We're a little more than a month into the semester over here. Compare that to home, where classes were delayed past the intended start date of January 25th due to the blizzard. Sometimes it's strange to believe that I've been part of a new city and university for over 5 weeks, when I still feel so new at times, encountering a multitude of things that make me feel very, very, American for a moment.

The first week of the semester for visiting students is a bit of a whirlwind. Orientation is squeezed into two days at NUIG, which, of course, isn't the best way of learning a new university system and method of signing up for classes.

When Irish (and full degree international) students begin their major, or "course" as a first year student, their timetables are almost entirely set for them. For the most part, the students of each year of any given course have the same classes, pre-set by the university and distributed to them at the beginning of term. As visiting international students, we're given a list of classes from each department, and are able to put together our own timetables, based on our own preferences and our university's requirements.

Naturally, this can be a bit stressful, to say the least, and not knowing your classes before beginning a semester is completely foreign for any American student. After about a week and a half of typing up tentative schedules, emailing professors, running around campus, and bothering my roommates for advice, I'm taking five classes, the equivalent of 15 credits at home:

1: Comparative Public Policy- This is a required class for final year political studies students at NUIG. Not a bad class to add to my own core requirements at home. The format is very different from my upper level classes at home- both classes each week are entirely lecture-based, and there's around 200 of us enrolled in the class. So far, it's been a pretty general overview of theory and public policy.

2: Irish Language- Dia dhuit! Is mise Emily. NUIG offers undergraduate and graduate level degrees in Irish language and Celtic studies, and offers beginners' language classes to visiting international students. This obviously isn't part of my major at home, but I couldn't resist the chance to try Irish. Plus, it's nice to be able to read some of the signs around campus and town in English and Irish!

3: Northern Ireland, The Politics of a Divided Society- Last year I was able to take part in a mock negotiation taking place in Northern Ireland as part of my International Negotiation class, so I was eager to learn more about the past and current situations in Northern Ireland. This is an upper level seminar, and we had to apply and list our top choices to be placed into by the department. I have to be honest, I'm a little surprised by the format- since it's a seminar, and there's only around 15 of us in the class, I had expected more in-class discussion and possibly more regular assignments. So far, it's been mostly lectures, only on a smaller, more specialized scale.

4: Indigenous Arts Exploration- Reserved for visiting students, each week our group of 25 or so attends a lecture on Irish culture or arts, and Arts in Action event sponsored by the university, and every so often, takes field trips related to the class. So far, we've seen a play at the Town Hall Theater, visited the Galway City Museum, and have a day trip to County Mayo coming up soon.

5: Irish Studies- I don't have a lot to report here, except to say I liked learning about the reasons behind the decline of the Irish language, and the "anglicization" of Ireland. Every few weeks, our lecturer switches, and we focus on a different element of traditional Irish culture.

So, there's a little insight into the actual study aspect of a study abroad program :)

I have quite a bit of catching up to do, including posts on my recent trips to Connemara and Cork, and a look at my Irish student apartment, plus more Ireland antics, so stay tuned :)

XOXO,
Emily