Tip o' the Scale

Oh good day to ye all!!!

    Tis a wee bit sad that it has been about two weeks and I am still up at 2:30 in the bloody a.m. writing a blog trying to get sleepy. I am hopeful that the sleep adjustment will come . . . sooner would be preferred to later. LOL! Quite a bit has happened since my last blog and I am sure you are going to enjoy all my discoveries and fun-filled frenzies.

     First and foremost, I have an extremely important announcement to make. One that I am sure will please the pants off of more than half of you. Can you handle this momentous, milestone of a moment? The main event has indeed come to peek it's head into my 'non-rebellious' life . . . I DRANK MY FIRST BEER!!!!!! Yes, I, Briana (Breezy) Moser have tasted what some would call the 'Mac Daddy' of all beers in Ireland . . . A Guinnesss. And all I have to say is NAYASTY! I love that I can say I drank my first beer in Ireland, but after trying Guinness, Corona, Blue Moon, and a variety of other foreign beers I can't pronounce or spell the brand of, I can say that I absolutely do not like it. Bleh! However, I have discovered I enjoy hard alcohol and of course the chic beers everyone makes fun of you for drinking because it tastes like juice and only has about 4% alcohol in it. :) As a final note in this topic . . . No, I have not, nor do I plan on getting 'shmammered'.

     Enough about my discovery into the world of drinking, on to my adventures and observations over the course of the last week. We'll start with my slaps in the face I have encountered while adjusting to cracked out European life. Or in a more polite way, the little details of Irish life that have taken a little longer to come to terms with. First, the fact that in the gym I have to figure out my weights in kilograms and my speed and distance in kilometers . . . what a joyful treat, let me tell ya. Second, the currency that not only eats american dollars for lunch (aka - our money is worth pittance here), but also is made up of a million coins that don't even coordinate their worth to match the size of the coins!!!! Stupid pounds and pence! Third, there are no T.V.'s and when there are . . . all Soccer channels. Dumb. Fourth, there is literally zero Wi-Fi. And Fifth, and finally, men wearing shorts that are (WAYYYYYYY) way too short for them in the gym . . . it's literally like watching guys run in speedo's. *Cue: Breezy stabs eyes out of head to stop the burn

     I am finally picking up more on the lingo and enjoying the little things the Irish say like instead of 'Good' they say 'Brilliant' and instead of 'knock on wood' they say 'touch wood'. Other little things like how they same time, has been entertaining to get used to. Instead of saying 3:30, they would say "Half-Tree." Or 'Half Nine' for 9:30. A pint is referred to as a scoop or a jar, a poke is an ice cream cone, snattered is another word for intoxicated, and they say cheerio instead of goodbye. My favorite slang is that even if it is a complete stranger . . . they call me Hun or Love. (Heaven!)

     Courses here are complicated to pull together, and I'm not quite done organizing all my modules, but it looks like I will only have courses from Tues-Thurs!!!! I am for sure taking Advertising and Interpersonal Communication, the two I am figuring out are Communication in Groups and Narrative & Motion . . . I'll let you know how that all turns out. But I've learned quickly that class room etiquette and campus rules here are very diff. from home, the biggest differences: a) nothing starts on time b) interruptions/distractions during lecture are overlooked and let slide c) being specific about assignments and reading are apparently unheard of d) NO ONE USES LAPTOPS! Pen and paper are apparently huge here e) there is a bar and dance club on campus . . . (I know right! I have literally seen kids walking around campus with open beer bottles) f) You can drink in your flats/rooms and the most entertaining thing . . . g) I am literally a giant here. I kid you not, in all my classes I am the tallest (not only girl, but person) by at least 3 inches. Girls in 4 inch heels still only come up to my shoulder. So to say I stick out a little and get stared at a lot . . . slight understatement!

     I have been going to many dance clubs and pubs like The Box, Laverey's, The Crown and MClub to name a few and this last Sunday a group of us went to Jon Harvey's Pub and drank some pints while listening to LIVE traditional Irish Music (to say my heart was happy wouldn't even begin to describe it). This week will be full of exploring Belfast and Jordanstown and hopefully visiting Belfast Castle!!! We are slowly learning where to find the cinema's, shopping centers, good food (like Mexican and Sushi and Irish), and convenience stores . . . not to mention Belfast's best kept secret Pubs and Restaurants!!!!

     Joining the campus youth group iCaf has been great and the Chaplaincy feeds us lunch every Tuesday, God Bless them :) They know what poor, starving international students enjoy and need lol! I am still looking into joining some clubs/events, joining a church (attending a traditional Irish Catholic Mass at least once), and trying to figure out future travels and day trips. Budgeting has been a real eye opener and a skill I will get acclimated to very quickly if I hope to survive haha!

     My flatmates and several locals/other international students celebrated one of my flatmate's (Marionella - from Venezuela) birthday monday night and all six of us girls are going on  a day trip to Belfast tomorrow. They really are warm, cheery, and pleasant girls. It is going to be great getting to know them and travel with them. Both of the girls that live in Ireland (one further North and one from the Republic of Ireland) have invited me to stay with them at some point while I am here, which I am REALLY excited about!!! (in case you couldn't tell haha)

     Well, those are my bits and pieces for you this time around!!!! I hope you all have a great week and enjoy the read!!! Click to actually become a follower and supporter of my blog :) And a final note: Prayers for strength, sleep, and health would be much appreciate. I love you all and wish you the best from my post here in Ireland!

Cheers!!

Breezy