Study Abroad in County Cork Ireland

Cheap Flights from London to Dublin, or Dublin to London

2011-07-05T15:26:00.001-04:00

While traveling around Europe I had to use many different types of transportation to get to many different destinations. In this entry I will be talking about the different options that are available for cheap flights from London to Dublin, or Dublin to London since they are pretty much interchangeable. Basically when it comes to getting cheap flights from London to Dublin, or Dublin to London, or anywhere in Europe for that matter, the airline of choice is Ryanair. I just searched for a flight for one adult from London Stansted to
Dublin Ireland for some random date in August on a Saturday and it gave me a price of 18.99 GBP, (Great British Pounds), which is about 30 USD (United States Dollars). The tricky part abut Ryanair's cheap flights from London Stansted to Dublin Ireland is that London Stansted Airport is not incredibly close to the center of London and is definitely not to be confused with London Heathrow Airport (the close airport). London Stansted is about 38 miles north of the City. Now there is a definite argument for this option though because if your are looking for a cheap flight from London to Dublin or Dublin to London, Ryanair is going to be the cheapest by far. If you are studying abroad though, you also have to weigh the cost of transportation from the airport to the actual city where your accommodations probably are. Here are some ways you can get to and from the Airport during your cheap flight from London to Dublin, or Dublin to London.

Bus Services
There are five bus services from Central London. The bus services are slower than the train and are very prone to traffic congestion delays. The National Express Stansted - Stratford service addresses this by beginning out of the center of London at a convenient underground train station avoiding the worst of the traffic.

National Express - Stratford Service is the shortest and cheapest of the bus services terminating at Stratford, a major Underground and DLR hub. You continue your journey onto the London using the London Underground.
National Express - Victoria Service provides a true 24 x 7 service winding through the centre of London close to many hotel districts. The bus also stops at Golders Green, like Stratford on the outskirts of London where you can switch to the London Underground.
Terravision - Victoria Service provides a nonstop and cheaper alternative to the stopping National Express service to Victoria.
Terravision - Liverpool Street Service goes head to head with the Stansted Express route. Slower but much cheaper than the Stansted Express.
EasyBus provides a frequent 16 seat minibus shuttle to Baker Street, another underground hub quite central. Fares are on the low cost airline model, the earlier you book (on-line) the cheaper the fare. If you book far enough ahead and are lucky enough to get one of the really cheap fares this is the cheapest fare option.

Rail
Train is the fastest transfer option for which you pay a hefty premium for. It runs about every 45 minutes and the name of the line is the Stansted Express. If you search in Google your should find it.

So basically Ryanair is the cheapest method of finding cheap flights from London to Dublin, or Dublin to London. Even after the cost of transportation to and from the airports that Ryanair flies into the total cost probably won't be much more than 60 USD which is pretty darn good for an international flight. If you are also looking for cheap flights to other destinations in Europe Ryanair is good, but Easyjet can have some great deals as well, those are both budget airlines that I used while in Europe. I will provide links to them below so you can have a look for yourselves.

www.ryanair.com

www.easyjet.com

Study Abroad Packing List

2011-07-02T22:15:00.017-04:00

I remember during the months leading up to my study abroad adventure in Cork, Ireland, wondering what I should pack for my trip. I knew that with the luggage limits that most airlines place on size and weight that I would not be able to bring the normal amount of stuff that I usually bring to school for a semester. remember searching the internet for a study abroad packing list that would include all the necessary items that I would need for my 5 months out of the country. Here is the study abroad packing list that I wish I had before leaving on my trip. It includes things that I was very thankful I brought and other items that I wish I had thought of before I left and its in no particular order.

Study Abroad Packing list

View an Extended, Printable Packing List with less description in my Google Docs Extended Packing List Click Here

The Rough Guide to Europe On A Budget

This book was my life saver when planning my study abroad itinerary. It helped me decide what places to go to, great places to stay, and places to eat as well. I highly recommend the rough guide because it is written for people who are trying to keep on a budget during their travels. It truly belongs in every study abroad packing list. The book has lists if restaurants, hotels, hostels etc. with corresponding price ratings, which make it much easier to plan everything. The book also has every country you could ever want to go to in it and scores of different attractions with descriptions of them all. DO NOT LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT. If you click on the link above you can purchase it through Amazon.com which is usually pretty good with prices and add it to your study abroad packing list today.

2.

Kindle 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 3G Works Globally, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology

The Kindle E-reader is another device I am happy I included on my study abroad packing list. This little device is amazing because it holds thousands of books and it is small and compact. The Kindle is perfect for travelling around Europe when you cannot afford to give up to much space in your backpack. It was hard enough fitting The Rough Guide to Europe On A Budget in my backpack, at least I did not have to pack any other books that I wanted to read and believe me, you spend a lot of time in transit when traveling in Europe. There are a lot of planes, trains, buses and everything in between the Kindle is a blessing to have on your trip.

Apple iPod touch 32 GB (4th Generation) NEWEST MODEL

If you are going to spring for a ne piece of technology before your big trip I would say that the Apple Ipod touch is the way to go. The newest model has a camera on the front and back with high definition video recording. During my travels I was sometimes nervous to take out my laptop because you never know who is watching you and thinking about robbing you when your in a foreign country so the Ipod touch is like its own mini computer. You also might not have enough room in your backpack to bring a laptop which makes the Ipod touch that much more valuable. The newest version with a camera on the front is compatible with Skype, which means that if you are in a WiFi hotspot you can call home to America FOR FREE as long as your parents or friends are on Skype back in the USA. This thing was amazing during the trip. Other people were worried about calling home with their Irish phones while roaming in Europe and all I had to do was find myself a hotspot, usually in the hostel I was in or anywhere else they are all over the place and I was talking to my parents for free. Even better, you can put like 10 dollars on your Skype account and it will allow you to call phone numbers as well, so if your parents are not on Skype, you can still reach them from your Ipod touch. Now I have mentioned that this is compatible with Skype but als, because the Ipod touch has a camera on the front, you can video chat with your family on it as well. I am still amazed every time I use it and I highly recommend it for any study abroad packing list. Obviously the Ipod touch also has all the other features of an Ipod such as movies and music. The battery life I must say is amazing as well, it worked for like 7 hours on one charge and that was with watching movies. This thing is great for traveling if your laptop or phone battery dies quick as well. Your study abroad packing list cannot be complete without the Ipod touch

4.

The North Face Mens Resolve Jacket

Now I am going to tell you the jacket listed above is not the one that I used, I had a Columbia winter jacket with a zip out liner and waterproof shell. North Face was also a popular brand for international students studying in Ireland. The reason a jacket with a zip out shell is so important is because you are going to be there for a long period of time and packing space is limited. This means that you should take the jacket that can solve all your jacket needs. In the colder months I wore the jacket with the liner in and it kept me nice and warm, I also was able to wear it when I snowboarded in the Swiss Alps. When the warmer months came around or when I travelled from Switzerland to Milan, I was able to remove the liner and I had a comfortable light raincoat. I must stress the importance of the outer layer being waterproof because it rains a lot in Ireland and you want a jacket that functions as a raincoat otherwise you will be very weight, or have to where a ridiculous looking poncho around. I had to wear a poncho at the Blarney Stone and I looked like a fool because I did not bring my jacket and it started pouring. Even if the weather looks nice always be ready with this jacket.

If you found this article helpful please share it with others.
Also if you plan on purchasing one of these items to take with you please purchase it through the link on my site.

Best Cell Phone Provider Cork Study Abroad

2011-06-27T22:19:00.011-04:00

So while I was getting ready to go to Ireland I had heard through the grapevine that it was unnecessary to try and bring your own cell phone with you from America and that it was more economical to purchase a pay as you go phone when you get there. This is definitely the case. When I first got to Cork I immediately wanted to get a phone but I did not know which provider to get. I figured that I would just talk to some locals and the new friends that I made and figure it out from speaking to them. I ended up going with Meteor and it was a great experience overall. Meteor gives

great student discounts and also offers free Meteor to Meteor calls and texts so if you can talk all your new friends into meteor as well then this is the way to go because you basically do not pay for anything at all while you are on it. Unfortunately after 30 days they usually require you to top up the 20 euros to maintain the free M2M but I usually just let my intial 20 Euro run dry before I topped up to buy me time. If you do not top up immediately they still will let you have the free talk and text to other meteor people when you run out of credit and decide to top up so there is no rush to refill after your first month of prepaid if you did not use it all.

The other providers that were in Cork were O2, Vodafone, Orange, and 3. These networks were not as cheap with their pay as you go so most students there do no use them. Some people I knew did go with Vodafone because they heard that the service was better but I must say that Meteor did a great job and I had absolutely no complaints at all with them. For the people that are considering taking their phones abroad with them I am not telling you not to do it but I am telling you to get a prepaid phone anyway. This is because most study abroad students are on a strict budget and if you have an international phone their prepaid phones are going to charge them an international call when they contact you even if you are a door over from them. I know a couple of kids who were often out of the loop just because it was a little pricier to let them know what was going on. If you have a data plan on your phone it is still helpful and sometimes you can get cheaper rates from calling the USA on a US phone but honestly I think the best way to go is prepaid because Meteor was great and also to call home for me it cost 15 cents a minute which you probably won't find on a US provider.

Another useful tip for traveling abroad, if you have a phone that is compatible for world travel, is to get it unlocked and then purchase a new sim card for it in the country you are going to. Often the wireless companies in Ireland would give you a free sim card if you deposit 20 Euro on it so this could be a viable option if you are not looking to purchase a new phone and you do not want to spend lots of money on the ridiculous rates that Verizon or AT&T might charge for there international plans. It is almost always cheaper to just buy a new sim card. The important thing is that you need a phone that is global. The Iphone is an example of a phone that works abroad and the Motorola Droid 2 is Verizon's newest global phone. If you are thinking about going abroad soon and are in the market for a new phone I would recommend purchasing it from Amazon Wireless because the prices are even cheaper than you would get at a Verizon or AT&T store. I would also recommend the Motorola Droid 2 for a Verizon global phone. I have one and it is awesome. Click the link below to check out the Motorola Droid 2 and if you want check out the prices on all the phones, they are super cheap and I am definitely getting my next phone from Amazon Wireless.

Mardyke Arena / Working Out in Cork

2011-06-27T22:03:00.003-04:00

So while in Cork I decided that it would be a good idea to workout and stay in shape because when I did return to the USA it would be summer time and I would want to be physically fit and ready for beach season. In Ireland they do no use lbs for their weight sets, they use kilograms and at first I thought this might be a little bit confusing because I might have to convert the numbers in my head while lifting and I did not really want to worry about that while in the middle of my workout. Luckily I was able to us an olympic weight set while in Ireland which made the change that much easier. They gym in Cork was called
the Mardyke Arena and it was very nice. They had free weights, lifting machines, treadmills, ellipticals, basketball courts, squash courts rock climbing, and an indoor pool. These thing were what was inside, outside there was a wide array of fields that catered to Irish sports such as hurling, soccer, and gaelic football.

Paris 2/25/11 - 2/28/11

2011-03-08T15:22:00.002-05:00

So last weekend I went to Paris with Arielle and her family. I left for the airport last Thursday right after handing in my economic consulting project. I had to leave a day before everyone else and stay in Bewley's Airport Hotel for the night because there is no bus to Dublin from Cork that would have gotten me to the airport on time for our 12:30 pm flight. The bus ride was the usual from Cork to Dublin nice and long with a quick rest stop about half way, overall it was about 4 and a half hours to the city center of Dublin. Upon arriving in the city center I had to figure out how to get to the airport because it was about 10:30 pm and it looked like the place was getting ready to close up for the night. After asking a Bus Eireann worker what I had to do next he directed me to a Dublin double decker bus that
would take me straight to the airport that was included in my ticket. Once I arrived at the airport I had to find the Bewley's Hotel shuttle bus that would take me from the airport to the hotel. I wandered around the airport parking lots for a while searching for where it might be. I tried all over I even accidently walked up to a private tour guide, to ask him if he was the Bewley's shuttle because I remembered from the website that it was supposed to be a white van. When I realized last minute that it was clearly a private tour guide and everyone was speaking German or something I turned around and left the group awkwardly. Eventually I found a Hilton bus shuttle and asked the driver where I could find the one to Bewley's. The man told me that I was in the right spot and I just had to wait for it to come, as he said that the white Bewley's bus came around the corner. Once I got on the bus it made its way to the hotel and I was able to check in. Bewley's was a very nice hotel. It provided free WiFi which I made use of on my Itouch because I did not brig my laptop. I went to bed early because I was hungry but did not want to spend any money on food because I have to save it for April.

The next day I woke up around 9 am for my 12:30pm flight. I took my time getting ready because Arielle told be that she would call me when she made it to Dublin so that I would know where she was. Eventually I realized it was getting close to the time she was supposed to arrive and I had not received a call yet. I called her and she told me that they were almost there and that I should go to the airport. It turned out that she had fallen asleep on the bus and forgot to call me so I had to rush and finish getting ready. I got on the shuttle about 5 minutes after I got off the phone and on the shuttle with me was an entire Irish girls soccer team. Arielle called me because she had arrived at the airport and I told her that I was on the bus and would be there in a few minutes. The bus driver had to drop the girls off at some field that was on the way to the airport and I arrived a few minutes later. Arielle and her family were getting the tickets when I got there so I got to cut the line and just hand in my passport for the ticket, then we headed over to the security area to make our way to the gate. Arielle told her dad about the time that I got stopped on my way back from Maine for accidentally bringing a hunting knife through security in my backpack and I found it humorous that she was the only one who got her bag searched because she was smuggling lotion outside of a plastic bag. After a reprimanding from the security guard for her mistakes we perused the shops, then headed to our gate.

We flew Aer Lingus from Dublin airport to Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. The flight took approximately an hour and a half and Arielle somehow managed to beat me in the game of Pocket Tanks (best out of 5 wish serious help from me in the first few rounds). When we arrived in Paris it was hard to find where to go next because everybody speaks French. We took a cab to our hotel, which took about a half hour to get to. Our hotel, Intercontinental Hotel Le Grande, was a beautiful five star hotel near the Opera. The hotel had a ballroom in it that was created in the 1800s that was quite large and very ornate.

After we checked in and relaxed for a little while we took a cab to the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was very cool; we waited on a short line for the elevator then rode up to the 2^nd floor. The view from the 2^ndfloor of the Eiffel Tower is magnificent; you can see all of Paris from the top of it. Unfortunately the top floor was close for some reason so we could no go all the way up. Either way the Eiffel Tower was a lot of fun and I would definitely recommend it.

Self Photo in front of tower

View from 2nd floor of tower

We were all starving from a long day of traveling so when we were finished with the tower we decided to eat at a nearby restaurant. The restaurant was a nice place that was very close to the tower. I ordered French onion soup for my appetizer and a cheeseburger with fries for dinner and this was easily one of the best meals I have had since coming abroad. The soup was amazing and the burger was incredibly tender and tasty. Arielle also surprisingly mentioned her idea that since we were in France we should all try escargot. I am pretty sure she was not serious when she said it but we did end up ordering it for an appetizer and we each tried it. Surprisingly the escargot was not bad at all and Arielle even went back for seconds. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and hung out for a little while until Arielle, Karina, and I decided to go to Le Refuge De Fondue. Katie, Arielle's friend from Scranton, had recommended that we visit it if we were ever in Paris. The restaurant is known for serving wine in baby bottles, the door handle to the building is even a big baby bottle. There were only two very long tables up against the walls in the place and so to get to the other side of the table you needed to go on top of it. They serve cheese or meat fondue, wine, and fruit bowls. It was fun and we met other people that were seated in the seats next to us who were also studying abroad. We had a very full first day so after this we went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

After a great nights sleep on what was easily the most comfortable cot I had ever slept on we woke up and went down to the hotels restaurant for our breakfast, which was included with the hotel. This breakfast was amazing it had anything you could possibly imagine such as crepes, eggs any style, fresh squeezed juices, sausages, bacon, and a whole lot more. It was one of the greatest spreads I have ever seen at a hotel. After breakfast we got ready for a minivan tour of Paris. The tour took us, to all of the main attractions stopping periodically for photo opportunities. This included the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, and the Sacred Heart Cathedral. The longest stop was probably at the Sacred Heart Cathedral where we spent a lot of time walking around taking in the area. The church is on top of a large hill near in the city and there is a magnificent view from the front of it. The surrounding area also has lots of artists who are willing to draw a portrait of you for a nominal fee. The driver dropped us off near our hotel after the tour and we went searching for the Terry Mugler store, because Karina wanted to meet Lady Gaga’s stylist who she found out was currently in Paris. We searched for a long while but the store was nowhere to be found. Eventually we met back up with the adults at a restaurant called Wepler. I ordered a sirloin steak but they messed up my order so I waited for it to come while everyone else was eating. After dinner we decided to walk around on Boulevard de Cliché, where Moulin Rouge and many other “night time entertainment” is held. Arielle, Karina, and I decided to get dressed up and come back for the 11:30 showing of Moulin Rouge.

We did not purchase tickets in advance for the show so we waited on a separate line while everyone who had tickets entered. When we finally were permitted to enter, they seated us in our own box and offered us two bottles of champagne. The show was really entertaining, even though most of it was in French. In one scene, an entire tank of water with snakes in it came out from the stage and a girl swam in it. The show lasted for about two hours and we all really enjoyed it. After the show we went back to the hotel to sleep. We had no set plans for the next day.

On Sunday morning we woke up and ate breakfast in the hotel again. After breakfast we decided to go to the top of the Notre-Dame cathedral. We saw the bell and all of the gargoyles that are in the Hunchback of Notre-Dame. After this, we went in many touristy shops and walked around. Arielle wanted to get her portrait drawn back by Sacred Heart Cathedral so we also went back to that area. Arielle and Karina haggled two artists down from their initial price of 40 Euros each to get their portrait drawn for 20 Euros each. The pictures came out terrible. Karina looked like a seven-year-old girl and Arielle looked like a French girl trying to seduce the artist, even though she was smiling the whole time he was drawing her the picture made no attempt to capture that. After going back to the restaurant that her dad and the rest of the adults were eating in and telling them about their disappointing experience, Alona, Arielle’s dad’s girlfriend, took the drawings back to the artists and demanded that they give the money back because the pictures looked nothing like the girls. I told her that I saw an artist who was actually doing a great job with a portrait of another girl while I was walking around so she went and got another portrait done by him and it turned out better. After this, we ate French onion soup at the restaurant the adults were eating at.

We went back to the hotel to change and get dressed up nicely again because we had reservations at the Buddha Bar. This is a fancy sushi place. We all ordered chocolate lava cake first because we were not that hungry. Then, we decided we were actually in the mood for sushi. We ate some more and hung out there for a while.

We went back to the hotel relatively early because we had to leave for the airport by 7:30 the next morning.

Currently, I am on my way to Pettigo in Donegal County to visit family with Arielle. We are sitting on a bus that may be broken down because it keeps turning off and restarting.

I just finished editing this on the bus ride back from Pettigo. Arielle did help with the writing of this I blame any grammar errors or things that sound like a girl wrote it on her. I tried to eliminate most of the girly words but I make no promises.

Belfast Trip Day 1

2011-02-16T13:13:00.002-05:00

So on Thursday morning our IFSA Butler group met up outside of University Hall to get on our bus to Belfast in Northern Ireland. I don’t remember the exact length of the bus ride but I would estimate that it was about 5 hours from Cork to Belfast with a stop about halfway. The bus was not to full and I was able to get 2 seats to myself on the bus, which was nice to have for such a long ride. Our group also shared the bus with the group of IFSA Butler students who are studying in Cork. They were the ones who got the bad end of the deal with the bus because they got picked up early in the morning in Limerick, had to drive down to Cork to pick us up at 11:15am, then drive North again to Belfast. We were not exactly on the way if you
look at a map. There was nothing really eventful on the bus I basically listened to music, looked out the window at fields, and occasionally tried to nap although it was futile because I am almost incapable of falling asleep on a bus. We arrived in Belfast around 5:30pm and our IFSA group directors informed us that dinner would be at 7:30pm in the hotel. We stayed at a Jury’s Inn in Belfast.

After going up to my room and unpacking some friends and I went to the hotel bar to have a drink before dinner and watch some television. I had a pint of Guinness, which cost me 4lbs. I chose this because I was starving after the long ride and I figured it might fill me up a little bit so I could make it to dinner. In my eyes the price was kind of steep because British Pounds are worth more than Euros and in Cork I can get a Guinness at a pub for about 3.30 give or take a few cents. Once I finished the Guinness there was still a lot of time before dinner so I decided to have one more pint. I saw a beer named Boddinger’s that I had not seen in any pubs in Cork so I gambled and got that hoping I wouldn’t regret my decision. Luckily the beer tasted fine and it even had a slightly sweet after taste, which was a nice change. While at the bar the news was on and it was all about the events occurring in Egypt right now. For the last month Egypt has been going through some crazy times and that night people were talking about the situation and whether or not the leader of Egypt would step down or not. Later in the weekend he did step down and the coverage changed to how happy everyone in Egypt was and the parties that were going on there.

Once we all finished out drinks it was getting close to dinnertime so we decided to head over to the restaurant on the other side of the lobby where dinner was being held. Dinner was buffet style and they had an ok selection of items. A disappointing part of the meal for me was that our drinks were not included in the meal, which would have been fine if they had informed us of this but by the time I had found out I had ordered 2 sprites and ended up forking over 4 lbs when I would have just drank water had I known. A highlight of the dinner was dessert; one of the items available was a Bailey’s Cheesecake, which was very good.

After dinner I was tired from the long trip and I also had to get up early for breakfast and my bus to the Giants Causeway was leaving at 9:15am, which means it was going to be an early morning for me. I basically relaxed for the rest of the night and went to bed early.

City Center to University Hall

2011-01-30T13:38:00.001-05:00

Here is a video that I took on a bus ride from the Cork city center back to my dorm room. This also happens to he the bus ride that I lost my cell phone on. I figured I would make the video so that you can judge the distance from my dorm to the city. I am on the second level of a double decker bus. I have to take the number 8 bus to get to and from my dorm. You can see more of my videos at www.youtube.com/studyabroadcork

First Day and Night in Galway

2011-01-25T18:50:00.001-05:00

While I went to bed early upon arriving in Galway the next morning it appeared I was more tired than I had thought because I slept until about noon. We did not do much in the morning and basically relaxed in her apartment waiting for my friends from Cork to arrive on their bus. They had left Cork around 4 pm and we expected them to arrive about 7:45 pm. Around 4pm we were getting tired of the apartment and decided to head down to Galway, walk through the streets and get some food. The walk to the city center is pretty far from Arielle's apartment and is
much more complicated than my own walk from my apartment in Cork to the Cork city center. She even got lost when she picked me up from the bus station and we walked in circles for a little while. trying to find the right way to her apartment lol :-). When we arrived at the city center of Galway we wandered the streets and read some menus of restaurants and pubs to see which ones we thought would be good for when my friends arrived so that we could go to dinner with them. I was starving so we also stopped at McDonalds and I purchased a double cheeseburger and tea because they did not serve hot chocolate there and it was kind of cold outside. After wandering around and stopping at McDonalds for some fine Irish cuisine we headed over to the bus terminal to meet up with my friends from Cork. After meeting up with them we all walked to the hostel that they were staying at in Galway called the Kinlay House. I must say I was jealous of this hostel because it was much nicer than I had expected. The Kinlay House had multiple plaques on its walls that showed its rankings out of all the hostels in Galway and it was consistently in the top 5 year after year. They had a nice main area with free wifi, other computers that you could pay tp use and a kitchen with all the cookware you might need that you could use free of charge. It was really nice and I am excited for the first time I get to sleep in a hostel, I just hope it is as nice as that one. Once my friends dropped off their bags at the hostel we started to explore Galway. We stopped in some pubs and listened to a few bands play. The pub that we stayed in the longest was the Roisin Dubh and we listened to a band there called Mustang Hobo. It was not a really late night because we all had to wake up early the next morning to catch the early ferry to the Aran Islands.

The Bus to Galway

2011-01-25T09:24:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I traveled to the town of Galway on the western coast of Irleand. I departed at 6 pm Thursday night because I do not have any classes on Friday and I wanted to beat the visiting student rush out of Cork. The bus service that I used was Citylink and I believe I made a good decision leaving on Thursday. The bus was about half full and I was able to secure my own seat, which was nice because the ride from Cork to Galway is about
3 and a half hours long. The only thing that was dissapointing about leaving at 6 pm was that I could not really take in the scenery outside the bus during the ride because it was very dark out. When I finally arrived in the town, Arielle was there waiting for me because she let me stay in her apartment at NUIG so that I would not have to spend money on a hostel. Upon arrival not much really happened it was about 10 pm when I finally entered Arielles apartment and I was tired from a long day of classes and travel so I went to bed early to get an early start the next day in Galway.

First Night In Cork

2011-01-12T18:50:00.001-05:00

So after eating dinner there were no more IFSA Butler activities for the night, which led our group to the decision that it was time to explore the town that we had been dreaming about exploring since we went in our applications months ago. The group exited the River Lee and walked down Western Road towards Cork's city center. Part of the group broke off and entered a Pub called Preachers and the other half including myself continued on because we wanted to explore a bit more. We went a little deeper into the city but did not venture to far because it was still unfamiliar territory for us. Ultimately we
ended up back at Preachers because it seemed to be the liveliest one that we had passed. My first drink in Ireland was a beer that is brewed in County Cork called Murphy's Irish Stout. It looks a lot like a Guinness but is lighter and a bit smoother I believe. To be totally honest I was not really in the drinking mood at the time because lets not forget I was running on almost no sleep from New Years still at this point so I don't think this beer had a fair judging. I was not thrilled with the taste and it left me feeling very full. I do plan on trying it again though soon now that I have attained normal sleeping patters once again. While in Preachers I also noticed that professional darts was playing on T.V. This was very interesting because while I had seen darts on T.V. in the states before it did not have the same following that it seems to have here. There were thousands of people at the event who were shown on T.V. and it was quite a spectacle. The Irish who were in the pub were also kind of getting into it as the different people on T.V. played. Overall the night was low key and we headed back to the River Lee Hotel pretty early because we had an 8 am wake up call for the next day of orientation with IFSA Butler. Here is a picture of the outside of the River Lee Hotel looking from Western Road.

Here are a few pictures of Western Road and some buildings of Cork from the River Lee Hotel.

Dublin Airport and Trip to Cork

2011-01-09T16:44:00.001-05:00

After landing in Dublin Airport Arielle and I picked up our carry ons and departed from the plane. We took a long winding walk through the airport and came up to the Ireland Border Patrol area where they had to check our passports to let us in the country. I was kind of nervous leading up to this because I am a dual citizen and have both a US and Irish passport. I had used my US passport to enter Ireland before, but this time I was planning on using my Irish one. Since I had never used it before I was afraid the agent would take it look at it and just laugh at me and ask for my American passport. When I came up to the station and I heard the agent yell "European Union Passports over here!" I hesitated at first but then went and handed him my passport. He looked at it, looked at me, then said
welcome back and handed me my Irish passport. I had to struggle to keep a straight face cause I kind of felt like Jason Bourne with my American passport in my pocket passing through Ireland Border Patrol and being welcomed home. Being a Dual citizen is nice because I did not have to show any paperwork that proved why I was entering the country or how long I intended to stay. I cruised through and had to wait a little longer as Arielle fumbled through papers and showed a different agent her program acceptance letters, and other various documents. Once we finished with the border agents Arielle and I went to pick up our bags from the baggage claim. They came quickly and we then walked out towards the buses to go our separate ways, Arielle to Galway and me to Cork. Once I Arielle and I had finished saying our goodbyes, I regrouped with my IFSA Butler group that was going to depart for the city of Cork very soon. While I thought we were going to leave soon, we actually waited there for anther student who was arriving on a different flight for about another hour and a half. One of the hardest things to deal with when you come to another country is the inability to communicate with other people because your phones and other electronics do not always work. It turned out that the student had landed about 15 minutes after our plane had, walked right passed us and was waiting outside for the group. We only found him when we gave up on him and went outside to find our bus. The bus ride to Cork was about 3 hours long and I did manage to get a brief nap in since at this point my body was so ridiculously tired it I could barely hold my head up. The scenery of Ireland is a lot of green hills and fields, sheep, cows and the occasionally horses or ponies.

It was obvious when we were approaching Cork because we began to see water and big ships. Cork is one of Irelands biggest port cities and is responsible for much of the countries fishing industry.

Once the bus arrived in Cork I took in the scenery, for the second largest city in the country, I do not think I saw a single building taller than 10 stories high. Cities in Europe are so old that some actually have different ordinances to preserve their history by limiting the size of new buildings. The bus dropped us off at the River Lee Hotel just off of Western Road in the City of Cork. The hotel was very nice and they served us a wonderful dinner. I had some pasta and potato soup. The while the hotel only offered WiFi in the lobby, it did have and ethernet cable in the room with free internet service so I could plug in my laptop. Once dinner was done our IFSA Butler group decided that while we were all tired from our long trip from the USA, it was now time to take a walk through the city that we would all be spending the next 5 months in.

Crossing the Pond

2011-01-09T14:10:00.002-05:00

While this is a bit of a late start now that I am somewhat settled into my new University I figured it is a good time write a bit about my trip so far. Starting from the beginning with the flight across the pond, aka the Atlantic Ocean. I flew on Continental Airlines out of Newark International Airport on my IFSA Butler group flight. The flight left at 9:50 pm (EST) on January 1st, 2011 and was scheduled to arrive in Dublin on January 2nd, 2011 9:30 am (Ireland Time). The trip to the airport was nice with little traffic and we arrived about 3 hours before departure, when we entered the building the line for Continental International flights was incredibly long
, resulting in a nice hour and a half wait with about 120 lbs of luggage to be dragged along during it.

My girlfriend, Arielle, is also studying abroad in Ireland for the Spring semester and was flying out on the same flight as me. The night before the flight we called Continental to change our seats so that we could sit next to each other on the flight since previously there hadn't been any seats available next to each other. When we boarded the plane we discovered that the seats that we had been assigned were the ones in front of the fire escape isle on the plane. This would not have been a big deal if there was not a tiny white sign that read "due to fire regulation these seats have limited recline". While it said limited, it might as well have read zero because thats how much the seats moved back. It was basically impossible to get comfortable in those seats because they forced us to literally sit straight up almost falling forward. Due to this unfortunate seating assignment I was unable to sleep at all on the 7 hour flight to Dublin. Now it would not have been a big deal really because I usually can't sleep on long flights like that because I am just to pumped to go to another country to fall asleep, but since this fight was on New Years Day and I had not gotten a lot of sleep the night before, I had been counting on a long nap on the plane to rejuvenate me for my 9 am landing time in Dublin.

Don't let the smirk in the picture fool you, my eyes are telling the real story. Also you can kind of see the terrible white sign in the lower left. Other than the lack of sleep the food on the plane was alright and there was just a little bit of turbulence on the trip. We were delayed a little bit on the tarmac in Newark so our time of arrival in Dublin ended up being around 10:15 am in the end.