My Student Life

I'm in Ireland for four and a half months, am now just nearly halfway through that time, but also very close to being finished the actual semester. The thing is, I'm only now really feeling the sting of the actual 'studying' abroad portion of the experience. I've talked here quite a bit about my travels, things I've seen and done and eaten, but very little about the classes or work that I've been doing, probably because I quite honestly haven't been doing a lot of it. At the first general information session before I came here, a school official repeatedly emphasized that we were studying abroad, not just dumped out here to party, and my dad then took that to heart and jokingly reminded me of that tidbit several times in the days leading up to my departure. It's been a strange experience, though, of being here as simultaneously a student and also really a sort of long-term tourist (or traveler, if you want to be elitist about it).

I procrastinate my usual unhealthy amount, but I've been doing a record amount of reading for my classes, have completed all of the very few assignments I've been given, and haven't skipped much at all, considering that I take mostly huge lectures without any sort of attendance policy. That alone is a testament to how much I've really wanted this semester to be about learning: something I've found myself losing sight of the past several terms at La Salle, where I was often so caught up in the 'everything else' activities of school that I felt unable to really be a student.

This past week has been spring break for everyone back at home, and two of the wonderful La Salle travel study classes took a large group of students all across Ireland, including here, to Galway! I met up with them Tuesday and Wednesday nights for dinners and craic, and along with just the general joy that comes with seeing familiar faces and catching up, I also really enjoyed getting to give a mini-tour of my new 'home'. Towards the end of their stay here, I asked the several people I was sitting with what their favorite place in Ireland was- hoping they'd say Galway, because I've developed a real sense of loyalty and affection towards this town. The character of this place has truly stolen my heart, and I loved showing it off to two of my friends in particular the first rainy night, pointing out favorite spots and recommending the best places to visit if they ever got the chance. I also felt very important when I ran into two separate people I knew during our walk to see campus- something that almost never happens here, since the school is quite a bit larger than I'm used to. 

But I guess I am becoming part of the community here, at long last- Writers' Soc has welcomed me in and made me feel loved, and it was a sad realization today that my best defense against the rabid campaigners for various student union political positions was that I'm not going to be here when they take office, so couldn't rightly vote either way. (Although a note on that: it's been impossible to walk across the main academic building this past week without being bombarded by students in professionally designed VOTE FOR 'NAME' shirts scattering glossy printed handouts with bulleted policies and witty slogans. I couldn't handle how intense they were about it, I thought the SGA candidates back home were committed, but it was nothing compared to this.) 

It seems that just as soon as I'm falling into a routine, it's just about time to change things up again. Classes end March 27th, and then I'll be off for a weeklong Irish bus tour and another week and a half exploring Austria, then all my papers will be due and then- I don't quite know where yet. Until that's upon me, I really need to get my act together with finishing my essays, or at least starting. I don't have any actual final exams, unlike most of the non-visiting students, but unlike most of the other visiting students, my grades do transfer (most Americans are on a pass/fail credit system). It's stressful because while I'm fairly apt at making an essay look like I know what I'm talking about, I have no experience with grades here. Everything is riding on one or two papers I turn in at the end, so I don't really know what they're looking for or how to tailor my work towards that. The grading scale is also quite different: a 70% is considered an A+, and a 40% is passing. 

So I really don't know. I also need to pick my classes for the fall of my senior year really soon, and somehow communicate those all important decisions with my advisor and everyone while here- I don't even know if the English course list has been released yet, as it's always deposited in our mailbox back at school, or when exactly I register...but everything will be okay. There will likely be panic and confusion and frustration involved, but hey, I'm in Ireland. Hakuna matata! (Does that fit here? I'm going to say yes.)