I’m officially a student at NUI Galway! That’s right, I’ve had my first week of classes (and by week I mean my first 3 days). It turns out that I don’t start a couple of my tutorials (otherwise known to US students as discussion sections) until second or even third week! So, this week not only do I not have classes on Friday (which I of course scheduled on purpose) but also I don’t have class on Thursday! So I think I’ll just let you know day by day what I’ve been doing.
Monday
At 8:40am I took the shuttle to campus. It leaves right from our complex and is free if you live here YAY! Definitely nicer than walking to campus, which in the dark and rain isn’t necessarily a cheery walk. At 9 o’clock I met with Professor Steven Ellis, the Head of the History Department at NUI Galway, and a Tudor Specialist (can you say my favorite professor, ever?!). I’m taking two classes with Professor Ellis: The Mid-Tudor Crisis, and The Tudor Conquest of Ireland. I had to email Professor Ellis before being allowed to register for the seminar class The Mid-Tudor Crisis, because there were only 3 spots open in the class, and I had to ensure that I had a spot. So I went to meet with him to get my spot finalized and in writing. Thank goodness I got in!!
So then, I had a few hours to kill. I don’t have classes on Monday until 1pm, and I only have two hour-long classes. I sat in the student café area in the Arts & Sciences Concourse (one of the main buildings where most of my classes are) with two girls that I met from USC: Sally and Meg. After they had to rush off to class, I decided to perform one of the more embarrassing newbie maneuvers...I looked for every single one of my classes. I pulled out my chunky red orientation folder (which is a dead giveaway for all the new international visiting students by the way) and wandered around the campus (in the rain) figuring out where all my classes would be. I’ve done this since 6th grade when I made my dad go with me the day before big bad middle school started and I was petrified to get lost on the first day. So, my dad took me around the school showing me my exact route the next day.
Although I got lost a few times, I ended up running into a few more chunky red folders wandering aimlessly, and I made some new friends ☺ (isn’t it great when mutual fear of the unknown silently bonds you together?). Anyways, I went to lunch with Haley and Caitrin (yes, my name but with a “r”) and the College Bar where we discovered that we’d be in a couple different classes together. Then, at 12:40 I wandered slowly and confidently to my first class- HI208: The Two Irelands in the Twentieth Century.
The Two Irelands in the Twentieth Century: It’s an hour-long lecture class that I have twice a week. Except, since classes end on the hour while simultaneously beginning on the hour, class never begins before 1:10 (this is the same in all Irish classes). We began the first week with straightforward history lectures; I found it incredibly interesting already! We are going to be studying a bit of the historical background behind the Republic and Northern Ireland, before truly delving into the modern day specifics of the two different countries.
After HI208, I knew right where to go. A long hallway and then a clear bridge connect Concourse and the IT building over the street. So, I booked it straight there for my second and final class of the day!
HI358.E The Tudor Conquest of Ireland: Can you say perfect? I mean really, when I read this course title my mind was blown just a little bit! For those of you who don’t know that I’m completely and utterly obsessed with the Tudors, well I am! Dr. Ellis, the head of the History Department, teaches this class and I’m already in love with this course. We are studying the implications of the Tudor Dynasty specifically on Ireland as a part of the empire; it will definitely be a distinctly Irish perspective on a part of history that I’ve studied exclusively from the British point of view (while the facts may be the same, I’m thinking the interpretation may be a touch different…).
After that, I wandered around for a bit before taking the shuttle bus back to my apartment complex. Not having homework made the first evening pretty relaxed. We even received word that Monday and Wednesday are the big party nights in Galway because the Irish students always go home on the weekends, so we decided to venture out into City Centre for the evening. We met a bunch of people at the pubs and attempted to navigate the streets and more popular pubs…kind of a disaster if only because every square inch of space was taken up with HUNDREDS of students. Oi Vey! Yeah… I’m not thinking Mondays are going to be my thing…
Tuesday
So Tuesday I also only have two classes! Yes, I’m actually going to classes, and yes I am going to do actual work (I feel like I already need to explain myself for what seems to be a lackadaisical schedule...remember people, I wrote 26 papers last semester!). Bummer about Tuesdays though…9am class. Awesome thing about Tuesdays…it’s my Service Learning class!!!!!!
Yes, that’s right! I got into EN150 Service Learning. This week we only had a bit of orientation; we met our professor (his name is Dermott- my roommate Caitlin has decided that this should be the name of her firstborn child), and introduced ourselves to everyone. The class is all visiting American students, so it was pretty comforting to walk in the first day and hear a roomful of American accents for a couple of hours. In the next week or two we should be choosing our homework clubs that we are going to go help with in Galway. I’m so excited to get started and meet the actual Irish kids!
This class is actually 2 hours long, but I didn’t have class again until 5pm, so I headed home for a quick catnap. After taking the shuttle back to class I got to go to my favorite class I have EVER taken. EVER. From 5-6pm on Tuesdays I am in HI429 Mid-Tudor Crisis. The class explores the uncertain time period in England’s history after King Henry VIII’s death when his three children quickly ascended the throne in succession. I’m already reading King Edward VI’s 1550 diary (when he had first become king and was about 12 years old). This is my calling in school. I love it. In this class, on the first day our professor explained that we were expected to give a 5-minute presentation in the class and he was going to assign us for each week. He asked for a volunteer for the following Tuesday; no one volunteered. We sat there in silence for a good 3-4 minutes until out of sheer need for the awkward moment to pass I volunteered. So, I’m already preparing for a pretty major assignment. Ah well!
Wednesday
Wednesday is my ungodly long day; I have four classes. I begin the day in a tutorial section (the Irish equivalent of a discussion section, basically a smaller break-down of a larger lecture class) for my Mid-Tudor Crisis history class at 10am. After that, I go to IR120 Imagining Modern Ireland (an Irish studies class). However, this class did not meet this week, because it starts on the 19th. So, wait for an update on this! Then immediately following my two-hour long lecture in Irish studies I go to The Tudor Conquest of Ireland, and after an hour break finish my day in The Two Irelands in the Twentieth Century at 4pm.
On Wednesday I signed up for societies (to Americans, these would be our clubs and organizations). I joined the International Student Society, a group that organizes fun trips around Ireland for International students; last semester they went to Belfast! I also signed up for Choral Society, which will be on Tuesday evenings from 6-8pm in the Chapel on campus. One of the things I truly miss about high school is being able to sing. When I sing I am able to forget everything and just enjoy being me. So, I decided to reconnect with that part of me again. Finally, I signed up for SIN (no I’m not becoming a devil worshipper or something like that). SIN used to stand for the Student Information Network, and then it became the Student Information News. Now it is a meaningless acronym that is the free student newspaper on campus. I write for the yearbook at USC, and wrote for the newspaper all through high school, so this was just a natural thing for me to do.
Thursday
So this Thursday I didn’t have any classes! But, it won’t last. Usually I’ll have a tutorial for my Service Learning Class at 9 or 10am, but it didn’t start this week. So, I only went on a campus for a brief time to go and sign up for clubs (the American equivalent of club or intramural sports); I signed up to do volleyball on Thursday evenings! We’ll see how it works out, but I wanted to give myself a fun way to stay in shape and another opportunity to meet people.
Friday
Well, obviously, I have scheduled my classes so that I don’t have any on Fridays (you know for traveling, and just my overall sanity).
So, that is the end of my first week as a third-year university student in Ireland. Keep checking in for a description of my weekend trip to the Cliffs of Moher!
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