international escapades

i find it difficult tonight to recap all that has happened to me since moving into my dorm in blackrock, dublin some nine days ago. the semester has yet to begin and i feel as though i have lived a lifetime in a matter of a week ! i am back in the dorms at UCDublin filled with students from all over the world: germany, france, italy, australia, spain, new zealand, whales, denmark, and of course the us. i have so enjoyed getting to know each and every one of them as we all add a little something to the melting pot of our halls. we have shopped grafton street and wandered st. steven's green, spent lots of time in pubs, on public transit, and exploring our seaside suburb as well as the city center itself. We danced to old nineties music in 'the wicked wolf' (a pub down from our halls), spoke with many local irish people and we even decided to go down to the ocean for a night swim (and no, i did not go in). so far, so great here in dublin

classes started this week and i must say i feel much like a freshman again (or a 'fresher' as they call them here). UCDublin is a huge school of about 20,000 students or more, so naturally i am very lost and quite confused i must say ha. it is nice, though, to be on a campus of so many students and to see so many familiar faces from blackrock. it is such an interesting perspective, being an international student among mostly irish classmates. my classes seem really great already; i am taking twentieth century history, irish folklore, feminism in ireland, intellectual history, and myths and legends. random, thoughtful, and they should be a lot of fun !

i hope all is well back home.. i apologize for the lack of photos, blogger is not letting me upload any at the moment. but i will post them as soon as i can. cheers !