Moving day

Hi again :)

So I've completed my thrilling tales of the hosteling world and now begins my journey into the world of academia!

Sunday, after church in Sligo, Ky & I caught a cab to the bus station and headed for Limerick. It was a 2-leg trip: part one was from Sligo to Galway, where we listened to the all-Ireland hurling finals on the radio (Limerick was playing Kilkenny and we couldn't have told you what hurling is...) and then from Galway into Limerick, we listened to the post-game commentary about the all-Ireland hurling finals. It was bad enough that I hadn't a clue what hurling lingo there is, but I was completely unable to distinguish everyday words for nearly 5 hours! After about 3 hrs, I figured out that Limerick had lost and they weren't supposed to, so it was a bit of a letdown.

Later in the week, I sat down and watch a replay of the game and I learned some things! (of course.) FYI: Hurl ing is an old gaelic sport that uses a weird-shaped stick (kind of like a hockey stick, but with a fatter, rounder foot & a shorter arm?) and a tiny baseball-ish sized ball. Points are scored by getting the ball either into the goal/net (3 points) or over the net, but between the posts (1 point). Other than that, it's a tiny-bit like soccer, except players can use their hands to pass the ball... I don't get it, but it was MUCH easier to follow on tv than on the bus!

Then we get to the dorm! The office was closing in 15 mins, so we barely made it, but I got moved in FINALLY! I was unpacked and felt like I wasn't living in a suitcase within the hour... :) My room has a double-bed, a desk that might be big enough for me to use as a bed in emergencies (haha), a floor-to-ceiling deep bookshelf, a walk-in closet (without a door), a full-length mirror, and a full bath. All to myself... *sigh* :) There are 6 bedrooms like this in my apartment, all in the hall when you first walk in, and at the other end of the hall, through a door, is the living space. The 6 of us have a living room with 2 loveseats (and 2 missing chairs - we're "on the list"), a dining room table with 6 chairs, a balcony, and a kitchen that comes with everything except a microwave - including dishes, which is nice for international students like myself!

About my roomies -- when I applied for living on-campus, I was told that I would have little/no say about who I roomed with, the example being smokers. I couldn't request a non-smoking room. I was a little concerned about that - and the fact that I could be with a bunch of partiers I didn't know, but it didn't hit me until about a week before I moved in that I could be in a co-ed apt. So I was at the mercy of the university... and yet God was able to make things nice! :) First of all, because of the floor-plans, even though I do have 2 guy roommates, I usually only see them when we're all watching tv together (which is rare) or at mealtimes, so it's kind of like camp...

And then when we all sat around and talked, it turns out that none of us are smokers, and those who do drink, had made it a priority to not drink during the school year! WOOT! And to top it all off, so far, everyone has been in his or her room between 10 & midnight every night! It's crazy how God takes care of the little things - I'm not surprised, but I am encouraged to know He's involved in the little things! :)

The other great thing about our living situation is that all 6 of us have either taken, are taking, or are native speakers of spanish! :) Two of us are from Spain (Manuel & Nuria) studying english literature, David is from Cork and he's a languages & cultural studies major (german & spanish) who is taking a comparative literature class this term, Siobhan (pronounced "shavon") is a 2nd yr languages student, studying spanish, and Eleanor is a business student, but she took spanish her first 2 yrs of Uni.

So YAY! I feel like I have my own place without being in isolation - we all get along and have sat around talking about politics & religion in Ireland & Spain, about Catholicism v. Protestantism and the apathy toward Christianity that is a universal trend. The effects of the EU. And there has already been a death - David's grandmother died with Alzheimer's last Wednesday. But we've also talked about dumb things like "why are there crazy zig-zag lines randomly placed on irish roads that no one can explain?" and the impact that Joss Whedon has had on society... very important topics!

I think I'm gonna like it here - thanks to my roomies - but I also keep telling people that I am SURE I would like it so much more if I hadn't fallen in love with SK and didn't miss it as much as I do... *sigh* :)

Also, for Pa-pa: I am okay, but I had to wait until today to buy phone card minutes and my skype is down -- sorry I haven't called.

bye for now ~