a)     What is the most prominent cultural difference in your city abroad?  Explain.

Irish people are a lot different than your typical American. First of all, most people are insanely genuine and kind. They are so helpful and friendly, and they mean it. Shopping, eating out, going to the different administration offices at school is even nicer because of it. Nobody acts like you are killing them when they have to check you out or need to ask a question at the bank. They help you with a true smile and even go above and beyond their job, almost every time. Have you ever been to the bank or store and dealt with a person who was so nice and genuine that afterwards you thought “Wow. People can be so kind. The world is a good place”? Well that’s what a lot of people are like here. It is very refreshing and welcoming.

b)     Discuss your experience with the stages of culture shock throughout your time abroad.

I never really had a culture shock. Others from America told me they have, but I personally have not. I asked some of my friends from Spain and France if they did, but they said they really have not either. The western world is surprisingly very similar. Of course there are differences, but it’s nothing I would consider “shocking”. The biggest adjustment here is making sure you don’t question into where someone is from (what town, what school they went to, what type of sports they played in HS, etc.) if they live in Northern Ireland. That is considered personal information. You just kind of have to watch your Qs and Ps. The way girls dress here for a night out was pretty shocking actually jajaj. I mean, I don’t care, they can dress however their little heart’s desire so long as they feel good, but that does not mean it was not shocking. They wear fake eyelashes, stilettos, skin tight clothing with insane, mismatch patterns, and they must spend at least 2 hours on their hair and makeup. It is okay though with me because I don’t have to dress like that. I was worried I’d feel weird if I didn’t, but me and my international friends go out in dresses with cardigans and flats and we are fine. Those are just things that are shocking though with the culture. I can’t say I have had any experiences that could be classified into stages or even culture shock really. 

a)     Describe any safety tips you have discovered while abroad.

Basically you just need to follow the typical safety rules you have heard a million times: Always be aware of your surroundings, keep an eye on your purse/wallet, watch your drinks, know the local emergency number, never go out alone, stay out of the bad parts of town and so on. I would say Belfast is pretty safe in terms of your typical concerns for traveling. The issues here affect more people who are militant members. Although, you do risk getting caught in the crossfire, but even still, I would say it is a lot safer here than Pittsburgh. When traveling in big cities you have to watch your back a lot more. When we were in Paris we constantly kept an eye on our stuff. For example, we put our valuables in our inner coat pockets and watched them and our bags carefully. When standing in a crowd or on a subway, turn your backpack so that it is on the front of you and you can hold it to keep it covered. You also have to keep an eye out for not-so-obvious situations. Some little girls came up to us and asked us for donations for the blind and dumb association. They had paperwork to try and make it look official but it was a scam. They were pretending they were deaf and sick and were rubbing our arms, kissing their fingers and touching them to us to say thank you for the donation (even though we had not given them anything because we were suspicious) to make us feel bad. The next day we saw the same girls running around, singing and shouting to one another. It is sad that they are raised that way. I am sure they need money because they are immigrants and their parents probably can’t get jobs there because of it, but still. Maybe they meant no harm, but you need to be careful. Someone easily could have pick-pocketed us when they were touching us and such. This just goes back to being aware of your surroundings and using common sense.

b)     What are the best local traveler secrets that you have learned so far?  This should be a tip that you wouldn’t have known before arriving at your location

Hmmm. A local traveller secret…I really am not sure. Do the pubs with the best live music count? Hahah. I guess one could be that if you are traveling with 3 or more people, it is cheaper to get a taxi than take the bus, and fona-cab is the best company here especially if you are by Queens. Also, Guinness chocolate cake is delicious if made properly. Mmmm. Oh! And the best place to go on the weekends is St. George’s market in the city centre. There is usually live music, and sooo much yummy food and fun things to look at. It closes at 1 though so make sure it’s one of the first things on your agenda.  

What have been your favorite day trips or weekend getaway locations? Describe what you saw and experienced and explain why it was interesting. 

I have spent these past few days with Ailise, a student from Queens who I become friends with when she studied abroad at Carlow last year, and explored the towns near her. We spent all day Thursday and most of Friday cruising around the coast and checking out the beaches. I must have said “This is so beautiful. I love it!” half a million times. The weather was incredible, which is something rare for Ireland. It made everything that much better – although Ireland is so beautiful that it looks great rain or shine, shine is still preferable though. The water was always so clean. In some areas it was a beautiful blue. That mixed with the bright blue sky and the Irish-green grass made for one heck of a sight! The sheep wandering everywhere made it even better, especially the baby ones J Ohhhh they were so adorable. We had to stop or slow down quite a few times because of sheep in the road. It was a really nice trip. Words and pictures cannot explain it. I am so glad I got to explore Ireland’s beauty before I left. 

That mass across the water is good ol' Scotland 

It is true, the sheep roam free in Ireland :)

Typical weekday

·         Take us through a typical weekday for you—from morning to evening

Every weekday is a bit different. For example, on Mondays I have 5 hours of classes, Wednesday I have none, and on Tuesday and Friday I only have one. Thursdays are the best days. I only have two hours. It’s nice because it forces me to wake up early but I am not rushed all day. If I sleep late it’s basically a given that I won’t do anything that day so I like days where I have class. I always get the most done on Thursdays and I love it. I wake up at 9 or a quarter to 9, shower real quick, throw on some clothes, and eat breakfast, and then head to class at about a quarter to 10. The class is in the main area of classes so it’s only about a 10 minute walk. I have class for just one hour, and then I go back home to charge my computer, do a little reading or take a quick nap (depending) and then I make lunch and head back to campus for another class. This time class is a 15 minute walk away. Again, I am in class for only an hour. Then I walk over the library and study from 2 until 5 or so. After that I go home, and do whatever. Maybe I study, maybe I sleep, or clean my room, whatever. Then around 8 or 9 my friends and I eat dinner. Tuesdays are good too actually. I like to wake up early to study, then I have my favourite tutorial at noon. After tutorial I go workout and then come back home, shower, eat, and study some more. 

Culture

a)     Explain the most exciting holiday, tradition, or custom that you have experienced.

I spent my winter break in Spain and was able to experience so many new traditions. It was so interesting. The best though was Catalan tradition of Caga Tio. It’s unbelievable. Caga means poop and tio means log (in Spanish tio means uncle). Every year, on the 8^th of December, a family sets out a log that looks like a cartoon character. They cover Caga Tio with a blanket and feed it. Then, on the 25^th of December the children gather around the log and sing while hitting it with a stick. They sing:

"Caga Tió avellanes I torró
Si no vols cagar
Et donanem un cop de pal."

Which translates to:

"Caga Tió hazelnuts and turron
If you don't want to poo
We will hit you with a stick"

Then they remove the blanket to find his poop, which is magically presents. The family I stayed with did this three times. All the grandchildren would leave the room while the parents put more presents under. It was fantastic. I want a log that poops out presents. All you have to do is feed it cookies and keep it warm? Sounds like a good deal!

b)     What live entertainment have you seen (shows, parades, music, sports, etc.)? Tell us about some interesting observations you made there.

One of the best things about studying aboard here in northern Ireland is the live music at the pubs. I love when we go to a pub and sit and listen to someone jam out on the fiddle, accordion and guitar. The best bands (that I have seen at least) are in the Republic. Whenever we go visit we make sure we find live music. At a pub in Galway it seemed like some folks just met there every week to play music. People came and went. When different people came they played slightly different types of music. It was awesome. They played traditional songs and cover songs. Their version of black bird by the Beatles was incredible. Watching rugby matches at the pubs is great craic too (Irish way of saying a really good time). Everyone is always singing and cheering like crazy. It’s a really fun environment. J  

                 Explain the best way you have found to meet the local people.

The best way to meet local people here is in class, particularly in tutorials. I really don’t know what else to say about this. It is pretty much just like back home. Some classes have people jump into conversations and are easy to start something with. Other classes have a lot of people who don’t speak at all. Needless to say, it’s easiest to meet/make friends in the classes where people speak. I guess you could say people here are a little more reserved and keep to themselves more than back home. However, people are also kinder. So sometimes it might be a little more difficult to get people to talk but it is nothing personal.

What is the most interesting thing you’ve purchased abroad?  How are you adjusting to using a different currency and keeping within a budget?

Hmmm….I have not really purchased anything interesting. Probably my tickets to Spain were the most interesting haha ;). Adjusting to using a different currency is easy: you transfer the money from your bank account back home, close your eyes when you have to look at the difference between pounds and dollars, and then just use your bank account as normal. I am horrible at keeping track of how much money I spend. Although, I am good at keeping things really cheap and not spending too much, but it am bad at keeping perfect track of it. I made a budget for how much I can spend every month and I just take that amount out in the beginning and pay for everything with that cash. I try not to use my debit card. Of course, this is not going to work in the future when I have to manage a real, grown-up-person budget, but it works for now.

a)      Have you experienced any cultural miscommunication or “lost in translation” moments?  Tell us a funny story about adjusting to the local tongue.

I was checking a book of out the library one day, and I took a look at the receipt to see exactly when the book was due back. It said 11/11/14, but that day (the day I was checking it out) was November 10. The book was supposed to be a 30 night loan so I was really confused. I went up to a librarian to ask him about it. I could not understand a single word he was saying. He had the thickest Belfast accent ever. It was worse than a pikeys accent in the movie Snatch. I kept asking him to repeat himself but eventually I just gave up and pretended I could understand him. It was awful hahaha. It’s crazy to think that I cannot understand someone who is speaking the same language as me. Someone could have told me he wasn’t speaking English and I would have believed them. I wonder if he could understand me. I was with a friend from France at the time and after we walked away she said “Now you know how I feel every day” hahah. Later on I kicked myself because I realized I had the date confused. I forgot that they put the day of the month first instead of the month first. Ha!

b)      Explain a favorite new word or phrase you have learned.

I love the phrase “cheers”. It is so happy sounding ha. They use it for goodbye and thank you. I also like that they use the words lovely and mate. I don’t know why but it is so cool.