So, from yesterday! I woke up, walked outside, and decided to climb a tree.
Perhaps this needs a little bit more explanation: Gretchen told me of this massive tree that was growing by the landscaping part of campus (way out west) that looked totally climbable. In reality, this really means we could get to the first limb, or about 14 feet off the ground. In reality, I screamed for help and froze up at the top while Gretchen's climbing prowess was the only thing that got us off that tree. Anyways, this gave me an opportunity to look around the west side of campus, about a 20 minute walk away. See the following photos.
I got to see the architecture studio, and look through what it meant to be a student there with all the models and the penknifes and what-not. It looks interesting! Like a total blast! Super fun.... But I'll stick with Chemistry. After wandering around trying to fix various technical problems and looking around the student union, I went off to my first class in Dublin: Popes, Protestants and Popular Belief- A class focused on the Henrician Protestant movement in Britain. After sitting down in the lecture hall the size of a room of Dey, I watched as maybe 8-10 other students showed up for the first day of class (including an international student I met at orientation named Katy). What I was more surprised by was how the majority of the students seemed to be upwards of 50 years old.
(Full disclaimer, I was later informed that the first day of class is a formality for many of the students, and instead they celebrate what is infamously known as black monday. This means that most students skip their classes and just spend the day in the campus pub. But, more on that later.)
The professor immediately jumped into lecturing about Henry VIII and his acts with the Papacy that led to the schism and formation of the Church of England. While I was informed the Irish and the English aren't the best of friends, I didn't see much resentment in the subtext he was using, and instead saw a deep respect for the Throne from my teacher (if you ignore the constant identifications with Henry as a "power-monger" but I think it's ok because I think he was). He was an interesting guy, and I mentioned I was an international student after class, but he said that made no difference. He was confident in my abilities, I suppose, just off the basis of looks. I've always thought I had a historical face...Anyways! Immediately after class, I met up with a group of students from California and Illinois who had set up camp in the student bar. The place was PACKED, and it was only 4 o clock. I had a meeting with Garda to get my registration card, so I didn't stay long, but it definitely left an impression.
After following some random students on the bus who claimed they were going to the immigration office, and somehow finding our way there, we pulled up and waited about an hour and 15 minutes to get our immigration cards. Let's just say that the photos were not flattering. For instance, I may or may not look like a serial killer. But that's what happens with a lot of standardized photos I suppose. After we got back, I went out with the other girl in my program to the city where most of the students were heading. Her heel broke immediately, and she proceeded to dance in her socks until security kicked her out.
Woke up this morning and made it out to recitation with the teacher, which was basically just him throwing up softball questions about the lecture yesterday and going over the major differences between Henry's Catholic-oriented protestantism and luthernism. I really like when lecturers speak in accents. Hopefully this isn't just a thing.
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