The first class I attended on Monday was Developmental Psychology. I was nervous when I walked into the room because it was HUGE compared to the small sizes I am used to in Carlow University. There were rows upon rows of chairs, and there still were not enough for the number of students that came pouring through the door! This makes me even more nervous about when classes are in full swing because I feel I may get lost in the room and miss out on important things. I guess its good I like to sit in the front! This class was fairly short because the Irish students are allowed two weeks to decide what classes they want to take and the lecturer did not want to start class until she knew how many students cared.
The second class I had was on Tuesday and it was Counseling and Social Care Skills. Remember when I said I was nervous due to the size of my last class? Well this time that anxiety was doubled, if not more. The room was at the VERY top of a set of square, spiraled stairs and was simply massive. Luckily, there were many more seats than students in the room once class began, although I am told there was a traffic jam and some were going to be late if not missing class entirely. Once the lecturer began speaking, I felt a bit lost. I could understand bits of what he was talking about, but much of it only related to the Irish students. When he took a break, Andrea and I informed him that we were American students here to study for a semester and asked how things related to us. Instead of a real answer, he simply told us to "just do whatever." ?!?!? !!? I am now very worried about this class because I am used to knowing what is going on and not being told to do whatever I want. Hopefully it works itself out in the next few weeks.
On Wednesday I had two classes. The first was my Irish Experience class. I think that this is the class I was looking forward to the most because I think I will gain some valuable insights here. Because it was the first class, we really only went over the basics and got some things sorted out. However, we were told about the Friday excursion which sounded exciting! My second class was Social Psychology. After sitting through class, I think I may really enjoy this class. There are many topics mentioned that I have a small bit of knowledge about and some that I know little or nothing about. I think this will help me put new perspectives on my previous knowledge as well as expand my knowledge in the field of psychology. Also, the lecturer seems to be good at teaching. I was interested the whole time and felt like he knew what he was talking about. After class, the other American students and myself introduced ourselves and he was happy to meet us. This was a MUCH better response than my Tuesday class!!
I was scheduled to have a Thursday class, but it turns out it was moved to the same time as my Social Psychology class and therefore I had to drop it. This differs from the states because our schedules are worked out months in advance and classes don't overlap in that way once a student is scheduled for it. But, I won't let it bother me, that's simply not the Irish way!
Friday was our first excursion! We went to a variety of places that each had a great story to tell. Instead of me rambling on about each, allow me to just name them and put a few photos from each. Pictures are worth a thousand words, right?
Killeshin Church (Cill Uisean)
(The beautiful archway and some of the intricate details)
(Chrissy helped most of us down)
The next photo is from the top of a hill that overlooks the Barrow Valley.
Saint Laserian's Cathedreal / Old Leighlin Church
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| (The weird stairlike piece helps to hold the building in place... it walks away!) |
Saint Mullin's Monastery.
(will add pictures soon, its being very slow and I need some sleep!!)
Duckett's Grove.
The trip to all of those places was grand, as the Irish would say. I came to Ireland to see things like this, and I feel like that purpose is finally starting to be fulfilled!
However, later in the evening the day began to lose its splendor. Sometimes getting along with room mates and girls who see things differently than you can be hard. On top of that, my phone was not working so I could not use the internet. It was a rough night where I cried and even said I wanted to go home. I hope nights like that begin to disappear.
This morning, my room mate left with some of the other girls and I began the weekend alone. I have this whole apartment to myself. It is very quiet now that it is night time, but I think I needed the space. As I said to my dad, I always seem to feel like the odd one out. I don't like to do the same things some other girls my age like to do, and that makes it hard for me to fit in. I feel like none of the people on this trip relate to me very well and I can not wait until my boyfriend comes to visit me so I have someone else to talk to. Although my dad doesn't seem to think this is a bad thing. He also was kind of a loner and often on his own around my age. He told me to keep my head up and stay true to myself. I am glad someone appreciates who I am.
Today was not all bad though. I got my phone fixed and even visited the farmers market here in Carlow. There were so many awesome goodies, but I decided I should only pick one. So, I bought a loaf of sun dried tomato and herb bread. It smelled delicious and I could not wait to try it! I had grilled cheese and tomato soup from the bread and it was amazing! I love local goodies. :] I also took a walk around town and visited the remains of Carlow Castle. I was hoping it would be larger, but I suppose something tucked away in a town like this would have to be small. All that remains is a small piece of the wall and two pieces of round towers. It was still an interesting sight. While I was there, I saw a pigeon who was too fat to fly! It made me laugh and definitely helped to cheer me up!
Yours truly,
Alicia
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