Arrival and First Few Days!

I finally arrived in Limerick on Sunday and now have full access to internet in my "flat"! Things have been extremely excited the past few days - filled with tons of fun and meeting some new people. So here are some highlights:

My Flatmates:
I have 3 other housemates (or roommates as we call them in the United States) - a girl from California, a girl from France, and a boy from Ireland! Housing at the University of Limerick is coed. They are all very nice and social. I am helping my French roommate with translating a bit as it has been difficult for her to understand the Irish accents.

Our Flat
We live in a 2-story town-home-like apartment with two rooms upstairs, two downstairs, and a common living room and kitchen area. The University is organized in villages- ours is called Plassey Village. It is known for housing many international students.

New Friends
Today there was a meet-and-greet coffee social on campus for the international students. I met people from Iran, Turkey, China, the Netherlands, France, and Italy. For the rest of the day, my new Italian friends, roommates, and I went down to the City Center (in Limerick- the campus is technically in a city called Castletroy) to go shopping and eat lunch. Later on we went to an Irish music festival, also for the international students, at a pub on campus. I made some new German friends who play soccer!

Weather and Ireland
Ireland is beautiful and weirdly enough, I think all of us foreigners brought the sun with us! We were wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts yesterday and today- for those who do not know, this is extremely abnormal for Ireland. I am trying not to get used to it. The cold weather will be upon us very very soon.

Tips for Travelers:

• This may sound like a simple thing, but it really makes a difference: try to speak very clearly with students from non-English speaking countries and avoid slang or slurring words as much as possible. 
• I have become a translator for Italian friends, my French roommate, and others. It is very difficult not only to understand the Irish, but even some Americans who talk to fast and with phrases they do not understand. My friend Claudia told me today "learning English would be so much easier if everyone talked like you!" So we have agreed that I will be her translator if she will teach me Italian. (not sure how learning Italian will work out :/ but I will try!)
• Everyone is very willing to learn, though! A German friend keeps a notebook with him to write down English words he does not know and then looks them up later. 

**Notes: Please feel free to comment if you would like to hear anything else about my trip. Pictures coming soon!!