Student Bloggers

Today marks the end of my second week of classes. Yes, that means my classes run only from Monday to Wednesday. It is quite the test of my own discipline to see how often I can actually get myself to do homework.

The first week of classes ended up actually being much more stressful than I was expecting. Two of the classes I had planned to take were canceled the day I was supposed to have them. One of them was actually officially canceled the minute it was supposed to start so the entire class was already there. This is apparently commonplace here, classes get canceled all the time and students are expected to have back-ups. Luckily, I was able to find replacement classes that fit into my schedule. I am playing a bit of catch-up since I missed the first week of these two replacement classes, but many people are in my position. Three Criminology classes were canceled and everyone just had to replace them with different Criminology classes, it created quite the band of misfits going through this together.

Classes here are very different from what I am used to. Back home, I am used to structure and weekly assignments. I always knew what needed to be done week to week and had classes every weekday so there was always a school/homework mindset. In Ireland, it is completely different. Many of my classes have one midterm and one final or even just one final (mostly papers). I have these classes for only two hours a week each. I have class basically all day Monday and then just one class for Tuesday and Wednesday. It is going to be quite an adjustment from what I am used to.

I think this new way of learning is actually going to be really good for me. At my home university, I've obviously come to rely heavily on the syllabus and being told what to do. So now I have the opportunity to force myself to be more self-sufficient in my learning.

I am also really loving this city. I feel like I have passed the point of settling in and getting used to things and am able to explore more than I was when I first got here. UCC has been great in setting up events to meet fellow international students and I've made some great friends through those. I love being able to experience the city with other international students that still have incredibly different backgrounds from me.

Cork is a really great city to explore historical sites as well as museums. So many things are free or very low cost to do, so even before we start traveling to different parts of Ireland and Europe, there is so much to do right here in Cork.

Overall, right now adjusting to life abroad has been easier than I expected. Getting into a bit of a routine with my modules has definitely helped that process along. I have an Arcadia excursion to Muckross House and Killarney National Park coming up and I will be spending the next day or so planning some touristy trips that still need to be taken in the city. Hopefully, the rain will be in our favor, it is Ireland after all.