Mmmmmm

In Belfast they eat the same time as we do in the United States (breakfast before work/school, lunch around noon, and dinner around 6). However, since everyone I live with is from France, Spain and Italy I eat according to their meal time, which is the same for them all, because we like to cook together. It is more fun. We eat lunch around 2 or 3 (which actually kind of happens naturally anyways because of classes) and then have dinner around 9. I only went out to eat once and the portion sizes were actually the same as at home. I thought they would be a lot smaller. However, one time I got food from a little restaurant in a grocery store and got the chicken strips and chips (French Fries) meal deal. I saw chicken strips that were the same as the ones you get in Frannies and figured that was the chicken strips, but nope, they were four strips the size of my finger.  Hahah.  So maybe at some places the portion sizes are smaller. I never go out to eat though so I do not know. I myself eat a lot though so most portion sizes seem small to me personally, even in the United States. I can out eat a lot of people, especially my friends from Spain and France. So I really hope I do not go to a restaurant and find out that in fact the portion sizes are smaller here and I just got lucky at the pub I ate at. I'll be sad hahaha.  For the next 20 days I am staying with a family in Spain whom I found online. They wanted someone to help them learn English and watch the children. Since it is the Christmas holidays I will be trying a lot of new food from here. I am so excited! 

2 in 1 (oops)

Oops! I was so caught up in midterms that I missed two blog entries! 

Question 1, Transportation stuff: Since I live in a city it is really easy to get everywhere. I usually walk places. The furthest we travel on a regular basis is to the city centre and it is only a 30 minute-or-so walk. There are city buses, of course, but I love walking and I would rather spend my money on other things. Anywhere farther than that is typically a great deal farther so then we bus. The transportation here is awesome though, which is to be expected since it is Europe haha. Yesterday we went to Mourne Mountains. It is about an 1.5 hours away and there is basically nothing on the way there, but the city bus still takes you out there. It’s amazing. That isn’t even plausible in the USA (from what I have seen at least). The other day we went to Dublin and it only cost 20 pounds round trip, and that is without getting the discount for buying them ahead of time (we decided last minute that we wanted to go). I love it. Since the US dollar is worth nothing and since I want to travel while I am here, I am very glad that I can do so cheaply. I am also glad that I live in a city so I don’t have to use transportation to get to the stores and such. It’s healthy for the body and the budget ;)

Question 2, Support staff and professors: I haven’t really used the support staff here. I guess that means I am pretty fortunate. I have yet to have any problems I could not deal with myself. As for the question about who is my most interesting professor, it is really difficult to answer that. They are all really different. My economics teacher is pretty serious but when he wants to be funny he is hilarious. The stuff he says is just so great. I love the British sense of humour. My international relations teacher is really laid back. He is good for making jokes with about topics in class, and he is amazing at explaining things we don’t understand and forcing us to think critically. He is a great professor (they all are though). My most interesting/favourite though is my professor for my Welfare Theory class. It may have partly to do with the fact that she reminds me of Dr. Chung, one of my favourite professors at Carlow. She’s just really silly and curious. She is always sharing stories about studies she has done herself or read in order to help us understand what we are teaching in class. She also is always interested in hearing our views.  We always have such good conversations in that class…maybe that is another reason why I like her the most. We have group discussions in every class (unlike the other ones where we only speak in the tutorial) so we all are close. I am going to miss her. She is so funny and sweet. I don’t have her class this week but my friend and I are going to visit her tomorrow to say goodbye. Overall I am lucky because all of my professors are pretty interesting. They’re quite a lovely bunch J

STUDY abroad

I did not buy any textbooks this semester. The library here is pretty extensive so a lot of the books are available for check out. Unfortunately, they are only two night loans but I would rather go back and forth to the library than spend money on books. With that being said, I did look up the prices of the books before and they are substantially cheaper than back home but I still decided not to buy them . Someone pointed out that if you consider the currency exchange rate they are probably the same price. Even so, I still think the books are less expensive here. The problem for me is really not the price though. There are so many books for each class. We are assigned A LOT of readings. Some classes don’t even have a main textbook, and the ones that do have 2 or 3 so it wasn’t worth it. Going to the library works well enough for me. Also, almost all of the readings for one class are online. The professor understands that it would be impossible for us to access all of the required reading so he scans a decent amount of them in and posts them online…it is not entirely legal but it is very covenant and nice of him haha. 

Class is set up a lot different here than Carlow. When I would say to my friends who go to Pitt “It is going to be so interesting to have big classes!” they would always respond with something along the lines of “Oh, so you can become just a number and get no help from your professors?”. That worried me. Fortunately that is not the case. Since my classes are second year (they only have 3 years here so it is imagine it like junior year) they are smaller than first year classes but they are still large compared to my classes at Carlow. A first-year class I took, for a week and then dropped, probably had a little over 150 students in the lecture. One of my classes has about 30 students in the lecture, and my other ones have about 80 in the lectures.  However, lecture also has a “tutorial”. The lectures meet twice a week, the tutorials meet once. The number of students in the tutorial is sustainably smaller with 10-15 students in each one. They are very comparable to Carlow classes. I am lucky because the same professor who lectures also teaches the tutorials. That is not the case for all classes. My first-year class tutorial, for example, was taught by a grad student. Anyways, the tutorials are personal and are a good opportunity to ask questions and brainstorm together. Before I came I was told that the tutorials were student led and the professor only facilitated some. If nobody had any questions or comments then you just sat there for the hour doing nothing. Thankfully, that is not exactly the case. I mean it sort of is but there is more to it. The professor asks questions and everyone answers together. It is a group discussion. We are constantly talking and working together. The professor guides it for the most part. Ir is similar to some of the communication classes I took at Carlow. The structure also ensures that we do not become “just a number”. The professor knows our names and engages with us. I enjoy the tutorials. Some classes are better than others but that is to be expected. The tutorials are completely necessary because otherwise I would be so lost. So much information is poured onto you during the lecture and there are so many readings. It is very beneficial to have a class where you can put it all together and make sense of it all. I should also mention that we only have three modules (that is what they call the lectures+tutorials). At first I was excited about that. Yes! More time to have fun! WRONG! Two lectures a week per class + 1 tutorial a week per class x3 = 9 classes a week. That is basically the same as my classes at Carlow. Also, the reading load is way heavier than Carlow. I can barely keep up with the required readings for each week, let alone the recommended readings –which aren’t truly “recommendations” for one of my classes…you have to choose wisely which ones to read or you will be lost during the tutorial (He has like 15 recommended readings for each class on top of 4 or 5 required so you do have to choose). I must admit that part of the reason it is difficult to keep up with the readings has to do with me kind of feeling like I am vacation haha. The grading methods are different as well. Back home the number and type of assignments varies from class to class. Here, all of the classes in my school grade based off of a mid-term essay and a final essay. The topics for the mid-term essay are given to you ahead of time and it is written at home. The final essays are written in class. You get the topics in the beginning of that class and have two hours to write an essay for two of the questions. I am terrified for it, especially since we have to study over Christmas break and I am traveling. I must say though that I do enjoy the way classes are taught here. I am glad I am still able to have small, personal classes even if they only meet once a week.

Next question, please!

a)      What phone device are you using while abroad?  Did you purchase one there or did you bring your own?  How much does it cost to use a mobile phone abroad?

I originally purchased a cheap, 12 pound pre-paid phone when I arrived in Belfast. Bad idea. I dreaded having to use it. It was so difficult to text on. All it was good for was emergency situations and I didn’t have any numbers to call anyway other than 999 (the equivalent to 911). After I was living here for a few weeks and heard about some other options I dropped the phone and went for another plan. Now I use giffgaff (a phone company here). It is pretty cheap, there is one option that is only 5 something pounds a month. That plan doesn’t give you a lot of minutes and texts but I can call and text other giffgaff users for free so it doesn’t matter because almost all of my friends have giffgaff (for that exact reason). It isn’t a contract so that means I don’t have to stress about having money in my account at the end of the month, and every month I can switch what plan I want. Giffgaff is also a great way to go because I can use my iPhone from the U.S. I didn’t have to buy anything new and I am already used to how the phone works. Plus I carried it with me everywhere anyway. The original phone/plan I got would be the best option for someone studying abroad back home, but not here. It is amazing how many minutes, text, and data you can get for such little money. It really makes you realize how much we get ripped off in the U.S. 

b)      What technology is available at your location (computers, internet, printers etc)?

The school pays for us to have internet in our dorms. It is through a private company though which kind of sucks. I have a lot of issues with internet connection and the company has awful costumer service. Other than the internet and a TV in the living room, we don’t have any other technology in the house. Because of TV licenses you can’t watch TV in your room unless you pay for it yourself. As for computers and printers, you have to go to the library for those. The university does not give you print money like Carlow does. It costs 10p a page, and you can’t use the double-sided trick here. It is okay though because you really don’t have to print much. For most classes you only have two essays a semester and that is all you really have to print.

My housing situation...

During my time at Queen’s I am staying in university housing. It is different than some of the other university housing though. Some of them are all grouped together, like a little neighbourhood. This one is just one building by itself on a main street. I like it a lot better this way. In Elms Village, the main university housing, there are loud kids everywhere haha. My building looks like an apartment building from the outside, and it feels like an apartment compared to Elms Village, except that it isn’t an apartment building…ha.   It consists of three floors. On each floor there are about 16 bedrooms, 4 toilets, 4 showers, and one kitchen and living room, known as the common area. Each floor is divided up into 5 sections to keep noise level down and protect against fires. The building is a non-alcohol building, which I am in favor of. I see the houses that allow alcohol and they are always a disaster, especially on the weekends. I have my own room. I really enjoy having my own space. You would think I would be more messy since it is just me, but I actually keep it more clean. I think it is because it feels more like mine. I have shelves and a rack to hang my clothes on, a desk, a bed (obviously), and my own sink. The sink is by far my favorite part. It is so convenient! My building is mostly international students ( I think I mentioned this before…sorry). The first 2 floors are almost entirely international students. The third floor is a mixture of international and freshmen. The building has only one RA, and she also is the RA for another house down the street. So, that is quite different in comparison to Carlow and many other universities I visited back home that all have RAs on every floor. It is actually pretty nice because you don’t have to worry about getting in trouble. That is not to say we do bad things! Honestly. It just means that if we are all up late and decide to meet in the common area to cook together and/or watch a movie at two in the morning we can do so without worrying about being yelled at. We don’t get super loud because we know other people are sleeping, but you know that would not be allowed if there was a RA posted on the floor right next to the common area haha. It makes living here more fun and spontaneous.

I really enjoy the set up here. It makes meeting people very easy. Since most of us eat at similar times we are always cooking and sitting at the table at the same time, so we kind of have family meals in a sense. The kitchen can get chaotic at times, especially at dinner, but I love it. It makes cooking and living here so much more fun. It also is nice to have a living room. Every Sunday night we have “series night” (yeah, I know, very creative title) where a lot of us gather in the living room to watch Homeland. At first it was just 4 or 5 people from the floor who always hang out and our group of friends. Now it has grown and almost our whole floor joins us. It gets pretty crowded but we love it. The housing is one of the best parts of the experience here. I always think about how much I am going to miss it when I leave. 

The first week I was here I took some videos of my room and the floor...I tried to find them to post here but of course I deleted them off of my phone. I made them via instagram so even though they are online, I cannot save them. Here are the links to them on my facebook page but I am not sure if they will work since my page is private. Facebook is telling my they will though. They are nothing special. Obviously it can't all be captured in a 15 second video, but it helps to give an idea. So, give it a try if you are interested:

The flat: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=207312736111541&l=8780787983383391047

My room: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=207310422778439&l=7874323357736476352

Belfast is beautiful! The architecture is truly old and beautiful, something you would only find in this side of the world. The grass and trees here seem greener than the ones back home. People complain about all of the cloudy days but I think the gray sky makes a perfect backdrop. It goes well with all of the brown buildings and deep greens. It is true though that the weather isn’t the cheeriest. It is chilly and windy and rains almost every day. I love it. Although, I am sure I will be sick of it in about a month. The people here seem to fit their reputation of being very friendly. They don’t wave and say good morning to everyone walking by like people say haha but they do always seem to be willing to help and have a chat. Everything and everyone seems to be very relaxed here. I asked a man why that is and he said he thinks it is because everything was so tense during the troubles and now that it is over they feel they can breathe and want to enjoy life.

They also fit the reputation of drinking (of course not everyone, but it lives up to what you would expect). We did a “pub crawl” as an orientation event haha. It was pretty cool to see the different types of pubs here and it was a good time for everyone. In one pub there were older gentlemen in a corner playing instruments. You could tell they were not paid, they just were enjoying themselves. It was nice to see an atmosphere like that in a bar. Only on two days were there a lot of mandatory orientation events scheduled, and even still it was not too bad. It was very different than Carlow’s orientation. You had more time to mingle at the events and you did not feel as if you were being babysat.  Plus it was nice to have time to get stuff done. Being that we all need to open bank accounts, get food to cook, get cell phones, etc., it was important that we had some free time to do those things. The best part of orientation week was the people I met. I have made some awesome friends. They are so much fun. My floor is almost all international students (14 out of 16). We all got along right away and a lot of us became very close. At orientation we met new people and they joined us too. Our group of friends keeps growing. I love it. They are so much fun. I have been learning a lot since I am the only person from America and one of the only native English speakers. I have learned a lot about politics in Spain and Germany. I have learned a lot of new Spanish words as well. I am trying to learn more German words but it is tough. I have given up on trying learning French. The sounds are too difficult to make haha. Anyways, that was my favorite part of orientation: meeting people from different countries and learning about them. There are easily 1,000 new international students here from all over the world. Every night I have a conversation with a new person and I absolutely love it. I love seeing people from so many different countries getting along and sharing similar interests. It makes me realize how united we all are as humans. I am so glad I am able to have this experience. It is amazing so far and I have only been here a week! I cannot wait to see what else is in store!

First blog question

·         What made you decide to study abroad?

I am not sure what made me want to study abroad. It always sounded really cool to me but I never thought I would be able to go so I never truly considered it. I didn’t even think it would happen when I applied to go abroad. I guess I just wanted to see what would happen.

·         How do you expect to be changed by your experience?

I hope I will feel more independent and confident when I get back. Apparently the way they study there is similar to grad school here, so I hope it will make me a little more prepared for that as well.

·         What are your goals while you are abroad and how do you expect to achieve these goals?

I have so many goals that there is no way I can post them all here. Basically my goal is to learn how to handle and overcome all of my fears. I have a couple other goals that are not completely related to fears, like I want to travel and go hiking. First things first though, I hope I learn how to cook real food. It is really going to suck if I don’t haha. I have to make all of my meals myself while I live there because there is no meal plan at my University. I have been spoiled all my life by having my parents or three older brothers to cook for me. That is a goal I am going to need to achieve very early on haha. I also want to figure out my best learning style and learn how to self-discipline so that I can get my studying done properly yet still have time to have fun. It is going to take a trial-and-error process and some perseverance but I will figure it out. I don’t really have a choice. That and learning how to live on my own are my two main goals.

·         What fears or apprehensions do you have?

I have never left the country before and I have never lived very far from home, so of course I am afraid of that. Plus everything is so expensive over there and the dollar is worth nothing, to make it even worse. It’s scary to think about running out of money period, especially when you’re that far away. The classes are structured a lot different there. Your grades are literally based on one huge exam or essay at the end of the semester. That means I have one chance to prove myself in the class. I don’t have a chance to bounce back if I accidentally do badly. It terrifies me. I hope I get a chance to travel to some cool places! I’m afraid I won’t be able to though. That takes a lot of time and a lot of money, things that as of now seem sparse. I’m also scared I am going to have some issues because I am American. I can’t really blame them, the stereotypes and actions of our government don’t really make us look good. It will be interesting though if that happens. It is bound to be part of anyone’s experience while living in another country. I also get very freaked out by religion, so living in a country where religion is so very prominent is going to be hard to get adjusted to at first. I’m also afraid everyone is going to speak like Brad Pitt does in the movie Snatch (So terrifying to think of professors with that thick of accents hahah).

·         What are you most looking forward to?

I can’t wait to live in another country! I hope they’re not as “Americanized” as people say. I really want to learn first-hand about another culture. I’m even excited for the religious side of the culture because it is something I need to learn about. It seems like the people are very political and out-spoken in Northern Ireland; I can’t wait! I hope I will learn a lot and have a lot of good conversations! I’m so intrigued by everything over there really. I am excited for everything new. I am certainly going in with an open mind. I am going to embrace it all.  I cannot wait to face all of my fears, overcome them, and grow as a person.

27 days, 23 hours, and 46 minutes until my next, and biggest, adventure begins!