The Bad, The Good, and Ireland
The Bad
I have to say the dorms do not impress me. I was aware of the double rooms, and how five rooms per suite shared a common room and kitchen. But the size of everything surprised me. We have an awkward shared desk, with one shelf on the far side of the desk (not in the middle???). We each have two drawers under our beds, and some shelves and a place to hang things. I guess I mostly dislike the desk situation. Oh yeah and our suite is special because it's new for our program and only has one working internet jack per room (yay) so for now my roommate and I have to share the internet haha. Hopefully that's fixed soon.
We were helped less than the program representatives told us we would be at the pre-departure meeting. We were told we would be taken to get our phones, but there was no trip. I know student in other programs had ways to get essential items, like bath towels before even leaving the states. I couldn’t get a towel until the first trip to the city, which we had to figure out on our own, until the second day here. I used paper towels the first day haha. I think I have the impression our pre-departure meeting was not very good, because I’ve been hit with a lot of surprises. I really expected more help, and that may seem winey, but if I pay to do a study abroad program through my own school, I expect a little help upon arrival from the program staff. At least a little more than I got. The bus is freaking expensive. I have to stop going into the city center every day. They euro is a tricky evil form of money. Somehow I've burned through a lot of money in just a week. I have to register randomly with the National Police, so there goes another 160 euro. They say there will be a group trip to the place to do it, but I’ll have to wait and see if that’s true. I did not realize who would be on this trip with me, as in the type of person. I think I've found some people who would rather experience Ireland than literally drink all the time, but I'll have to see. People are already planning trips, but I'm not close friends with anyone, hence no one to plan with.
The Good
Thankfully each room has a bathroom (though the rooms are smaller than my freshman room). Living communally with boys is still a change and would be more so with communal bathrooms. I can't say who's louder though, the boys or the girls. Also, the gym and the Boston University student suites are in the same building, so I only have to go down the stairs to go to the gym! A much new experience because my first two and a half years of college required a twenty minute walk through rainy hell to get to the gym. We also got two refrigerators! I was having horror thoughts this summer about ten people sharing a fridge. The DCU campus is very small, much smaller than Boston University, but that makes it easier to find my way around. I want to explore more of Glasnevin so I feel more connected to the community rather than there being this empty space between DCU and the city center. I’ve walked from one side of Boston to the other, so even though I usually take the train everywhere, I have a location, and know where I am in relation to other places. But of course that takes time, so I will continue to learn about Glasnevin.
Ireland
I hope this entry doesn't reflect badly on Ireland itself, or the people. I know my discontentment is mine. So, I don't really have an impression of any sort of Dublin yet other than we have to take the bus into the center of Dublin, which is a city, and very small. The DCU students haven’t arrived yet because they don’t start their classes for two more weeks, so I haven’t really talked or interacted with any Irish people, other than the grocery store checkers. The city center of Dublin is pretty cool, and very bustling, and full of pubs, of course. There are so many foods in the stores I want to try, but the lack of consistant nutrition information makes things difficult.
I have to say the dorms do not impress me. I was aware of the double rooms, and how five rooms per suite shared a common room and kitchen. But the size of everything surprised me. We have an awkward shared desk, with one shelf on the far side of the desk (not in the middle???). We each have two drawers under our beds, and some shelves and a place to hang things. I guess I mostly dislike the desk situation. Oh yeah and our suite is special because it's new for our program and only has one working internet jack per room (yay) so for now my roommate and I have to share the internet haha. Hopefully that's fixed soon.
We were helped less than the program representatives told us we would be at the pre-departure meeting. We were told we would be taken to get our phones, but there was no trip. I know student in other programs had ways to get essential items, like bath towels before even leaving the states. I couldn’t get a towel until the first trip to the city, which we had to figure out on our own, until the second day here. I used paper towels the first day haha. I think I have the impression our pre-departure meeting was not very good, because I’ve been hit with a lot of surprises. I really expected more help, and that may seem winey, but if I pay to do a study abroad program through my own school, I expect a little help upon arrival from the program staff. At least a little more than I got. The bus is freaking expensive. I have to stop going into the city center every day. They euro is a tricky evil form of money. Somehow I've burned through a lot of money in just a week. I have to register randomly with the National Police, so there goes another 160 euro. They say there will be a group trip to the place to do it, but I’ll have to wait and see if that’s true. I did not realize who would be on this trip with me, as in the type of person. I think I've found some people who would rather experience Ireland than literally drink all the time, but I'll have to see. People are already planning trips, but I'm not close friends with anyone, hence no one to plan with.
The Good
Thankfully each room has a bathroom (though the rooms are smaller than my freshman room). Living communally with boys is still a change and would be more so with communal bathrooms. I can't say who's louder though, the boys or the girls. Also, the gym and the Boston University student suites are in the same building, so I only have to go down the stairs to go to the gym! A much new experience because my first two and a half years of college required a twenty minute walk through rainy hell to get to the gym. We also got two refrigerators! I was having horror thoughts this summer about ten people sharing a fridge. The DCU campus is very small, much smaller than Boston University, but that makes it easier to find my way around. I want to explore more of Glasnevin so I feel more connected to the community rather than there being this empty space between DCU and the city center. I’ve walked from one side of Boston to the other, so even though I usually take the train everywhere, I have a location, and know where I am in relation to other places. But of course that takes time, so I will continue to learn about Glasnevin.
Ireland
I hope this entry doesn't reflect badly on Ireland itself, or the people. I know my discontentment is mine. So, I don't really have an impression of any sort of Dublin yet other than we have to take the bus into the center of Dublin, which is a city, and very small. The DCU students haven’t arrived yet because they don’t start their classes for two more weeks, so I haven’t really talked or interacted with any Irish people, other than the grocery store checkers. The city center of Dublin is pretty cool, and very bustling, and full of pubs, of course. There are so many foods in the stores I want to try, but the lack of consistant nutrition information makes things difficult.