Ireland. More than just pubs and rain?
You have been in Ireland about two months now. What would you tell other students considering a semester in Ireland? The pros, cons, and your biggest surprise!
Semester in Ireland
Work: the curse of human behavior or the savior of self identity
November 22nd, 2006 at 8:32 pm
PROS: Meeting new people, being in another country, hate to mention it but the drinking age, being able to travel to europe for cheeeap, having a unique experience etc etc
CONS: the freakin’ rain! and groceries and stuff are expensive
Hmm, don’t think I had a biggest surprise really…
November 23rd, 2006 at 6:22 pm
Some of the pros: Having a very unique experience, being submersed into a different culture, meeting new people, traveling around Ireland and Europe, how most people are incredibly nice.
Some cons: Everything is wicked expensive, the rain, the exchange rate
I don’t think I’ve really been suprised by anything.
November 28th, 2006 at 9:46 pm
I’d tell prospective students that it a great opportunity to experience a variety of sensations immediately: being away from home, being on your own in a foregin country, yet having a network of people with which to hang out, food shopping, cooking for yourself and others, such as, very stimulating courses (especially Comp & YRS).
Pros: hiking and biking locally and around the country, Ryan Air fares to Europe, the Milk Market, UL campus (especially the staff in International Studies Officie), the Library Cafe, rainbows, center city’s a mere short walk from campus (well maybe a mile or so, but an easy stroll), the really outgoing, pleasant and helpful people. Many times had to stop a motorist, farmer or person along the road to get my bearings while biking or walking, and they always took time and care to see that I was off in the right direction and suitability comfortable with their directives.
Cons: having always to carry rain gear. I can count the number of times on one hand that I went biking in which I left and returned dry. Not that it would rain the entire time, but even in the middle of a sunny day you’ll get either slight misting or momentary down pour of rain. Errign and Molly are right–life here is expensive. On top of the general high cost of living, the exchange rate has risen for the Euro since we’ve been here (it’s up over $1.31 per 1.00 Euro now).
Suprises: Well there are two that come to mind: (1) the Irish walk quickly. I mean I’m truckin’ along at what I think is a good pace, and swoosh a woman in her seventies goes blasting by carrying an arm load of packages, and she ain’t the only one passing me. It seems like, I don’t pass nobody. Young or old, they’re all on the move and getting to where they want to be in a hurry. (2) The rainbows- I’ve seen maybe two dozen since I’ve been here. The Irish don’t seem to notice them. But, as I’ve told a number of people, I’m awe struck by frequency, intense color, and length of time that the rainbows are visible.
November 29th, 2006 at 3:47 pm
The pros of Ireland is that has great scenery all around you. Meet new people from so many different cultures. Also you get the chance of discovering yourself. The Cons are you dont want to walk alone at night because you might get mugged if you go out you’ll have to go with a group. You have to make your own food, and use your own money. The Biggest Surprise of Ireland is that their are a rediculos amount of people that smoke the aging from 13-50 they start young here
December 1st, 2006 at 6:10 pm
some of the pros of being here is the chance to meet new friends from all diff cultures and the chance to travel to places around Europe for alot cheaper then you could from home (go to amsterdam if you come here!!) and of course being able to drink at the bars and clubs (legally) the cons would be the exchange rate, things can get expensive.. the freakin rain, and missing your friends and family from home.
December 5th, 2006 at 1:06 am
The pros of being in Ireland are the great people from a variety of cultures you meet, and living in a different kind of culture and experience different areas of it. For example, the different popular sports here, Gaelic Football, Hurling, Rugby, the pubs, and of course the great Irish traditional music. Another great thing is being able to easily travel to many interesting, and historic places.
The cons would be having to cook your own food (and not trying to order pizza too much), and groceries costing more. Also the rain can be aweful here, and very sporadic. Many times I’ve left the house to go to class and it starts pouring, when it was sunny five minutes before. My only other con would be having to pay 100 Euro to the Garda for the passport stamp to stay in the country for the duration of the semester.
BIg surprises though, I cannot think of any off the top of my head, but if any come to me I’ll post them.
December 5th, 2006 at 9:47 pm
Dr. Moore is correct about the Milk Market. That is probably the only thing that can get me out of bed at 9 am or earlier on a Saturday morning. I’ve gone almost every Saturday since I found out about it and each trip is different. The people there are all very nice and I can get a lot of good food and different things cheaply. Sometimes there are a group of people playing traditional Irish music which once included our Irish Folklore professor.
Kyle is right about the 100 euros to the Garda. That was frustrating but necessary. The rain is probably the worst part about Ireland walking to class getting completely soaked and being wet for the entire class.
December 6th, 2006 at 8:58 pm
I would say the pros of studying in Ireland is easy and cheap means of traveling and seeing other parts of Europe, Ireland has a great deal of beautiful sites and attractions and you have the ability to go to almost anywhere in europe, even on a low budget. Music is also a great attribute of Ireland, and of course, as anyone else from the States would tell you, being able to drink legally, which is a very popular aspect of Irish culture. As for the cons, Ireland is very pricy, from buying your food to doing your laundry, everything here is much more expensive(especially alcohol). The sun only shines once or twice a week, and the rest of the time its usually gloomy and rainy, which gets very irritating sometimes.
December 8th, 2006 at 3:34 am
I would tell students considering this program to do it. You have all these experiences unique to Ireland and just living on your own that a normal first year student would not. Also, if worst comes to worse, you can always go home so why not try it.
Pros: The pros of this experience, for me, were living alone with Irish kids and learning about what they like to do and how they talk. Travelling around Europe has been great too as I have gone to 5 countries while not spending too much. You get an experience that a first year student in America doesn’t and it’s kind of hard to describe, just something you have to toss yourself into.
Cons: The cons for me have been constantly thinking about how much money I have, when I should go to the supermarket and how I should spend my money. Also it was kind of hard adjusting to the sleep schedule here.
Surprises: How friendly people can be in the city…How easy and rewarding it is to travel on your own…Learning about your own character.
December 8th, 2006 at 10:03 pm
Kyle, Jake, and Jarrett,
Are you guys going to bring your hurleys and sliotars back to the States with you? As I might be coxed into trying it back on D&M Field at PSU. I saw those eight year olds prancing about on the pitch using their hurleys to scoop the sliotar off the ground, loft it in the air, and send it to a player that was on a dead run towards the goal. After seeing that, I decided that I didn’t want to provide brutal slap-stick entertainment for our Irish hosts with my massive lack of eye-hand coordination. Better to wait until I’m safely back in New Hampshire, the passers by won’t understand or double over with laughter.
December 9th, 2006 at 8:42 pm
I forgot to mention the opportunity for cheap travel. I think that was one of the best parts. Overall, I think we can all say this trip has been beyond awesome. I would definitely reccomend it to an incoming student!
December 12th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
For a student wanting to come to Limerick University there are a couple of things you might want to bring or consider. First bring at least one rain coat because i didnt and i got drendched, on numerous occations. Second if u like travling plan alot of trips in the frist two months you are there because you hardly do anything in your Irish courses in the frist two months. But a really big thing to remeber is to bring alot of money and try to manage it correctly because i no i didnt and alot of people who i came over with me didnt and we were all broke like the last two weeks lol.
December 12th, 2006 at 12:15 pm
Ok. I have not read anyone else’s entries so that I can just say what I feel without taking other’s ideas.
The Pros of Ireland:
the experience of being submerged in a whole other culture, the irish people, the cheap flights to pretty much anywhere in Europe, taxis are always waiting for you (especially after 1 am), you can drink legally and get into clubs etc, Ireland itself is beautiful
The Cons:
all the homework at the end of the semester (it all just kind of piles on top of each other and you end up making yourself crazy), THE RAIN or hail or death drops (whichever it might be that day), the exchange rate from dollars to euro is stupid…it started off at 1.26 and now its at 1.45 and sometimes higher, the heat and hot water dont always work
(all the pros override the cons though)
Suprises:
I was actually surpised at how much people drink here. You think of Ireland and St. Patricks Day and everything and its kind of like that every night. The first week and a half i was here I found myself out every night and finally i just had to take a break whereas a lot of students just kept on drinkin!
Also at how quick the weather can change. I though New England was messed up!
December 13th, 2006 at 3:44 am
I was so excited to come to Ireland for a semester. I had been here once befor and it was awsome. This time around was the same. I got to do so many cool and fun adventurous things all the time. I went “hill walking” (it was a mountain… and multiple) and i got to climb up a cliff face right on the ocean. I got to meet people from all over the world, other kids from USA not from PSU, kids from eastern Europe, Russia, Slovacia, Germany, Spain all over. i learned alot about how other countries view Americans and how other countries cultures are.
It did get to a point when the rain was brutal and all you want is some sunshine on your face. But most of the time it just rained lightly or it would rain for a little while and then not for the rest of the day. And if you do get home sick at first it will go away and when your are here for thanksgiving it was a little tough but you get by it and they held a Turkey dinner for us. Twards the end of the year you will not be able to wait to go home it will be all you can think about but then as the last week comes to an end you will realize that you may wanna go home but you dont want to leave.
Suprizes about Ireland are how quick the weather can change. you look out the window and its not raining and then you dont get 30 yards down the road and you feel like you fell in a pool. Also i was suprised at how differant the culture is here the humor is different, the slang terms are completely different, the peoples fashions are different. People here can look at most Americans and be able to tell that they are an American.
December 13th, 2006 at 4:12 pm
Pros: The best thing about Ireland is its scenery; the campus is also beautiful. You get to live in a house with a living room, kitchen, 2 bathrooms, your own room and grow relationships with 5 other housemates. There are 2 bars on campus if you dont feel like going into the city and the drinking age is 18 which is extremely convenient!! Clubs around here are also really close and FUN! You get to take the advantage of traveling around Ireland with friends or with the school, and the best part Europe because the flights are pretty cheap (check out amsterdam!). The relationships you make here are the best thing in the world whether is with Irish people or with the Americans you came here with! The best thing I experienced though is finding out who I really am and experiencing what life is like on my own :o)
Cons: Exchange rate …its pretty damn expensive here if your always spending money, so try to save. The weather in the beginning was great but about a month 1/2 into it, its pretty much shit: very windy and VERY rainy. The amount of walking you have to do just to get somewhere (aka food & alcohol). Pay people back right away cuz if you wait till the last few weeks your screwed cuz u pretty much have $0. Leaving is pretty sad toooo
Surprises: How beautiful this place really is and what Ireland has to offer. The scenery is rediculous: Castles (expecially one that we found behind the student Kilmurry Village). Limerick city, Dublin. Some of the things the Irish people say. How many people smoke cigarettes. People getting wasted at the campus bar during the week starting around 12 and still going until night.
December 14th, 2006 at 4:39 pm
Ireland’s a really sweet place to be for the semester. Below I’ve laid out a few pros and cons that come with this experience.
The Pro’s are;
1. You get to be in Ireland for 3 months
2. You get your own room and a pretty nice living set up.
3. The school has some pretty good athletic facilities including a weight room, a few basketball courts, 2 tracks (one inside and one outside), and, best of all, an Olympic sized swimming pool (50 by 25 meters).
4. The scenery in Ireland is really nice.
5. The people are great and are from tons of different countries.
6. Everyone here seems to do at least one sport so there’s always something athletic going on.
7. There’s a sweet bar on campus.
8. They’ve got some swank sports here like hurling, and the hurling stick is pretty cheap to buy.
9. The school in general is amazing and the classes are great.
10. You can pretty much do whichever sport and join any club you want to, and they offer tons of them.
11. Travelling (I’ve been to a lot of places in Ireland and they were all interesting and exciting).
12. Living in a foreign country is a new, exciting and different experience.
Cons;
1. Everything is more expensive than in the states.
2. Egging (6 times so far, but never been hit)
4. Rain, but its not so bad once you get used to it.
5. Public Transportation (also not so bad after a while)
Not too many cons apart from just general differences in culture and some slight homesickness. Living in Ireland is a good time.
December 15th, 2006 at 8:24 pm
Getting out of New Hampshire was a goal I kept all throughout high school. So the biggest pro about Ireland is just being here. One of the best parts of being in Europe is that it is really cheap to travel around, so I was able to go to other countries. Though the way of life here is very similar to back home, I love noticing the little differences that there are. I loved meating new people and I love knowing that each day would bring something new.
Some of the cons are walking to class when you think it’s a sunny day and half way there, clouds fill the sky and you’re soaking wet with freezing rain; having nothing really to do in town at night except if you’re drunk; and having roommates that knock on your door at four in the morning right after falling asleep; everything is so expensive and the exchange tare doesnt help.
But no matter how many cons I can think of, they would never out weight the pros. If someone is debating whether or not to come here for a semester I would say to just do it. You learn so much about yourself and the world around you. Being here has been the best experience of my life, there could have been better way to start my college education.