Adjustments and Academics

I'm only adding this picture so people will be intrigued

to read my blog. It's basically click bait.

Uhhh. 

My "how's Ireland?" face.

That's the first sound that usually comes out of my mouth when someone asks how it has been in Ireland so far. It doesn't necessarily mean something negative it's more of a "holy crap, this is the most challenging, difficult, soul-searching thing I have ever done." You can't expect me to be able to sum all of that up in a casual, small-talk conversation which is mostly done out of politeness.  But for the purpose of this blog I will attempt to put my scattered thoughts into a coherent post.

The Irish Academic system is as comparable to America's system as an apple is to an orange. They  have one common factor: it's a place to learn, that's about it. Now, it's not a bad thing, I think both have negatives and positives in my opinion. Over here school is treated as a full-time job. I have six classes which was pretty manageable in the States but over here I'm slightly overwhelmed. I'm a self-proclaimed nerd. I'm a person that spends hours researching specific subjects ranging from: murderers to city populations. Heck, yesterday I spent 40 minutes reading a Wikipedia article regarding toilet paper orientation. In summary the article talked about the long running debate of 'should you hang the toilet paper over or under?' Personally, I hang over unlike the rest of my family which just grinds my gears. It also gave the positives/negatives of each side. So, now that I have just released my inner and have successfully made a forever lasting record of it on the internet I will get back to my original point. 

America vs. Ireland Academics. 

For us in America the higher education scheduling system is usually an easier, more flexible version of high school. College is when we get to go to classes 3 days a week for 4 hours then either go to work or take part in Project X inspired activities. But here... nope. With my six-class schedule I have 5 classes everyday  going from 9:00-3:00 roughly. I'm simplifying my schedule here for the sake of promptness.... it is not a straight down the week 9:00-6:00 but you get the picture. Although, it seems you get more bang for your buck over here I am totally on board with the American way in this aspect. I love the flexibility of creating your own schedule. Heck, my last semester at EMCC I had classes on Tues/Thurs, I was living the life. However, every single class here is only 45 minutes long. I think the Irish are onto to something here....COLLEGE KIDS HAVE A SHORT ATTENTION SPAN. Who hasn't gone to a 90 minute class and at the 30 minute mark start dozing off, doodling, or obsessively glancing at the clock every 5 minutes? Guilty as charged here. 

Even better than 45 minutes classes is little to zero classes require a book you have to buy. I am in an Anatomy class over here and surprisingly that 190$ book that was REQUIRED for my class in Maine is not here, yet we still learn just as much....interesting.

Other than the time-scheduling, school is pretty similar as far as I can tell. You still have the overachievers, the half hungover, glazed eyed students, the interesting classes, the 'I would rather be anywhere else but here' classes, the same thing American Colleges have. It must be an age demographics thing. 

It's pretty official now. Featuring an emoji
covering a picture that will never see the light of day.

Obstacles. 

With the scholarship I am on while here,  I am required to document my stay with this blog. And honestly, not everything is going to be frolicking through the Irish fields, drinking beer and great memories. No, this is a huge adventure and times will be tough. I'm not going to sugar-coat this experience.... what's the point of a blog if you do that? 

I've been in Ireland for two weeks and I can honestly say these have been the most mentally tolling weeks of my life. I'm a military kid, I've moved more than the average Mainer has. I went to four different high schools.... two in Germany. But these two weeks have been more challenging than any other move. Even living in Germany I have never felt more foreign than I have here. I guess while living in Germany I was spoiled by having that small slice of the United States on post. I went to an American school and had my family there to talk and decompress with.  

Here though, I come home from school and I'm still the one with the accent the one from abroad. It has definitely been an eye-opener in respect to that I am not as worldly as I initially thought nor as independent. But this is what the opportunity is about, I'm here to test my limits. I'm here to grow on a personal, social, and academic level. I'm here to experience new things. I'm here to push my shy self out of my comfort shell, which shouldn't be hard because it is quite small. 

Even though these past two weeks have been extremely difficult, here's a cheers to the next 112 days of self-discovery and a once in a lifetime experience. 

Still trying to find my beer of choice.
5/10 though. Not bad.