Good morning, folks! Have I mentioned that it's cold? Really, it is. The radiator in my room here at Classy Plassey only seems to work some of the time. Thankfully it was working last night as I fell asleep, so at least I felt warm for a little bit!

Anyway, my first week and a half-ish has been very interesting.

Orientation went smoothly, and I have a feeling that this experience is going to be absolutely wonderful for me. I’m on a pass/fail exchange, meaning all I have to do is pass my courses in order to get the credit back home at USC. Whether I get an A or a D, it counts the same (not that I would want a D-I would go into a deep depression if that happened.) My work load here is also considerably lighter. For all five of my classes, pretty much all I have to do for homework/written work is one essay for each. One class has three essays due, but they are only 200 words each. Did you hear that? 200 WORDS! That is comparable to telling me to color. I’m not saying that there isn’t alot of reading, discussing, or research that goes into these essays. It just means that I can spend time reading for classes and not waste two or three hours of my day studying for a stupid logic test that I know will play no part in my future life. It also leaves time for fun, of course.

My classes all seem very interesting as well. I’m taking three history classes and two classes in Irish studies while I’m here. My history classes are European Society and Governance. This class (or module as they call them here at UL) will focus on Europe and its policies/reactions to war and other major issues, mainly focusing on the period between the start of WWI and the few years following the end of WWII. The cool part about this class (for me) is that the professor apparently puts a lot of focus on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, with special focus on Europe’s reaction to what was happening in Germany. If you know me, you will know that this is enough to make me giggle like a schoolgirl. I know. I’m a geek. Another cool thing about this class is that I get to take it in a country that is not a major military power like the United States, and to go even further, Ireland is neutral with any conflict that doesn’t involve themselves!

My second history class is Sources for History. This is nearly identical to History 300 at USC but at the same time is different. History 300 was a class that focused on reading and interpreting primary and secondary sources and putting them together to present a project on a chosen subject in history. Although this class is very similar, it is also different. Europe is rapidly digitizing many of the primary documents, etc just like the US but they also have varying methods of archiving. This means that I’ll be able to stick my feet in and work with foreign procedures, archives, etc. Probably won’t hurt when it comes to the job search.

My last history class is Europe: Imperialism and Decolonization. I can’t exactly put my finger on what all this class will entail, but I have a feeling that a lot of it will be dealing with England, because you know, the sun never sets on England! One of the topics for the last few weeks of class was labeled “The Empire Strikes Back.” I have a feeling that this professor and I will get along just fine.

My two Irish studies classes are Traditional Irish Music and Dance and Irish Folklore. In the music and dance module, we’ll learn about different styles of both music and dance and the evolution of the two. For the tutorial, or practice sessions of this module, everyone had to choose song, dance, or an instrument to learn. I was originally going to sign up for the dance tutorial but then I remembered the tragedy that was my one and only ballet recital and also reminded myself that I can barely walk down the hall without hurting myself. In the end I chose the tin whistle. I figured that I wouldn’t have much trouble with it seeing as it is nearly identical to a recorder, which in turn sort-of like a sax. Hopefully I don’t get bored in this tutorial though, because you don’t have to know how to read music and it is basically a beginning course. ::hears the whooshing flashback sound from LOST and sees herself sitting in 4^th grade music class with Mrs. Minor, plastic recorder in hand:: I’m excited about it though-maybe I can get things going enough to make myself sound half decent.

My other Irish studies class is Irish Folklore, and I am EXCITED about this one, too! Turns out that our final essay will be on the topic of death! Why the exclamation point? Because apparently, the merry wake in Ireland is more fun that a wedding! I’ll be learning a lot in the class, studying everything from proverbs to blessings, calendar traditions, names, etc.

I’ve also posted a few pictures to wet your appetites until I go off and take more.

More to come sometime next week-I’m going to Galway this weekend!

Finally here!

I have been promising that I would write a blog to keep everyone updated on my ramblings and adventures while I am here in Limerick, so here it is. It turns out that it will actually be easier on me to keep everyone who wants to stay in the loop or just occasionally check up by keeping a blog than e-mailing/Facebook rambling/Skyping everyone individually and all the time, so here we go! Don't worry-personal time with Sarah WILL be available, I just don't want to be tied to my computer 24/7. Kinda messes with what I'm trying to do by going to school over here!

The flight (and the super long layover at JFK) went completely smoothly. It's a good thing that I flew in when I did because any flight that was scheduled to land in Ireland after 9:00 AM was cancelled due to the air traffic controllers here going on strike.

I won't lie, I got homesick. However, this feeling of dread and "oh my God what am I doing here?" only lasted about five minutes. Once I got new sheets/bed cover/etc on my bed, put my stuff away and hung up my Gamecock towel, I was completely fine. Now I just need to try and accept the fact that I am living in a house where the main color scheme is orange. I also made my first trip to the City Centre and got a little bit of necessity shopping done. Turns out, here in Ireland, you have T.K. Maxx instead of T.J. Maxx. I have also been five days now without seeing a Wal-Mart! Sure, they have the equivalent of it, a place called Dunne's, but it is in no way Wally World. Yay.

I'll post some more as the week goes on. Classes start tomorrow and I'm ready for it! I haven't been in school for almost two months now-hope I didn't get TOO lazy over break!