Well it's been a couple days since I have arrived in Ireland, and have finally gotten to the point of being settled enough to actually write a blog post- To fill you in on the past few days- For starters- we are lucky that our plane had not been canceled or delayed out of JFK due to Hercules! Once on the plane, We sat on the plane for a solid half hour or so waiting to even move as the snow was finally hitting NY- I honestly thought we were about to get off the plane and we wouldn't fly out. Luckily we made it- THANK GOD! It was a bumpy flight every now and again but for the most part comfortable. After being in JFK airport ALL day, ALL I wanted to do was just sleep, but I did NOT sleep whatsoever on the plane- as for everyone else. And when it came to our dinner on aer Lingus, we had a choice of pasta or briscuit. THEY WERE OUT OF PASTA, of course, by the time they had gotten to us… but it was not as bad as I though it would have been- atleast I tried it, and at that point anything free and able to ease the hunger was taken and pocketed! We landed in Shanon the early hours and it didn't take too long to go through immigration- BUT LONG ENOUGH. The bus ride from Shannon to Cork was an adventure in itself as the bus had NO HEAT- luckily I pocketed the blanket from the plane and I was golden, and slept like a baby for the whole ride.

I have never been more tired in my life traveling, but once I had gotten here and settled it was the best feeling ever. The first day here was one of the best and worst days so far in so many ways- we had FREE and delicious breakfast as a group of Quinnipiac students at a nice café right on the UCC campus- where we met Mary- who is the most adorbs and precious lady who has become like a mother to all of us here and is just so cute I could talk to her for days with her accent and laugh! The worst part was getting use to the weather here! They tell you it rains here, but it HAILS PEOPLE! In fact the walk back to our rooms from breakfast- the sun was out, it rained, it hailed, and then the sun came back out again! Lesson learned was to always dress in layers, and to ALWAYS have a jacket with a hood- because informational papers… they just get wet. And in Ireland we walk EVERYWHERE- so why go to the gym? As for the rest of the first day Alex, Holly and I needed to get some necessities, and what better place than PENNYS- the BEST place to get EVERYTHING and ANYTHING here in Ireland for CHEAP. On our way there we got caught in a heavy downpour and it was literally the funniest thing ever- "Welcome to Ireland." By the end of the day in the rain and walking ALL DAY, all I wanted was a HOT shower. Did I get one? NOPE. Why? Because here the showers have a friken "boost button" -where you have to boost the water heater 2 hours if you want a remotely HOT shower. MY SHOWER WAS BROKEN, lucky me- NO SHOWER DAY1.

Saturday- The sun was shining and THANK GOD- because I was still freezing from the night before of not having a damn shower! We went into Cork City, which is about a 30 minutes walk or so- and got to explore and shop, LOVED IT. It's the best place to be during the day and at night, with all kinds of shops, music, authentic pubs and pleanty of locals to ask questions to! Alex, Holly and I went to this AWESOME food place, and got literally the BEST sausages I've ever had- YUM and so filling. That night we went back into the cork city again for a pub crawl- FIRST ONE EVER. We ordered our first pints and had a great time with all of the other International students who met there later on!- all the Irish students go home on the weekends- We got to check out at least five bars that night and get a feel for what we liked and didn't like- Lets just say- NO TOADS pubs for us- we like the live music kind of places- they're just so perfect! It was literally a great and best way to start our first real night in Ireland together! It definitely made our moods a little brighter after all of the traveling, and missing home, family, and friends.

I also was able to finally figure out the "boost button" and get a HOT SHOWER- which literally was the highlight of my entire trip- I went to bed the happiest person ever last night!

Grocery shopping was also the next challenge we all faced, today. Having to walk to the grocery store, Tesco in Cork city- Finding things we wanted/could eat- and to take all of our grocery bags- which are the reusable bags, because you have to buy the bags if you want them bagged for you- on the bus back to our apartment! But we made it back, and finally had some food in the kitchen! Alex and I also cooked dinner with our other suitemates and had a chance to get to know them a little better as well..

I literally am in love with this country and am so happy, thankful, and lucky I get to be here- Even though there are some adjustments that I face with living in a new country, I think it has worked out pretty well so far- and I can't wait for what is to come as classes begin within the next couple weeks!

Cheers!

Hannah