A Month Already?

I can’t believe I’ve been in Ireland for a month. It seems like I just got here, and at the same time like I’ve been here for ages. I’m having an amazing time! I’m living in student housing at University of Limerick. I’m in a house with all Irish students. It’s great, but it was a little bit intimidating at first. They’re all really nice, and have been extremely welcoming. There’s 8 of us total. We each have our own bedroom with a sink in it. There’s a bathroom on each floor, so 4 of us share each bathroom. We also have a kitchen/living room area with a TV, fridge, freezer, oven, microwave and toaster. There’s no meal plan, so I’ve been grocery shopping and cooking my own meals. I’ve been keeping it simple, but it’s different than AU’s meal plan.

I’m loving my classes here. I’m only taking 4: Civil Liberties (a law class), Psychology and Social Issues, Irish Folklore, and Traditional Irish Music and Dance. The whole registration process is much, much different than at home. The Irish students don’t have any selection process. They pick a course (major) when they come in as first years, then their schedules are set for them. We international students got to go to whatever we wanted for the first 2 weeks. We didn’t have to turn in our registration until the end of week 2. The classes don’t fill up, which was really strange for me, since I’m used to fighting for class spaces. Overall it was more laid back than at home.

I’ve also discovered the Irish students don’t go to class very frequently. For most of the classes a final exam and maybe a paper make up your final grade. So attendance isn’t counted. The Irish students are also professional crammers. They’re used to massive cramming at the end of the semester. I haven’t missed my classes yet, but it’s strange when my housemates routinely skip their lectures.

I’ve also made some interesting food discoveries since I’ve been here. My housemates asked me what meatloaf was, and if we eat it in America. Apparently they’ve heard about it on TV, but didn’t know what it was. So I promised I would make them meatloaf before I go home. I also realized they don’t have macaroni and cheese, which I think it a crime! And the other night, I decided to make grilled cheese for dinner. A few of my housemates were in the kitchen, and as I started cooking it my housemate Laura just stared at me, and said, “Did you just put BREAD in a frying pan?!” “Umm…yes….it’s grilled cheese?”

She was totally baffled. My other housemate Niall came back while it was still cooking, and Laura announced that I put BREAD in a FRYING PAN. Again, I came back with, “It’s grilled cheese!” So then Niall wanted to know why I wasn’t cooking it on a grill if it was grilled cheese, and why it wasn’t called fried cheese. He then called me a crazy American. Now, I know I’m crazy, but not for putting bread into a frying pan!

They watch a lot of American TV shows here. My housemates watch more American shows that I do. I’ve watched Gilmore Girls, Friends, The Simpsons, One Tree Hill, 90210, Smallville, What Not to Wear…and the list goes on. It also means that when it comes to expressions, they tend to know more American expressions than I know Irish ones. But it’s a little disturbing at times to think that their views of America come from One Tree Hill and the Simpsons.