Start of Something New

My first week living abroad and first blog post (yay)! 

Well hello everyone!

I said I would do it, and here I am--blogging! Quite exciting. Really.



Before I say anything, let me just say: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT HERE (so far)!

Just wanted to put that out there, and now we can move on!

So, a quick run-down before we/I start: I am not completely positive how this is all going to work, but I think I am going to try and post a main post about once a week (maybe more, maybe less, don't hold me to any specific standard--no one likes peer pressure) and do various sections for you to check out in addition to the main blog posts (to be honest, the sections will probably be more interesting.)

Among those aforementioned sections will be:

Pictures (I will post them all if I can)

Tidbits (brief stories of specific experiences)

Busting Ireland (where I discuss Irish culture, things I learn, possibly discuss some myths, etc.)

Guide to Galway (Pubs, restaurants, clubs--whatever I discover or try out I will try and put on here)

Adventure is Out There (the section on where I travel to, both in and out of Ireland! I will likely travel more outside of the country starting in November, but there will be many trips around the island before then.)

And each of those will have subsections to help you navigate, of course.

So, without further ado...

So, this week has been a complete whirlwind, lemme give you the basics as quick as I can and you can just read what you want, or skip it and read the interesting sections I listed, it's up to you:

Day one (Tues):

1. Arrived at the airport in the morning, and started meeting the people in my ISA group (made up of 13 other American girls, and our guide--Dermott.)

2. Got to our apartments, and had about 30 minutes before we walked over to the shopping center.

3. A group of us walked into town to a coffee shop, then back, and then we met up for dinner with the whole group at 7--still severely jet lagged at this point.

4. We walked around town a bit, Dermott pointed out some of what we passed (shop street, spanish arch, the river, popular places, etc).

5. Despite our jet lag, a group of us went out to the Kings Head and listened to music.

Day two (Wed):

1. Woke up early and Dermott led us on a tour of the NUI Galway campus as well as giving us our ISA student orientation.

2. Walked all around town again, and visited a few of the churches and other sites along the way.

3. All of us went out to a dinner of our own and split into groups depending on what people wanted to do afterwards. I went with two others to a popular club and we hung out there until late.

Day three (Thurs):

1. Early morning again. All of us met up and walked over to campus for our International student orientation.

2. Went shopping for groceries, etc.

3. I met up with my roommates and we (with one of my American friends) went out to dinner.

4. Stopped by a surfing documentary being hosted for Intl. students, then headed back to our apartments to get ready for the night.

5. Went to the Ceili (hosted by Tradsoc) and learned some Irish dances before heading to the College bar to listen to some karaoke.

6. Left the college bar to head into town (led by some kind young men because we were slightly lost.)

Day 3 (Fri):

1. Up early for the Academic orientation for international students. Involved an intro and then 30 minute sessions for each section of study (one for psych, one for history, one for law, etc.)

2. (insert more shopping here, because we can only carry so much in one go)

3. Planned on going pub hopping with a group of Americans and my roommates, but we started late and ended up just going to the Quay's and listening to the band there.

Day 4 (Sat):

1. Dermott took us to the Farmer's Market in town and we all got amazing food and explored the vendors there for an hour.

2. Went over to the museum by Spanish Arch and explored inside there.

3. Dermott led us back to an incredible second hand bookshop called Charlie Byrne's.

4. Hung out with a group in Nina's apartment and played charades/ head's up for a while and chatting before Nina and I left to go out.

5. The plan was clubbing or pubbing, but we ended up just hanging out in one pub for a while and then wandering before meeting a guy outside Eire Square and talking with him for a long time.

6. Went home around 5 AM--latest night so far.

Day 5 (Sun): REST DAY! (Or so I had planned)

1. Slept in until 1:30...

2. Did basically nothing productive except plan out my schedule for school.

3. Got with a group to go watch the Hurling finals in a pub--(The match was a tie, so they will play again in two weeks).

4. Went over to Nina's and hung out with she and her roommates watching X-factor, etc, for a few hours before heading to someone else's to watch PS I Love you.

Day 6 (Monday): Technically the start of classes

1. I had no classes! So basically just was lazy the entire day.

2. Organized my room and watched Outlander.

3. Went to Nina's to hang out, met tons of people, and then we all took cabs to head into town to go to a club.

4. Nina, Sam, and I ended up heading to the Quay's again and listing the band for a little before heading home.

And now it's Tuesday!

From now on I promise I won't give specifics like this, I'll just do general information about what I've been up to--but I figure it's the first week and people may want to know, so here it is!

I'll be posting about the places I've been so far, what I've already learned, and pictures today as well, which may be (much) more interesting than my itinerary...

Anyway, thanks for visiting and keep a look out for more, if you are so inclined!

Thanks a million!

Grá i bhfad (Much Love),
Meghan