Monday, January 31, 2011
REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD!!!! :)
More 21st Birthday Celebrations.
Happy Australia Day!!
Karaoke Night! :)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
INTERNET WHERE ART THOU?
J-E-T-S! JETS! JETS! JETS!
BC Cork Comes to Galway
Friday, January 21, 2011
Surf Club and College Bar!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Time for some real cooking.
After getting my campus account fixed it was time to meet with our coordinator Margaret. She told us she would be on campus at 2:30p.m. if we wanted to meet up. We all hung around and talked to her for a while. It is nice to have her because she is a great support person. She even texted Oliver (our landlord) to complain about our internet.
I had my appointment with Garda today which is the immigration office in Galway. I had to get my Visa. My appointment was for 4:20p.m. so my friend Katey and I took a cab at 4 since she also had a meeting. It was pretty easy and I was prepared with all my documentation. I was so thankful to have all my documentation because the lady I had was very mean to the guy before me because he was missing his acceptance letter from NUI Galway. I had all of my forms out and ready to go and she was beyond nice to me. I had to get my picture taken for my Visa card and pay 150 Euros for it. Yuck to both! I need the card to enter the country if I travel though so I am happy to finally have it. I got it just in time since I booked my first trip today!! A bunch of the BC girls decided to go to London the first weekend in February. I am going from February 3-7 and am beyond excited. The plane ticket was fairly cheap (30 Euro) and I am pumped to finally start traveling.
I went food shopping yesterday and decided to try and cook myself a real meal today. I had broccoli and cauliflower with pasta and chicken. I unfroze a chicken breast and cooked it. I then cooked my frozen cauliflower and broccoli and my pasta. The vegetables were boiled in a chicken broth (Mom's idea). After cooking each part of my meal separately I added them all to a pan and cooked them together with some salt, pepper, and oil. For my first home cooked meal without a recipe it was delicious. I was proud of myself for actually cooking for myself and making more than just pasta. :)
Events and Social Officer - Wish this existed in the States!
Boston College brings 21st birthday celebrations to Galway.
Yesterday when we went to Coyotes we asked the manager about having birthday parties at the bar. He said that if we brought a party to the bar we got free shots, a free glass of champagne, and free rides on the mechanical bull. We decided this was the place to bring the birthday girl. We got free shots (if you can call them shots - more like shots of cough medicine) and free glasses of champagne. Unfortunately, the mechanical bull was broken so we did not get our free rides. We had a ton of fun celebrating a 21st birthday in Galway and realizing that it was a way bigger deal to us than anyone else in the bar. I saw a girl in the bathroom whose 21st birthday it was also. She is from Ireland and I asked her if it was a big deal. She said that 21st is not that big of a birthday, more like all the rest but that in Ireland someone's 18th birthday is similar to someone's 21st birthday in the States.
During the celebration I got updates from some of my friends who were at the bar across the street watching the Pats vs. Jets game. I left the bar with 5 minutes or so left in the game to go to the bar across the street, Garvey's, to watch the rest of the game. Unfortunately, the bar was closed to people on the outside because as soon as the game was over they were gonna kick everyone out. I got my friend to let me in (she convinced the bartender to open the door) and I sat down and watched the end of the game. I blame Christine for my obsession with the Jets currently because she is a huge fan. I was a minority at the bar cheering for the Jets but I was happy when they won. Now it is time to beat the Steelers this Sunday. The BC girls plan on getting to Garvey's early to get a good seat and watch the game. Again, I am a minority because everyone who was a Patriots fan is now cheering for the Steelers. Who cares though. J-E-T-S! JETS! JETS! JETS!
After the game was over we went back to Coyotes where we hit the dance floor and had a ton of fun. It was nice being able to celebrate someone else's 21st birthday. Back to school tomorrow.
Rain rain go away and take the wind with you.
I have yet to go out to dinner so my two roommates, Meredith and Krissy, along with our friend Megan decided to try a place called Couch Potatoes. It was so good. I had heard that it was delicious and have been wanting to go since I got to Galway. I pass it everyday on my walk to school and after I posted my first set of pictures to Facebook Devin commented telling me to try Couch Potatoes if it was still there. Boy am I glad I listened! At Couch Potatoes the menu is basically only potatoes (shocking from the name of the restaurant). They place various ingredients into the baked potato. I got chicken and cheese on my potato so it was a baked potato filled with chicken and topped with cheese. SO YUMMY!! I was going to be more adventurous and go for an Italian type of baked potato that is filled with chicken, cheese, and tomato sauce but decided to play it safe. I will have to have the Italian potato next time I go. Mom and Dad I cannot wait to take you here.
After dinner it was still raining and we decided to watch a movie and hang out. It wasn't until abut 10p.m. that we decided we wanted to actually go out so we finished watching the movie and headed out. We went to a place called Coyotes which mainly has a younger crowd. It was a blast.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Day 11
We left the Cliffs of Moher and got back on the bus. We stopped for lunch and then headed back to Galway. Along the way the tour guide continued to show us various sites and we got off the bus once or twice. One of the stops near the water and the tour guide said that during the winter the water can come right up over the rocks we were stopped at. We finally got back to the Niland House around 5:30p.m. We were exhausted but it was such an amazing day. The best one so far.
Day 10
The clubs day was funny. There were a lot of clubs and they had everything from surfing to rowing to lacrosse. I signed up for surfing, lacrosse, kayaking, and volleyball. I can't remember if I signed up for anything else but I don't think so. After signing up for the clubs we went to check what sociology classes we got into. I got into all of them. I couldn't believe it because I thought that if you signed up for a bunch you would get into one or two because of the limited amount of space. I got into all four of my choices so I had to email the head guy telling him I did not want to take all four.
When we left the school it was off to the gym for me.
At night we went out. It was such a fun night. We went to a new bar and I met up with my roommate from BC, Lindsay's best friend from home. Haley and I have been trying to meet for a long time, we even tried to meet at BC a couple of times. She goes to UMASS and it was really nice finally meeting her. After meeting up with Haley, the BC crew left and we all kind of split up and went to different bars/pubs.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Days 7-9
Monday I had my first class at 12-1 and it is Medieval Castles. It is pretty interesting but not the best ever but I have heard it is really easy. We also get to go on a field trip to see some of the castles. Plus the final is an essay and the last day of all the classes is the end of March. At 3 I had to register for my sociology classes. So much more stressful than at BC (I did not know that was possible). Like I said before we had to stand in line and wait for the guy to show up and then just hand him the paper but it was a first come first serve kind of thing. We were in line from about 1:30 or 2 until 3. I then had a class from 5-6 called Practical Ethics. SO BORING! But as we were told by another group, it is also an easy class. We walked in and the professor told us to not even take notes because he would give us a handout of the notes at the end of class. After class we went food shopping and then made dinner. We got ready and only a couple of us decided to go out. We went to Taffes and the King's Head again. Taffes had some interesting people there. One of the guys was so wasted he could barely walk. It was funny and his friend was even funnier. However, eventually they annoyed us so we left.
Tuesday I had Castles again which got more interesting and I am hoping I am going to enjoy. After class Krissy and I decided to sign up for the gym membership at the Harbor Hotel (the cheap one) and then worked out afterwards. We came back to the apartment and then got ready for class. Drama was from 5-6 and of course at this point it was raining. The walk seemed way longer than normal and my Uggs got soaked because I did not realize how hard it was raining. We did however find a new way to walk to class along the river which is a nicer walk. We could not find the building where our class was and had to ask a couple of people. When we finally found it we ended up being late which ended up working out better for us because the class was AWFUL. The professors (two of them) were so boring and it was just not a class I was interested in. If I could have I would have left early but we stayed for the whole time but then crossed it off of our list of classes to take. After class we walked back to our apartment, this time through the city, and got ready to go out. We ordered pizzas with some of the other girls (buy one get one free-what a deal!) and decided to eat dinner together and pregame. We were going to go to a place called Monroes for Irish dancing but no one wanted to walk in the rain so we went to Taffes again. It was pretty fun. We went to a couple of other places but the night for the most part was low key.
Wednesday our first class was cancelled (the professor did not tell us) but we found out from someone so we did not go. I woke up around 11 and watched some television before heading over to campus with my roommates to go to class. I was trying a new class called Environmental Justice from 1-2. It was good and the teacher was really nice. She is from Canada and the class was pretty interesting. After class we went to SOC Day which is Societies Day. All the different societies were in a room and you were able to sign up for any of them you wanted. I only signed up for baking club and international student club. The good day is tomorrow where we get to sign up for clubs. I cannot wait.
I want to take an English seminar and a Sociology seminar and these classes do not start until next week. The seminars are smaller and you are not guaranteed a spot which is upsetting. The English seminar is on children's book where you read books like Holes and I REALLY REALLY want to get in this class.
Fun Fact: Scarves are ridiculously in here. Everyone wears them to the point where I did not even bring enough. I wear one almost everyday and I want to try and find more. I want to find some that have fun designs and prints on them.
Day 6
We went to the Radisson today for lunch. Margaret thought it would be fun if we all had lunch together so she made a reservation at the Radisson. It is pretty close to our apartment. It was buffet style lunch and the food was pretty good. The casear salad was amazing. I tried the "bacon" but it was not bacon it was more like pork. It was really good though. I also tried Tiramisu. It was delicious. We all came with our appetites because we are not the best cookers. We have all been living on salads and pasta basically. The view from the lunch was beautiful. It was overlooking the water and we took some group shots in front of it. The photos are on someone else's camera though. After lunch we were all stuffed but we stayed at the lunch for a little longer just talking and hanging out. We went back to the apartments later on and just hung out for the night and relaxed. We all seem to be really tired here all the time which is weird. Tomorrow starts classes so we also want to be well rested for that.
Day 5
Saturday we hung out and then I wandered around with my friend Lauren. We found the gym at a hotel. It was really small (only a couple of machines) but way cheaper than the really nice gym at school. This gym is only 70 Euros for 3 months which beats the 195 Euros for 5 months. Also, this gym is less than five minutes from our apartments and the other one is on campus and campus is about 15-20 minutes away. We also walked by the water again and took more beautiful pictures. Today it was nicer out so the pictures are even better.
We also wandered around town and tried to explore it a little more. We wanted to be able to walk around and know where we were going. Oma we found a TkMaxx. I could not believe it. I was dying of laughter when I saw it. And Dylan there was a band performing in the town center that was playing a song you like. I will post the video to facebook later for you to see.
Later that night we decided to try the bar that is behind the Niland House. There is a back room in our apartment building on the ground floor that we thought might go all the way through to the bar so that we wouldn't have to walk outside. Most of us were scared to try it though until finally one of us decided to just open the door. Sure enough it goes to the bar but we are not supposed to use the door. We open the door and it brings us to the back of the bar, you can see the kitchen and stuff. There is a guy and he asks us what we are doing and how we got here but finally agrees to let us walk through. 13 girls walking through the back of a bar. Too funny. Once we get to the bar (after getting dirty looks from some of the employees) we order some beers. I had another Guiness. A table near us asked us where we all came from. They said we came out of no where and we explained how our apartment is attached to a bar and they found that very convenient. We stayed there for a while and it was fun. Very low key. I also had a speciality beer of Galway called a Galway Hooker. It was pretty good. I loved the glass though because it said Galway Hooker so I stole it (I guess I learned from you Mom). When we left we decided to take the long route and walk around the block and back to our apartments.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Day 4
Today we had another day of orientation. This time it was for academic advising and we went to the beginning at 930a.m. and got our packets. Most of us stayed for the sociology department advising because it was the first one and we figured it would let us see if it was worth staying for the rest of them. It is safe to say that we found it almost useless. We were given a packet which was probably the most useful thing they gave us, other than that we barely understood what the guy was saying and realized that they register for classes wayyyyyy differently than we do. We don't actually register until the 20th of January but apparently for sociology classes you have to register on the 10th of January. They also have modules (lectures) and then seminars which are smaller and more discussion based. The seminars close faster and there are only a couple of spots held for visiting students so they are hard to get into. To register for sociology classes and in general you just drop a piece of paper off on a certain day with all of the classes you want to take written down. I cannot imagine all of the visiting students being in one place trying to drop off a piece of paper so we will see how that goes.
After we got bored of advising we left and most of us went back to the apartments. After hanging around for a while I decided to wander around. I went and bought tape so that I could decorate the room and I also bought wine. :) After that I decided to walk in a different direction. I went towards the water and it is BEAUTIFUL!! I took a lot of pictures and it just felt nice to be near water again. The only thing I did not enjoy was the temperature. The air was freezing but no rain so I could not complain that much.
For dinner we got a rotisserie chicken and split it between the four of us. It was really good and then we each made our own side dishes. I had pasta and broccoli and cauliflower. The dinner was really good. All of the girls came over later that night and we had wine and some drinks and then we decided to go out. We went to King's Head which was SO MUCH FUN!! Probably one of the best nights so far. There was a live band who was playing a lot of American music but dancing kind. It reminded me a lot of Crab's Claw type of music on karaoke night. There was a little old lady who was probably about 60 dancing with us and she was hilarious. I think she said she had been married for 50 years (Oma this could be you when you come visit). We then decided to leave and we went to Sonnys again. IT WAS PACKED!! I could not believe it. I did not love it there this night and most of the group had left already so there was only about 6 of us left. It was okay there, the music was very American (top 40) but you could barely move. We left and decided to go back to King's Head. Good decision on our part. The little old lady was still dancing, this time her friend was also dancing. The other lady was even older than 60 and was dancing up a storm. A bunch of the younger guys were dancing with her also. It was hilarious.
Fun Fact: In Galway if you are not done with your beer you can get a to-go cup. They have stacks of plastic cups near the exits of bars and you just fill your cup up with your beer and leave. It is perfectly legal to walk around the streets with a plastic cup of beer. You are not however allowed to walk with any glass cups or bottles. I can't wait to get my first to-go cup.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Day 3
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Day 2
Galway is gorgeous. The town is so pretty and luckily the past two days it has been nice out. Rain on the first night for a little but other than that mostly sunshine. Today we had to meet at NUI Galway at 12:30p.m. today to meet up with Margaret who helps us with everything in Galway. She is amazing. She showed us around the campus and then brought us out to lunch. She paid and everything. We ate on campus somewhere, I forget what it is called. She left after lunch and we hung out for a little longer. We are going to see her again on Sunday for lunch. After lunch we walked back towards our apartments (about a 10-15 minute walk). On the way we stopped at Dunnes which has EVERYTHING!! We shopped upstairs first to get sheets and stuff. Some of us wanted an extra set and we needed some other stuff for the apartment. Our apartment is weird. It comes with sheets and towels and then all the bowels and kitchen things are just items that people have used in the past and have left. Basically the apartment is furnished with things that other abroad students have bought and did not want to bring back. So we have mugs, bowls, plates, silverware, a waffle iron, water heater, toaster, and some other stuff. We started off upstairs getting apartment stuff and then we went all the way downstairs where they have the grocery store. We shopped for a while to get things to make dinner and lunch. We also had to buy reusable bags because they charge you for paper or plastic bags here (mom you would hate it since you use one of each at the store). We dropped everything off in our apartment and went back out into the city to find a phone. Margaret was able to get us a deal at some place but we wanted to shop around and ask what other places were like. It ended up the Vodophone (?) the place that Margaret knew of had the best deal. We paid 35 Euro for phone and free texting for a month to everyone in Ireland. Every time you top up your phone for 20 Euro you get free texting for the month. To call America is not that expensive, it is actually way more expensive to call within Ireland which is weird.