First Days of Classes

My classes are going well so far.  In two of my classes we will be taking field trips to archaeological sites in the area.  One is just a one day field trip to the north of Galway, but the other is going to be two days to the Hill of Tara and the surrounding sites.

I walked around the bay of Galway yesterday, so here are a couple pictures from that excursion:

 Two swans hanging out in the canal outside my apartment

 This is where the River Corrib meets the ocean.  The tall building with the green roof is the Cathedral.

 This is the river's exit into the bay

 Looking back onto Galway

 The Bay

 The building is at the end of the causeway.  I didn't make it out there because it was really windy. I think it is a light house.

 The first Ironman ever held in Ireland was held in Galway a couple days ago.  It was so windy and the sea was so choppy they had to shorten the swimming stretch of the race.

 This is all a five minute walk from my apartment.

A cute row of Irish houses.

The First Week

I moved into my apartment on Wednesday, August 30th.  I also took a tour of the campus that day and learned where the library and the main lecture halls were located.  That night I went out to a pub and met up with a few of the other international students, mostly Americans and Germans.  On Thursday I went to my first day of orientation were we talked about safety, Irish customs, and the other technicalities of being in Ireland.  Friday we talked about the courses for the upcoming year and what classes we want to sign up for.  I'm not officially registered for any classes, but here are the ones I'm planning on taking.  I might take a Gaelic for Beginners class, but I haven't decided:

1. Castles, Colonists and Crannogs
2. Public Archaeology
3. Europe in the Bronze Age
4. Landscape of Cult and Kingship
5. Aspects of Modern Irish History
6. Irish Art from the Early Iron Age to the 8th Century AD

If I decide to take Gaelic I will drop one of these courses, since its standard to take six courses a semester.  Today, Saturday, and yesterday I did a bit more shopping, picking up things like trash bags, food, and laundry soap, not very exciting, but very necessary.  Here are some pictures of Galway:

 This my Kitchen in my apartment.

 This is the view from the balcony

 Also the view from the Balcony.

 Again the view from the balcony.

 I walk along this canal on my way to school.

 This is my apartment complex.

 Another picture of the beautiful canal that runs through the city.

 This is the central building on the NUI Galway campus.

 Some other buildings on campus.

 This is the center for Gaelic studies.  It has a restaurant inside where you can only speak Gaelic

 A canal that runs through campus.

 The Galway Cathedral

 The River Corrib

My Blog

Okay, so I'm going to try and keep this updated while I'm abroad and post pictures and what I'm doing so all of you can see it with out using Facebook.  Hopefully I can update it at least once a week and maybe more, but this way you all can keep up with me.  I love all of you!!