Welcome to Ireland!!

And now for what's actually happening...

We made it to Limerick!! The flight over was great (they tend to be better when the movies are good... I got to watch The Lego Movie AND The Nut Job...  big girl movies can wait for later), and the lady next to me made a nice pillow (that wasn't on purpose, but when I woke up on her shoulder she didn't look too offended).  We took a bus to the University of Limerick and had to walk about half a mile to the dorms.  This is where I was REALLY thankful that I packed light (my suitcase is the grey one on the left... picture is  below on the left).  The right picture is how Katie pushed her bag for half a mile.  At least she made it look trendy!! 

When we got to the University we unpacked and headed to dinner (we get meal vouchers for lunch and dinner every day, and breakfast is delivered to our room.  SCORE).  Below is a picture of the dorm.  It's right on the river, and I have my OWN room, my OWN bathroom, and the biggest bed I've had since I graduated high school (it' just a double, but it's not a twin OR lofted).

The campus is cool! It's weird because I feel like I'm on a normal US campus, and a lot of the time I forget that I'm in Ireland.  The small reminders come when I walk around and hear the steady traffic noise coming from 75/85 that Tech students are used to, only to realize that it's actually just the sound of the river. Or when we see pubs next to the student center.  Two things that I definitely want to bring back to Tech.

Unfortunately, there aren't students at the University for the summer, so it'll be harder than expected to meet Irish students.  The first night, we went into the city of Limerick to get some things from TK Maxx (not to be confused with TJ Maxx... it's essentially the same thing, just the bootleg version), but everything was already closed. I felt really early for the city to be shut down, but then we realized it was already 8:30 p.m. (the sun stays out until about 10:30... so much "sunlight"!!).

The weather here is just as everyone said it would be - cold, drizzly, and cloudy all day long.  Fortunately, since it's not a constant heavy rain, it doesn't stop you from doing things outside.  Katie and I went for a run today, and it's exactly what you would picture about a run through Ireland.  Gravel paths along the river through grassy fields with cows, horses, and sheep.  Cute houses along two-way roads that hardly look big enough for one cars.  It was AWESOME and something that I definitely want to make a habit of.  

My days are going to be cool because my classes only go from 8-10:30, so I'll have the rest of the afternoon to explore.  I'm looking into taking classes at the gym (because fitness classes would be WAY more fun with an Irish instructor), taking some short day trips, and finding random things to do to take advantage of where I am.  Again, I have no idea what this is going to look like, but I'm excited to figure it out tomorrow!