Good morning!
My goal is to write weekly for these blogs, to make sure I am including every last bit of advice and adventures. The only time I won’t write for the week is if I have nothing to update on, or I am gathering more info before I write my blog! Warning this is going to be a lengthy post so pick and choose where you’d like to read!
FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES
So I have been in the public schooling system since I was 5. Like most, my class sizes never went above 25 kids, I was used to knowing most people in my grade, and I knew my campuses like the back of my hand. At Rollins it was essentially the same atmosphere; something I am comfortable with and very much so used to, so it was an easy transition. I knew the Rollins campus inwards and outwards by the end of orientation week, I know mostly everyone in my class, and my biggest class size has been about 20 people. I get 1 on 1 attention and there are no Teacher Assistants. While I absolutely adore all of the qualities I realized I never got to experience what most people do when they go off to college. This was part of my reasoning for picking Maynooth, its a big university with two campuses (north/south) about 12,000 students, and class sizes ranging from 20-400 students.
Before my classes began I felt slightly nervous, it was like repeating my freshman year. But nonetheless I had a sunny disposition and a sense of giddiness brewing in my stomach. The campus map became my best friend throughout this first week of navigating my classes. At Rollins we’re used to our classes meeting two or three times a week at the same time in the same location. Here at Maynooth you meet 1-2 times a week and the locations and times change. For example, I am taking a Spanish course. We meet on Mondays at 2pm in the John Hume building, and again on Thursdays at 11am in the Callan building. I am in week two now and I don’t quite have my schedule memorized yet, but I have a general idea and a list on my phone so I don’t get lost 😉
When I first walked into my class of 300+ students I felt excited, it was incredible watching the room go from strings of loud conversations to complete silence in a matter of seconds when the professor put on his mic. I didn’t find it hard at all to concentrate. Admittedly it is a little intimidating to ask questions because of such a huge class size, but there’s also a benefit to it. Because its such a huge class someone most definitely has the same questions as you do and if it is a silly question then you don’t have to worry because a majority of the classroom won’t be able to see your face, they’ll hardly even know which direction the question came from. Its also important to note that most people take hand written notes. It is very rare to see a computer in the lecture room, but the professors don’t mind whichever way you prefer to take notes. I find a sense of pride brewing in me from my classes. Due to its size there are no attendance records and no 1 on 1 attention. It feels invigorating to know that I am solely responsible for my academics. Not only will my grades reflect my knowledge retained but it’ll also display my character. I love that I get to fully experience my independence in this manner, its up to me to do a good job because no one is going to hold my hand through it.
Maynooth has an equivalent to blackboard called Moodle, it is a little more difficult to navigate but once you play with it for like an hour you’ll have it down solid! Your professors will use Moodle religiously, so get ready to rely on it. I’ve noticed that they don’t typically post lectures, only homeworks and readings and things of that nature. So make sure to attend class, kids!
DUBLIN
I LOVE Dublin!! Caution: it is quite expensive so don’t go every weekend but definitely make time to go out there and
explore! Dublin is city enough to break away from the college town vibe but it isn’t like fast paced New York so you can still take your time enjoying the scenery and the historic sites. There are so many things to do ranging from museums to cafes to pubs to night clubs and everything in between.
The last bus usually leaves around 10pm from Dublin though, same for train, so make sure you’re on it because it will be an expensive taxi ride home, roughly 50 euro. On the weekends though (Friday-Sunday) they have a late night bus. The last bus leaves at 4am on the weekends. This will cost about 2 euro more than the average bus (which is usually 3 euro) but it will be your cheapest option getting home if you stay past 10pm.
When my friends and I went to Dublin we firstly went to Trinity College to enjoy the scenery and go into the library for the Book of Kells (free admission on Fridays). When I say it was majestic that doesn’t even begin to cover it. The smell of ancient books lifted me by my nose straight into the grand hall that was big enough to comfortably fit 4 families of elephants, it was a sight for sore eyes and nearly brought me to tears. 
Later on we ran into a street performer, an older man with a microphone and guitar singing all of the popular classics. At first it was just us singing along to his tunes and it later escalated to the whole street dancing. It was a blast and probably my favorite memory I’ve made so far. The garda came and broke everyone up but the dancing and singing along lasted for about an hour. We are planning on going to the leprechaun museum next and the Guinness tour! I’ve also been to temple bar, which is the most popular tourist pub in all of Dublin, they have live music, incredible bar tenders and a plethora of food and beverage options.
INTERNASHIES
My friend group consists of 2 Germans, 1 Finnish, 1 Slovenian, and 1 American. I refer to them as my international friends or better yet.. the internashies. I figure I’ll be mentioning them a lot so I wanted to give descriptions to better explain who I am talking about.
Tobi (Tobias): Tobi is one of the Germans that I met through the Erasmus and Study Abroad FB group for Maynooth, he was actually one of the first people to reach out to me. He is the textbook definition of a free spirit, he is getting a degree in psychology and sociology and walks anywhere and everywhere with complete confidence. Its hard not to follow him, there have been times we walked into areas we really should not have been because we all blindly followed his confidence. He laughs at the end of all his sentences and has a heart of gold. He also keeps his tent on him at all times in case he feels like camping out in an area he found. He is a world traveler and hippy to the core (even if he wouldn’t say it himself.) he is a B2 in English, so he speaks fairly well just with a few grammatical errors and he is always open for a debate.
Sören: Don’t let his Swedish name fool you he is also German! We met the same way I met Tobi, he actually sent me a message exactly one minute after Tobi did. Sören is a jokester and overall delight giver, he loves making plans and spending quality time with people. His friends and academics sit equally as his priorities because he makes time for both. He has no other emotion than happiness, even when he’s frustrated with something he always looks at the positive aspects in his situations. He plays as a defensive position in soccer and loves physical activity. He pairs really well with Tobi because he is down to hike with Tobi to the great unknown, and he can also help him when he struggles with translating things to English as Sören is a C1 (although I think he is C2 because his English is flawless.) Sören wants to learn as many languages as possible and his goal in life is to be a primary school teacher for math, English, and German. He is a great teacher already; he has taught me a few sentences in German. He has a soft heart and a love for cuddling.
Lara: She is from Slovenia, which is right next to Italy. She explained to me that her language is a mixture of their original tongue and Croatian. She taught me an authentic Slovenian curse word which translates to “I hope you get kicked by a chicken.” This was the first thing she said to me when we met so naturally we hit it off right away. She, just like Sören, is not capable of feeling any other emotion than pure joy. She shows her appreciation for people by teasing them, typically Ville is her victim. She loves all types of music and is a phenomenal singer, she’ll dance the night away and look gorgeous while doing it! She is the kinda girl who goes to the gym just so she can eat a whole box of cookies right after… I’ve seen her do this it’s not a joke. She loves to laugh and talk about all of the concerts she’s been to. She is very easy going and will tag along for any and all of our shenanigans. She is also a C1.
Ville: He is from Finland and a true metal-head although he can’t deny his love for Abba as well (but lets be honest who doesn’t?) He talks about his army experiences with such a lighthearted demeanor. He is a big muscular guy who spends most of his time in the gym even when he is sick. He still claims he is smaller than the average man in Finland which slightly scares me, haha! He too is very sweet and meshes really well with the rest of the group because he is a tiny bit of a pushover. There have been times where we wanted to go to the Student Union and he would say something like “no im not feeling it today.” and then we’d say something like “okay, well we are heading there now.” and he’d say “alright, I’ll come too then.” He also will admit when hes wrong but he has a very specific way of doing it. “Well… Yeah.” He loves to share stories from Finland, like drinking out of a cucumber or eating salty black licorice candies. He knows how to keep a conversation going and is very easy to talk to. Ville taught us all one word in Finnish and it sounds fairly close to “oops!” so we tend to tease him about it all the time, but he doesn’t take it personally, in fact he joins in with us. I personally think Ville and Lara are soulmates but thats another story. Ville is in between B2 and C1 for his English.
Karlie: She is my home slice. Karlie comes from Ohio but is super adventurous so has practically been to every state in the US and every country in Europe. She is a storyteller by nature and a really inspiring but humble individual. The times where I’ve laughed so hard I gained a 6-pack have all been through moments with Karlie. She has such an authentic laugh and the way she goes about sharing anything has a tad bit of humor behind it. She is the first person to be there for you when something isn’t going right. She is a social butterfly and blends in beautifully with all types of people. Her and I were in the same tour group and instead of paying attention to our tour, we just ended up talking the whole time. She’s a psych major and a master eavesdropper 😉 She is my Karls! Oh and she speaks French fluently.. Apparently I am the only person who is behind on the second language deal.
CLIFFS OF MOHER
First things first, there are so many things to see and do during your time in Ireland and Cliffs of Moher is definitely one of them. Now with this said, it is important to note that it will be difficult trying to get out to the scenic nature places on your own, so your best bet is to book with a tour group. Paddywagon is the most affordable and WAY worth the price. For 40 euro we stopped in the small village of Kinvara, drove past the Atlantic Coast, stopped at the Burren (also known as mini cliffs), stopped in another small village called Doolin, and saw the Cliffs of Moher. We also stopped for a potty break at Bunratty Castle but we weren’t there for more than 30 minutes so we didn’t see much. I want to go into detail about every place but I’ll resist the urge for those of you who plan on seeing it yourselves.
The drive in itself is breathtaking, Ireland is spread out exactly like a painting. It is hard to believe that something so stunning actually exists. I was staring gleefully out of the window the whole time. I have visions about rolling in those hills.
Kinvara is so precious, its a very small town right next to a port with gorgeous stone walls covering it. Every house is painted in bright colors and my friends and I even got a few Granny Smith apples for free! We stopped inside this one handcraft store and everything in there was made out of gems, wood, stone, and paper. It was beautifully quaint. 
We stopped in Doolin for lunch, its incredibly small but very green, there are a few eateries so most of the people on my tour went in for a bite, my friends and I just laid out in one of the many fields nearby and took in all of the scenery that we could.
When we finally got to the Cliffs of Moher I was so mesmerized. We all ran to the top as fast as we could and just stood there and let the wind whip us around. In that moment it felt just like a movie, we were the only ones there taking in the cold air and closing our eyes at the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks. I felt like a child again, it was so rejuvenating. I climb up the rocks, and slid down to the very edge of the cliffs. Nature is such a phenomenal thing, and I think it is really important to take the time to enjoy it. Ireland is the perfect place for that.
Again PaddyWagon Tours!! 100% recommend.
MISC
Packing List
Chap-stick
Reusable Water Bottle
Reusable bags (Aldi is closest grocery option)
Converse (or other shoes styled like such)
Plug converter(s)
Hats/Headbands/Hair ties (it is super windy)
Thanks again for sticking through to the end of this post! Until next time,
Reigan P.