So yesterday was rather interesting. We had orientation for all international students at UCC so it was a casual gathering of, oh say, 400 students. We were quite the site wandering around cluelessly and clumping together everywhere on campus. It was basically a bunch of presentations about what we can and can't do and how the Irish do things differently so we better adapt quickly. I think people were more occupied with the accents of the people talking than what they actually had to say (I know I was). It was also the first encounter I've had of someone's accent being so strong I can't understand what they were saying. People had warned me that the Cork accent is the hardest to understand but up until this one boy was presented I'd been pretty good at understanding them. Still, if I was just listen to the accent and not what they were saying, then it didn't really matter.
After having our butts fall asleep in the morning from sitting for so long, we went on a "tour" of the campus which actually turned into our guides showing us two buildings and then playing awkward ice breakers, which, hey, is a particular forte of mine thanks to years of summer camp. Our guides were entertaining so that at least made it a bit less awkward. It was also interesting to see other international students who are basically in two groups: Americans, and everyone else. There was this one girl from Italy and boy do I have to give her credit. She's either very brave, or sorely misinformed. She very clearly did not speak English all that well, which is kind of important when you're studying abroad in a country who's language is mainly English (fun fact though: the official language of Ireland is actually Gaelic). Unfortunately, she chose the country that probably has one of the hardest accents to understand. Props to her though for not totally freaking out and just going with the flow of things without actually understanding that much. I'm sure her language barrier will crumble reeeeeally fast.
After that we went back to sitting for hours and our backsides going numb yet again. The only thing I really got out of the second part was to not mess with immigration (we heard a story about a girl who complained to the government and it did not end well) and this statement from the woman running the orientation: "please do not try and keep up with the Irish students when it comes to drinking. They have a LARGE head start on most of you." I found it kind of hilarious that she found the need to tell us, but then again, there must have been some stupid person (probably an American) who had tried to keep up and ended up in a not so good place.
We did actually have a tour after that and I was informed about a particularly hilarious superstition they have. There's this big mosaic of the school seal in the ground right where you enter the campus. I hadn't heard anything about how you're not supposed to step on it earlier when I was there with API, so of course I waltzed right over it. Only later did I find out that if you step on it you supposedly get pregnant (for boys you get someone pregnant). Whoops. I might be bringing back a different kind of souvenir than people were expecting......
It's also strange going to a school where all the students are of legal drinking age. There are 2, count them TWO, bars on campus, presumably run by the school, and social events sponsored by the school involve alcohol. Namely, there was an international social last night at a pub with free pizza. It's still strange yet kind of refreshing being treated more like an adult.
That being said the social was quite the event. As we all gathered, I wondered what hole-in-the-wall pub would fit all 400 students that had shown up. Turns out, none of them can, but that doesn't mean we didn't try. The place was actually pretty big by pub standards but still, 400 people is a lot. It felt kind of like a mosh pit and the only open place was near the darts where the guys playing would actually push people out of their way to throw.
Eventually people left or realized there was a beer garden in back and things began to thin out. I went adventuring with API peeps and a guy from Estonia who we so cleverly christened "Mr. Estonia" to try and find a not so crowded place. Mr. Estonia was quite the bundle of awkward, but interesting to talk to. After his 6th or 7th pint he tried to explain to me how he had once "drank himself sober." No joke. He actually said that. Somehow I think his logic was more than impaired at that point in the night.
Overall, it was a great night and an awesome chance to get to know people better. Irish people are incredibly friendly and they can down their drinks like no other. I saw one guy down a pint in five gulps. No worries though, I will definitely NOT be trying to keep up with them.
Classes start Monday, however, it's different here in that you go to all the classes you're considering and you don't register for them until 2 weeks in after you've decided. They also don't have classes close or become "full" as in the US. Maybe we can learn a few things from the Irish school systems....
Anyway, tomorrow we have our first API excursion to Blarney Castle and Cobh (pronounced cove) and hopefully I'll have pictures by that point.
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