, where I know exactly what sources we will be looking at. It's only for visiting students however, so I won't be interacting with fellow Irish students, but I will be able to in my other classes. There were about 50 or 60 students in this class, about a dozen in the other. 

I forgot to mention that in the Celtic Poetry class there were 4 adults ("mature students")! I never saw this at Gustavus.  I'm just not used to going to a school with undergrad, grad, and post-grad students. 

I also forgot to mention in yesterday's post that I saw one of the most beautiful men while eating lunch yesterday. He sat at the table across from me. I'd say he was somewhere between 24 and 28. He was dressed so nicely and was well groomed: slacks, collared shirt with rolled up sleeves, vest, black sweater, scarf thingy, a good haircut, tall. He looked smart (he was reading the newspaper). See, why can't I room with these types of boys?!  I hope I see him again and I will start up a conversion. I was too impressed by his handsomeness the first time to say anything. Oh and walking around town I see very good looking men too in their nice black pea-coats! Perhaps they are young hard-working businessmen or they just like to dress nice. Either way, they are wonderful to look at.

I don't have class tomorrow so my plans for the day include (not necessarily in order): sleeping in, getting groceries (I am out of travel shampoo!), taking pictures while exploring, figuring out how to do homework and then doing some. I got some groceries today but the store didn't have as much as I thought they would. I did get some Dubliner cheese. Oh, it is so good, I highly recommend it. We've had it at home so it can be found in the States. I also got some Irish butter, which is supposed to be quite good, and some pasta for dinner.  I cleaned out the smelly fridge and fixed the freezer so I can get some real food now.

It does get hard not thinking about home and how it would be so much easier if I were there, but I am trying my best to take advantage of this amazing opportunity I have. I hear the weather is nasty at home though, so at least I am missing that. Although, there are record lows here, some people actually froze to death as there is a cold wave across Europe. 

That's all for now! Take care.

 

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

You get a lot done by yourself...

Hello everyone!

I am here at Cork, and man was it a long trip! I am currently using the wireless here on campus, as I forgot to bring my ethernet cord from home. The one thing I forgot and it is the one thing I REALLY need. I am going to go to into town to buy one, and I will be able then to enter more posts regarding the progress of my trip thus far. 

As for now, just know that I indeed did make it to Cork and am getting by just fine.