Time Flies …

I can’t believe I leave Belfast in less than a month! This semester has been amazing and the full impact of it won’t hit me until I arrive back home and compare the differences since I will be able to compare a large European city with a large American city and a large university with a small college. 

When the sun comes out – so does everyone in Belfast! As soon as the warm weather hit in the beginning of March, the green lawns in Botanic Gardens were filled with students relaxing and soaking up the sun. I honestly thought there must’ve been a free concert or some sort of event going on with how many people were gathered. There is so much to do outdoors in Northern Ireland, as you can imagine and I have loved taking weekend trips to hike all the different mountains. You get some awesome views overlooking the city – and we even came across some friendly wild horses!

April was certainly one of the best months of my life as I was able to travel 11 European cities in 27 days. Thanks to EasyJet and cheap hostels, it was a pretty affordable trip. I got to see Amsterdam, Basel (a small city in Switzerland), Berlin, Copenhagen, Malmo (in Sweden), Milan, Athens, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon and Barcelona. Some highlights include being in Barcelona for the soccer match versus Madrid, sunbathing on the beach in Athens, eating gelato in Milan, and going out for the traditional tapas and wine in Madrid. We were able to take free tours in most of the cities and I think Berlin might’ve been my favorite. I got to try so many new foods! It was such an incredible learning experience. Having a three week break for Easter was different, but surely welcomed. Something I found especially interesting is that most people in all of those countries know some English and in most places students start learning English in school from a young age.

Arriving in Belfast after such a time away, I was surprised at how much I missed a familiar city and it almost seemed like home. I can’t imagine how overwhelming it will be to return in June! Not having to use a different currency, the metric system, or Celsius will be so nice.

We have two weeks to study for final exams now. I have one on a Saturday morning! Since they will all be in the form of essays, it’s important to be thorough in all your readings. As the whole semester has been, revision as well is largely independent.

The Beginning at Belfast

I have been here a week and I love it! The weather I can do without, since it has rained everyday and I’ve been told this is the usual forecast for most of the time I will be here. (I promise I will never complain about Wilkes-Barre weather again if that is the case!) The majority of the weekend consisted of International Student Orientation so along with the usual topics and talks of orientation at a new school, I’ve had the chance to socialize with students from several different countries. The school itself is much larger than King’s, about ten times bigger! Classes started yesterday and though there is less time spent in the classroom than I am used to, there appears to be a lot of independent work, mostly reading, done outside of the lectures so that is why 3 courses is considered a normal workload. The living set up is co-ed and all the people on my floor are from the Republic of Ireland and are first year students, but very friendly. Once difference that I did not expect was how popular American television shows and music are here; one of the boys on my floor is obsessed with the Sopranos. I am also slightly surprised that, although my peers and lecturers speak “English” it is hard at times to understand them if they have a thicker accent. But I have enjoyed picking up on the local lingo, which is always fun. Finding a good cup of coffee is proving to be a challenge as most places have strong coffee and offer milk, whereas I am used to half-and-half or creamer. I know this may seem like a small change, but it’s the daily details that I am noticing more and more. I hope to try more of the local food as well, so perhaps I will just have to switch to drinking tea while I am here. I am excited to get into a routine of classes and schoolwork and explore the city outside of the school a little more as I continue to get adjusted.