Class- right, the reason why Im here

Today was my first day of classes. I got up early to finish my reading for class and then Monica and I walked to campus together because we have Humanitarian Law together.

I was unsure how the class might turn out, but after the first day- IHL is an AWESOME class. I found it really interesting. Depending on the prof, the topic can be vaguely boring, but no worries here. I was kind of excited that I could actually offer input in class on something. (He asked about a recent conflict that received little coverage- I mentioned Sri Lanka and happened to be right. :D On break I also spoke with him about the characterization of the conflict and human rights abuses alleged to have taken place in the final months of the conflict)

My second class was quite a bit drier. The topic is ethics in human rights practice. First of all, the prof has assigned a shit ton of reading. And I mean a shit ton- I JUST finished at 1230am the reading for tomorrow and I ended up skimming bits. (The code of ethics and comments in 2 days?!?! AND european code of ethics AND two articles- the woman's nuts) Some of are a little confused on the direction she is taking the class in as well. I guess we’ll see how it ends up- it was only the first day after all.

After class I spoke to my ethics prof about the paper we’re supposed to write. (My flat mates and I are fairly clueless about her expectations on this as well) I talked to her about the topic Im interested in (asylum law) and got a few ideas for what I could attempt to tackle in the 15 pager.

After class, the four of us walked to the fitness center and registered for a six week membership. We walked around and checked it out and then headed back to our apartment.

When we got back, I ate a late (4pm) lunch and started prepping stuff for dinner.- I spent some time working on reading for class and also researched some more stuff to do while Im here. I decided to book a trip to Northern Ireland on my free 3 day weekend in July. Im really excited because I wasn't sure Id be able to squeeze it in, but now Ill get to see the Giants Causeway and have a quick visit to Belfast. The four of us also discussed the possibility of some other trips/ tours. We are planning on going to a Scary Galway tour (we were amused by its hokeyness) and a trip to Ireland's Oldest Pub. We're also trying to figure out a trip to Cork and Dingle.

For dinner I made spaghetti, salad and garlic bread (with fresh roasted garlic). It ended up being pretty good and we had some left overs that Im going to try to figure out how to use. Im really enjoying doing the communal dinner with my flat mates. (in the pic above) Its more chill and laid back than having to go out for food and a lot cheaper also. :D

Because the daylight is significantly longer here, my perception of time is completely off. We had dinner at about 8pm but it felt more like 5. At 10pm its still dusk and finally gets dark around 11. Its taking some getting used to.

RAWR- its now after 1am so me thinks its time for bed. Attempting to get up at 7 and go to the gym- we'll see how that works out :P

As a side note- American spoken here

I just wanted to also post and comment on this picture, because despite speaking English- my flatmates and I are having the hardest time understanding the local people.

I found this sign in the window of a bookshop on shop street today- and being me, of course I HAD to take a photo of it.

Just another day.... apparently we actually have to do stuff

Today after hanging around the apartment a bit and doing some reading, we headed back to town to hit the market and find a hairdryer and some other things. Before we left we decided we were going to plan meals ahead to buy groceries so we could try to eat as cheaply as possible.

We took the shuttle into town and wandered the mall a bit in search of stuff before we bought our groceries because we didn’t want to have to be carrying them around. We saw a few street artists and I pointed out the castle that is now a bank (I read about it on the internet when I was researching Galway) After we found the stuff we were looking for along shop street we headed back to Dunne’s and bought our groceries. We then hightailed it to the shuttle to make sure we didn't miss it.

When we got back, my flat mates and I chilled and had lunch before we had to head off to our orientation for the program.

Our orientation consisted of an introduction to the people kind of in charge of the program and we were given our library cards and internet access ids for the campus internet system. We were then shown a bit of campus- ie where our class would be, the student bar, the gym, and the library. We then had a short reception at the Irish Center for Human Rights which our program is affiliated with.

We then walked to Monroe’s Pub for drinks and pizza. I tried the local brew called Hooker (named for the type of boat, not the ladies of the night). My flatmates and I finished our pizza and then decided to have drinks in the main area of the pub to watch part of the football match between Germany and Australia. We were sort of hoping to meet some locals, which we met a few, but most people were focused on the game. We cut out at half time and headed back to our apartment because we all still had reading to do for class tomorrow. - of which- Im still procrastinating finishing my reading of the Geneva Convention...... cant teach an old dog new tricks.....

and ps- we’re discovering he weather is quite random here...... sunny and rainy at the same time.... it only rains for a bit and then the weathers great.... note to self- wear a rain jacket or have one on me at all times- the wind and my umbrella just arent getting on....

I've arrived in the Emerald Isle

Per the request of Ms. Lakmini, Im starting a blog about my travels and such so everyone can read about them. - I suck at keeping blogs updated, so bear with me.

In case you don't already know by now, Im spending my summer (six weeks) in Galway, Ireland, studying International and Comparative Human Rights Law at the National University with New England School of Law.

I arrived in Galway, Ireland via bus from Shannon Airport on Friday morning. When I got into town, I was a little overwhelmed with jet-lag and all my luggage, so I grabbed a taxi to take me to Corrib Village, where Ill be living for the next six weeks. Thankfully, the witty guys at the desk let me check into my apartment early. (I arrived around 11am and check in wasn't until 4)

Both fortunately and unfortunately, my apartment is the furthest away from reception (but its the closest to the university) so after I registered, I had to walk all my stuff to my apartment. Luckily, I arrived to find that Im living on the first floor- so I didn't have to lug all my stuff up the stairs. My room is the most unfortunate in the apartment- let me explain. The room isn't that bad but- I have the smallest room and I have to share a bathroom. (two of the rooms get their own bathroom and the room that shares my bathroom is a double.) Fortunately though, my heater is actually working :) I cant complain much in general, because the apartment and my room are way better and roomier than my accommodations in my flat in London. (with the exception of the tiny shower... eeekkk!)

I was quite pleased to find that there is adequate pots and pans to actually cook in the apartment. (whereas in london, my flat had nothing I could actually put in the oven, just stovetop pots)

After I arrived and inspected the apartment, I unpacked and showered. (After 24 hours in transit, showering and brushing my teeth was a priority over sleep) Then I grabbed the shuttle into town so I could grab something to eat and a sim card to call home. I ended up finding a mall with a carphone warehouse, so the sim car was relatively easy to obtain. After that I called home to let the parents know I'd arrived and then hit a Spar (a convenience store chain here) and grabbed a sandwich, a pack of biscuits (cookies :P) and stuff to make tea. I ate the sandwich for lunch/dinner in Eyre Square. Then I headed to the pickup for the shuttle so I could finally crash. The shuttle pickup was right next to the tourist info center, so I ran in and grabbed a bunch of stuff to look at later.

While I was waiting to be picked up, several groups of Italian students kept stopping to ask for help with what I think was an info scavenger hunt for their program. (Apparently I looked like I knew what was going on...meanwhile Im jet-lagged and clueless) So. A few of them I could help get the answers they were looking for i.e. what does yummy mean and when is St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately, for the other two groups I don't know much Gaelic or who the current Prime Minister is.

When I finally got back to the apartment, I thought I'd try to take a nap because my internet wasn't working (no surprise there- our internet is quite bad here, but apparently its better on campus- I hope it is) As I was attempting to sleep, I heard two of my flatmate arrive. - When I got up later, I met Colleen, who Im sharing a bathroom with, and Monica. Monica is from Manitoba and Colleen is from California. We hung out while trying to get our internet connections to work and got to know each other a bit. We also planned a trip into town the next morning to visit the Saturday market.

Saturday morning, our other flatmate, Kimberly from Seattle, arrived. Colleen, Monica and I walked to town and let Kimberly get settled in.

The walk to town was really nice and not too bad. (its apparently two miles, but didn't seem like it) I forgot the map, but we found our way. - The walk was quite nice. We took the trail along the Corrib River. :D The market was kind of interesting. Its a street market where you can get organic food and handmade stuff, amoung other things. After I bought a bunch of random stuff (buy now, plan the meals later) we headed to a Dunnes store, which sells groceries. The groceries at the store were quite a bit less expensive. Colleen and Monica stocked up and I grabbed a few more things. I also stopped into the Amnesty International Fair Trade Shop. (I didn't want to keep the other two waiting so I grabbed another reusable bag for my groceries because I had already filled my other one) I though it was really cute- it says "Plastic bags are rubbish". On the way to the grocery store I also spotted a tattoo shop..... Monica noticed me checking out the sign :P I think Ive decided Im going to inquire about getting one and if I don't spend too much during my trip, Ill get some Irish Ink before I leave.

After we were finished getting some groceries, we headed in the direction of the shuttle pick up. We stopped into the tourist center to ask about car rentals and places we should visit. (I had the bright idea of renting a car one day to go see stuff because the bus system to certain areas is dodgy at best) Unfortunately when I got back and did more research I discovered that the minimum age for car rental in Galway is 23- Damn that whole age thing. So, we're going to have to wait and see if anyone else is adventurous enough to get behind the wheel/ pay the money it costs to rent an automatic car which is considerably more than a manual.

When we got back to the apartment, we unloaded all of our groceries. Somehow we ended up with five or six things of bread. It was kind of funny. We decided we are going to do communal dinners to try to save money, etc- So last night, I made chicken, asparagus and we had some tomato and onion bread that I bought at the market. It was pretty good considering I had to figure out the proper temperature in Celsius and how to actually turn the oven on (theres a switch on the wall- go figure :P)

The four of us had dinner and then talked a bit. We also watched the US/UK world cup match while we tried to get some reading for class done. Let me tell you- the model code for professional ethics is a ridiculous read. Heres the gist of what we've gotten so far- don't have sex with your client, don't help your client commit a crime, get written informed consent for everything and your client can terminate the relationship at any time.

Later- we figured out how to turn the heat on. Despite being June we've discovered it actually is quite chilly here. Also- its light out until after ten and the sun comes up super early- This fact is not helping us adapt to Irish time. eh- prolonged jet lag.

I spent most of the evening doing reading for class... or .... avoiding reading for class..... :P