And...... GO!

Another glorious day of sunshine!! This is the view from our little living room. We actually have a nice view of the west side when the sky isn't clouded in mist or rain. Fortunately though, I'm adjusting to the weather. Actually I think I'm finally adjusting to a lot of things. I woke up this morning feeling quite rested and not freezing! I would hope that after sleeping almost all day on Saturday (oops?) I would be mostly over the jet lag. I'm getting used to the weather too. The first day we got here was miserable because it wasn't quite raining but the air was just think with moisture and since then the days have been pretty nice Occasional showers are expected, so I've learned to enjoy the time in between and also relish my time walking in the Galway rain =)

Classes started yesterday! I didn't have any lectures, but I have two today. So to avoid another day of sleeping like Saturday, I went in to campus just to walk around, find some of my classes and just see the campus in full swing the with Irish students back. It was a completely different place! When we were there last week the place seemed dead and quiet because everyone was still on break, but yesterday there were students everywhere. It was a bit overwhelming, but I stuck with a couple students from Dunaras, our housing complex, and a few Concordia students. It was nice to be able to recognize a few faces whether they were other international students we'd had orientation with the previous weeks or some of the Irish students and staff that welcomed us during Orientation.

That's the outside of the cathedral. I didn't know if we
were allowed to take pictures inside, so I didn't.

While we were waiting for a few girls to be done with class, Becca, Jelmer (our Dutch friend from the Netherlands) and I toured the Galway Cathedral. It was a beautiful old building. The frescoes and mosaics in this place were breathtaking! Each of the four main areas had its own masterpiece as well as a station to light a candle in remembrance.

Since we've been here, it has been pretty obvious that we're the Americans. Aside from looking confused most of the time, I've learned from some of the Irish people I've met that there are a few things that make us stick out right away. First is the way we dress. Apparently there is a specific style of boot that Irish people either don't buy or don't have access to that most Americans bring with them. Stylish boots and rain boots. One of the Irish girls I met yesterday said "Yeah, we're pretty impractical when we dress. We don't wear rain jackets, we don't wear wellies (rain boots)." In regards to regular attire, Americans seem a lot more casual in everyday dress than the Irish, especially the girls. What we would wear out to a bar or just looking cute for a dinner with friends is what the Irish girls normally wear to class. What we would consider semi-formal, like nice dresses and heels, is what the Irish girls wear to the pubs. Super fancy compared to use girls who walk into the pub in a sweater and a scarf! I would love to move past the awkward foreigner stage of not knowing where or how to do things, but as far as my dress code goes, I'm fine being the American.