HAPPY BIRTHDAY BB!!!

YAY! Wish I could be home to celebrate with you! Or call you! Or something! This is the best I can do haha :) Glad you had fun at dinner with Mom. Hopefully I will have internet by Sunday so we can skype still.
<3

I really love my Genres of Irish Literature class. My professor is quirky and odd but funny and knows what he's talking about. The whole lecture is like listening to him tell a story. It's funny :) It's also funny when he makes references to America during class. Today he said that America was the land of praries...guess I can understand that. Another professor said that he's going to be using words like 'protestant' and catholic' because we're not in America and don't have to worry about words like 'black and white'. I saw a picture on my Irish friends facebook that was from a party they called 'Obamarama'. They celebrated Obama's election and all dressed up in costumes that represented America. One was the Statue of Liberty, a cowgirl, an American flag, etc...

Talk to you all soon! Granny- I hope you are keeping up with this blog! Same with Judy and Allen and Adrienne and Padget!

Nearing the End of Week 2...

I don't have internet in my room right now which is very frustrating. I am at the library fooling around and what not. Here are some things that are funny and different from what I'm used to:

They have weird flavored chips like pickled onion and bacon.
They call fries chips, and they call chips crisps.
They don't tip taxis unless its after 2am.
They drive on the wrong side of the road and I feel like we're going to crash all the time.
They call classes modules.
Independent study in your classes is a HUGE part of succeeding. 1 class = about 150 hours of independent study.
Local students go home every weekend, so the parties take place during the week.
There is no such thing as a 'school night'.
Traffic lights turn yellow before they turn green too.
Planners are called diaries. I thought my professor was being funny when he said 'make sure to write it in your diary'.
They celebrate Halloween here, which I thought was odd.
'For here' is 'sittin' in' and 'to-go' is 'takin' away' when ordering food.
It costs more to sit down and eat.
Everybody drinks tea! Long classes even have a 'tea break' in the middle.
The rugby guys seem like celebrities to everyone.
Irish accents are way prettier than Northern Irish accents. And much easier to understand.
People say 'wee' here. As in 'I just took a wee walk down the street.'
They have a Christmas sandwich which is ham, turkey, stuffing, and cranberries on bread. YUM.
No bars or clubs I have been to serve fancy drinks. I have yet to try a Long Island Ice Tea :(
All the stores close at 5:30pm!
Theres a switch on the electrical outlets that you have to turn on before it will charge anything.
The campus is mowed about 2 to 3 times a week hahaha :)
We have the best conversations with taxi drivers.

I'm sure there's more that I have yet to learn. Things are going well here for the most part. I am worried about my classes because there is so much required reading, about 2 novels a week! We will see how it goes. My friends and I went to a huge night club last night that had tons of different rooms dedicated to different kinds of music and themes. It was really fun.
Miss you all! More later!

Homesick...

Yes, its true. I am getting a little homesick already. Its difficult because most of my friends I've made here are only staying for 1 semester. So they will all be leaving to go home for Christmas and I will be staying here... My friend Emily is staying and invited me to come travel with her and her boyfriend, but I am just thinking how nice it would be to see everyone for Christmas!

:(

Mom, if I'm not home for the holidays then you have to come visit me because I will be lonely! Meagan might come to visit in January which would be really great. And Dad in April. I'm sure I will be over the homesick feeling in a week or two (hopefully).

I had my first day of real class today! It was great, I love having something my brain can be engaged in. I've always loved school :) I had two classes today and both professors were fun and I could tell they were extremely knowledgable and liked their teaching subject. I have the same schedule as one other American student from Philidelphia who is also getting the Advanced Certificate of Irish Studies. She is very witty and sarcastic, I like her. Her name is Maureen. I started looking at trips to Spain and found out that I can book a round trip flight for 40 pounds! I will look more into after I talk to Sally, she studied in Barcelona for a year so she is an expert!

I am going to sit in my now cute and comfy bed and hopefully finish Trinity tonight. Here is a picture of last night with my friends at the Anchor bar.

Weekend

Let me catch you all up!

Friday we all went to the beach in Portstewart. It was a little drizzly, cloudy, and very windy. But oh man, it is gorgeous! It reminds me a lot of Seattle beaches, except sandy and soft. Then we walked into town which is about 10 minutes away and got some dinner at a bar. We cabbed it back to the campus and I stayed in for the night.

Saturday Emily and I went to Belfast to IKEA! Yeah! I figured since I'll be here for 9 months I would allow myself to spend some money on a new comforter, pillow, sheets, and a few decorations. My room looks much better now (besides my curtains).

Today I slept in, for once, and went grocery shopping. A few of us got together to plan out where we want to travel to. We made a rough outline for the next 2 months for weekend trips. They include Derry, the Antrim Coast, Galway and the Aran Islands, Dublin, Scotland, and London. We are planning to go to London for the HARRY POTTER OPENING NIGHT!! Haha how cool is that? :) Now I am going to watch a movie with some friends who are coming over and head to bed. School starts tomorrow!

Registration!

Today I went to the "Octagon" building to register for classes with my advisor. All the internional students were roaming about trying to figure out what to do :) This semester I am taking all Irish Studies classes. There is a program here when if you take a full semester of Irish Studies classes you earn a Certificate for the program. If you do two Semesters of all Irish classes you earn a diploma. I asked what you are able to do with a diploma in Irish Studies and if it is practical for any career area (thought you'd be proud of me Dad), and they didn't really have a great answer. They said it would look good on a resume and that it shows I am diverse, educated, wordly, etc... Sooooo I'm not sure I will get the diploma, but I will get the certificate this semester. I'm very excited to start!! The classes sound so interesting. I am taking:
Irish Cultural Studies: Introduction 121
Ireland in the 20th Century (HIS101)
Telling Stories: Genres of Irish Literature (ENG105)
These are all 20 credits, which is equivelant to 5 credits in the US. I also got my school ID today, so I am official. Dad- I met Siobhan today...she didn't have much to say to me. I was maybe a little cold towards her but I just don't think she handled the situation very well at all. Dr. Nerys Young is really great and helpful and supportive.
I would love to have everyone's address so I can send postcards please! And I love to get mail as well!!! :)Last night I went to an Irish pub that had an Irish group playing live music. Fiddles, harp, hand drum and all. I LOVED it!!! I told them I played viola and they said I should come back next weekend and play with them :) I am going to Portrush today to explore the beach with some friends. More about that later.

Guinness 101

Last night was our first night out on the town (top pictures). It's funny because the whole town has designated certain nights to go to certain bars or clubs. From my understanding, the word on the street is Tuesday nights go to Anchor Bar in Portstewert, Wednesday nights go to Kelley's Club, and the bar at the Student Union is always a safe bet as well. So last night was really fun, I had my first pint of Guinness...it was good. Not my favorite but maybe it will grow on me! There was kareoke and I sang "American Boy" by Estelle and Kanye West. I dedicated it to all the Irish boys in the crowd hahahahaha :) It was a good time and then people went upstairs to the club. I didn't really like the club because it is SO LOUD and CROWDED! And it's hot and you can't move really, just dancing and bumping into people. We took a taxi back to our rooms after that.

Today we had meetings again and learned about the modules, or classes. I organized my schedule and it all works out. I am taking Irish classes mostly but I need to meet with my advisor and make sure I am doing everything correctly. I also had tea with the Mayor or Coleraine today! It was neat. He is a nice guy. Then some friends and I went to town and bought European cell phones. The phone was 10 pounds and the phone plan is 10 pounds a month, pretty cheap! My new number is 07543 970 928.

I'm so tired, I'm not sure if I am completely done being jetlagged or what. I'm going to call it an early night. Catch you up on more later! Also here is the view from my corner window (last picture)! These are some pictures of my friends. Emily is the blonde from Canada, Siri is the brunette from Oregon, and Shamos is the guy from Greece who is in the first picture. I posted some pretty scenes I saw walking around today on campus and in town. The third picture is of St. Patricks Church (St. Patricks Day!!!!)

Night (or good afternoon) everyone!

And so it begins...

I finally made it to Ireland. I am sitting in my dorm room (which needs some homey touches) and you would never guess what happens next... Mom- there is a SPIDERFLY in my room!!! This cannot be happening. All the way across the country and they still sneak into my sleeping quarters.

Well anyway, lets start from the beginning! Woke up at 6am Sunday, flew to Chicago, then to London, and finally to Belfast. I was greeted by a girl holding up a sign for University of Ulster which was a relief because I was afraid I would be wondering around the airport figuring out how to get on a bus to Coleraine. Once we were on the bus, I met a few fellow abroad students who I like a lot. One girl's name is Emily and she's from Canada, one guy's name is something I cannot pronounce so I told him I would call him Sam because it was close enough. He is from Greece (really want to visit there!!) Once we got there we got our keys to our rooms and all spread out. I live on the second floor with my own bedroom (Thank God). The kitchen is downstairs along with a bathroom. There's another bathroom upstairs as well. I posted pictures above of my room even though I have not decorated or anything. I have an amazingly beautiful view from my window which I will show you sometime when it's light out. If you would like to write me or send something in the mail, this is my address:

Ellie Holcomb

House 7086

Room 7179

Errigal Hall

Cranagh Admin Building

Cromore Road

Coleraine

Co Londonderry

Northern Ireland

BT52 1SA

Pretty long!

Once I got settled in my friends and I went to the International Student lounge. Its a pub/bar inside the university with couches and a pool table and games. It was fun meeting new people but I was so tired that I was a bit unsocial. We ate dinner at a welcoming buffet in the Student Union and headed back to the dorms. Thats where I am now and I am about to shower and pass out! I can't wait :)

Sweet dreams everyone.