what's next?

"You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore."

-unknown

Last Thursday was orientation and I was so ready to get started! At 10am(which, apparently, is early here...) We made our way down to the concert hall and waited to be checked in. There was a dinosaur in the room, by the way. See picture below.

If you didn't figure it out, I'm referring to the computer ;)

About an hour later, I was seated among 200 other study abroad and Erasmus (non- English speaking) students and Emmeline Searson began her speech. She talked about culture shock and I dozed. She talked about the weather and I dozed. She talked about classes and I dozed. It was not an exciting speech... Then music and dance instructors came to show us what their classes were about and encourage us to take part in them. Language professors, literature professors, and history professors all came and talked about how wonderful their classes were. Then, we finally got a coffee break and came back to the exciting stuff.
The Students' Union President came to talk to us about who they are and what they do. His name was Paddy Rocket, no joke. He told us about Freshers' week, which is like a freshman (or first-year, here) welcome week where they throw all kinds of parties, dances, and concerts. After a couple more club presentations, we were split into small groups and given a tour of campus and then lunch. Lunch was supposed to be at 2; we didn't eat until 4:15. These people don't stick to schedules very well! We learned a whole lot about how to use the library and the printers and where important offices were located. We also got our University of Limerick student ID cards: another amazing picture...not. Theresa and I later talked to a guy from Sweden who has gone to school here for the past couple of years and we learned that you cannot find Irish Spring soap or Lucky Charms anywhere in this country, a little ironic.