The start of my Irish adventure!

Day 1. 
23 - 1 - 2019

It's 5 am and I'm already awake. I could hardly sleep all night, the nerves got the best of me. 
Today, after months of planning, will be the first day of my new five month long life in Limerick, Ireland.
I say my goodbyes to Sandor (the dog) and after a small sandwich and a cup of coffee we hop in the car with all my luggage and we are off to Schiphol. I hadn't really been nervous up untill now. While I'm sitting in the car I'm starting to realize what kind of an adventure awaits for me. But they are good nerves, I'm excited! 

We arrive on Schiphol and I'm ready to go through customs. I give my mom, dad and sister one last big hug and off I go.
The plane leaves on time and everything goes to plan. I arrive in Dublin at around 10 am and have to wait till 12 o'clock for my bus that will take me to Limerick. I'm still half a sleep from waking up so early, but that doesn't prevent me from looking at the beautiful countryside. I fall asleep with a big smile on my face, and after 4 hours I have arrived in Limerick. The only thing between me and my new home is just one taxi ride. I meet Aodhan (A-dawn) Ryan, at the gates of Cratloe Wood Student village, this is what I'm going to call home for the next five months. Cratloe Wood is the student village where mostly all the people who study at LIT (Limerick Institute of Technology) are staying, and so will I. 

I start to unpack my bags and just when I'm finished I head into the kitchen and find my new roommates there. I introduce myself and start to get acquainted with Stella and Emma, both internationals themselves, Stella being Spanish and Emma being South-African. They tell me the basics things that I need to know to make my life easier around here, such as where the closest supermarket is, how public transport works here and what to do in the city centre.
Since it is only 8 pm I decide to head out and explore the neighborhood, after all I also need to do some groceries. I come back to Cratloe at around 10 pm and I notice that I'm running on fumes. I excuse myself to Emma and Stella and am off to bed. I really wanted to stay in the kitchen/living room a little longer to get to know them but my mind and body are just forcing me to go to sleep! 

I can't wait to experience all the fun and beautiful things that await for me here!
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Day 2. 
24 - 1 - 2019

I decided to sleep in for a bit, in my opinion I deserved it! But I can't afford to have a day with doing absolutely nothing.

These last few months I have been in contact with the LIT international Liaison Fiona McKie and today we made an appointment to meet up at LIT. Technically the 2nd semester in Ireland had already started a week ago, but because I still had responsibilities back home at that time so I wasn't able to come to Limerick any time sooner. I find Fiona behind a small desk in the main hall, a friendly smile stands up and she introduces herself. It's nice to finally see a face behind the name that I had been in contact with for so long!
She immediately suggests to take me on a tour around the campus and getting me started with the course that I will be following. She tells my I will be following the Digital Marketing, year 1 course and that I will start the next day.

Since basketbal runs through my veins, I ask Fiona if there is a possibility for me to apply for a basketbal team. She tells me I should ask Wayne Flemming at the Student Union. Wayne is the sports-coördinator, he helps students to find their place within the sport they like. I tell him my experience when it comes to basketball and he tells me I can join practice the next day!

I feel proud, it really feels I'm already settling in pretty fast.

I head home and decide to brighten up my room a little bit more. I hang up the photos, posters and other accessories around my room and it really starts to feel like home.

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Day 3. 
25 - 1 - 2019

So I will be following Digital Marketing this 2nd semester, and to be completely honest... I'm quite nervous to start. Not because I don't know anyone yet or because I'm knew to the school, no! But because I have never done anything before in my life that revolves around business or marketing. Fiona had send me my schedule yesterday and I saw that I will be following courses like business statistics, macro economics, management principles etc. But I decided to keep my head up and get started thinking I will just roll with it and in the end I will grasp how everything works.

However, I couldn't have been more wrong! My last lecture finished at 14.00 and I was already freaking out about how in the world I am going to pass every single course. I didn't had a clue about what the lecturers were talking about nor did I know what I needed to do and learn for the exams. So I decided to go to the international office right away and ask Fiona if it was possible for me to change courses. She gave me a few options to look at over the weekend and really think about it.

Not the best start regarding my study at LIT, no! But no need to panic just yet. I head home thinking about a solution to all this.

But I decide to let it rest for now. It's 6 pm and tonight I have my first basketbal practice with LIT's National team. This won't be the team I am going to play games with, but I am allowed to practice with them to work on my level. I get to know some nice fellas and they tell me how it works regarding basketbal in Ireland. I feel content with what lays ahead and I head home feeling really pleased with how my adventure goes so far!

After making dinner I open up my laptop and start watching a movie on Netflix. I notice I'm too tired to finish it anyways, so halfway through I close my laptop, turn around and close my eyes.

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Day 4. 
26 - 1 - 2019

I wake up around 10 am after a good night's sleep. While I'm making breakfast Emma walks in the kitchen. Maybe it's wise to explain how my appartment looks first: the appartment consists of 3 bedrooms of which mine has a bathroom en-suite, 1 shared kitchen/livingroom, 1 shared bathroom for the girls.

So Emma walks in and we start talking. Apparently she has a friend over for a few days called Londeen. And while I'm talking to Emma about my experiences so far here in Limerick and about both our plans for the weekend, Londeen walks in as well. I introduce myself and after a little bit of chit chat he invites me to come with them to the city centre for the day. I accept the invitation and I'm glad that I don't have to go explore the city centre by myself now!

I get dressed real quick and we hop on the next bus that takes us to the city centre. Emma guides the three of us to the Milk Market. This is a small food market in the middle of the high-rise buildings, where they sell all different kinds of food and pastries. The lovely smell is amazing! After the milk market we head into town and go shop hopping. After walking around for a couple of hours we decide to go to a shopping centre just out of town. I still need to buy some things to brighten up my room and the shopping centre has exactly those type of shops where I will find what I'm looking for. 

We get back at Cratloe around 6 pm and Londeen suggests he starts with making dinner and asks me if I want to join him and Emma. For those who really know me well, I can't say no to food so I decide to accept the invite. After dinner we sit down on the couch and after a good couple of hours talking and laughing I look at my watch and see that it's already 11 pm so I thank Londeen for dinner and the both of them for the fun day we've had together.

It's time to head to bed and close my eyes.
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Day 5. 
27 - 1 - 2019

Sunday 11 am. My first real day off since I got here. 

All the new impressions and things that I've already experienced caught up to me and I decide to stay in today and do absolutely nothing. 

Well, not nothing. I decide that it is time for me to start writing the first draft of my travel adventures and with that my very first travel blog is born, the very one you are reading right now! Problem is that I have never done something like this before and I have no idea how to do write such a thing. People who are close to me know that reading and writing in general is just not really my cup of tea.

After walking back and forth in my room thinking about how to start this darn blog, I just randomly pick up the closest notebook near to me and start writing down the things that I've done so far each day. 

But, since it is still my day off I'm starting to justify the fact that I also deserve some time to watch some netflix and just relax a little bit. After all, tomorrow school starts again and the more I think of this, the more I realize that it probably isn't going to be easy.
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Day 6. 
28 - 1 - 2019

The first thing I do before my lectures start is immediately go to the International Office and talk to Fiona. Over the weekend I have been thinking about whether or not I should continue with the digital marketing course or maybe change courses. One of the options Fiona gave me to think about was the social care worker course of which I've gained interest in over the weekend. So I knock on her door, sit down in her office and I explain my situation. Sadly enough, she tells me it won't be possible to change courses for reasons that are still unkown. I leave Fiona's office and I slowly start to panick. I decide to try to calm down first, have a cup of coffee and call my parents about what's going on. So I head off to the student Union and try to relax ther a little bit before my next lecture starts. 

The Student Union is one of many accomodations provided by LIT. It is a building where students can come down and relax. The SU also organizes lots of events for national and international students, and it is a great way to meet new people. 

After the last lecture is finished I decide to let my problems rest for now and pick it up tomorrow again. Maybe the NHL back home has some answers. 

Anyway, I have a good 2 hours of spare time before I have to be at LIT's sports arena for my practise with the varsity team.
LIT has 3 basketbalteams who all play games on a different level. There is a National team, that plays throughout the entirety of Ireland and can be looked at as the best team that LIT has, players in the National team don't necessarily have to attend LIT. 
Then there is the Varsity/college team, this team only consists of students who attend LIT and play against other Varsity teams. 
And last but not least there is a local team. This team consists mostly of students who attend LIT but play at a lower level than the other teams and only face other local teams from Limerick.

I find it quite interesting to see how practicing sports differs so much compared to the Netherlands. Whereas we pretty much only have local sports clubs where you have to an X amount of money each year as contribution to the club in order to play, in Ireland it is more common to practice a sport via the college/university that you are attending. Next to that, if you play for such a college, LIT for example, you don't have to pay any contribution in order to play.

After a good hour of intense practice me and the team head to the dressing room. I notice that, throughout the practice and now in the dressing room as well, I'm keeping a low profile and I find it hard to truly connect with the boys already. But just before I'm about to leave the sports arena someone calls my name. I turn around and find Big Rob standing there. I guess he must've noticed that I was feeling a little bit uncomfortable during practice and he asks me if I would like it to watch the ladies team's match later on in the evening. I hesitate for a second, but then I smile and kindly accept his offer. 

I head home real quick and make myself some mac and cheese and then immediately head back to LIT's sports arena. 
I see Big Rob sitting behind the table keeping track of the time and score. I feel a little bit dissapointed, because the only one I feel I know doesn't have time to talk to me and before I even have the chance to feel alone I look to my left and see Adnan sitting on the bench with someone unkown to me. He calls me over and I introduce myself to Callum. Right away I feel myself home and welcome. After all, if there's is something I can bond over with people, it is basketball. The game is really fun to watch and I'm having a lot of fun with Adnan and Callum. The moment the match is over the boys head over to Big Rob and the girls team. They start talking and introduce me to the rest of the group. I can hear them talking about a party to celebrate the W(in) and Callum asks me if I would like to come as well. 

Callum and I leave the sports hub and we walk back to his house, which is on route back to Cratloe anyways. The moment we arrive back at Cratloe I'm surprised to see that the party I got invited to is just 4 doors down the road. We head over and I start to get to know more and more people. After a couple of hours we all hop in a taxi and are heading to Costelloes. My first pub since I arrived in Limerick. 

I think I can write approximately 2 more pages about how the rest of the evening went, but let's just say we laughed, we danced, we drank and we just had enjoyed ourselves all night long. 

I know I have lectures in the morning but right now... That's just a little bit less important. 

Limerick is slowly starting to feel like home!