While still adjusting to our new school, and the fact that our schedule is not quite yet set in stone, we have shown up to a few classes that were cancelled. Fortunately for us though, Waterford’s City Centre is less than a ten minute walk away so we have found ourselves wandering around town in our free time. As a result, we have gotten to know one store in particular, Penneys, fairly well. Penneys would be comparable to Winners in Canada; cheap and great on a budget. After walking back and forth from school in the torrential rain, we soon realized that we had not packed adequate clothing for surviving the Irish weather, so needless to say, we have made quite a few purchases from Penneys.
Waterford Clock
For people wanting to stay in Ireland for over 90 days, it is mandatory to meet with the Irish Garda to discuss the reasoning behind your stay. Our appointment with the Waterford Garda was extremely nerve wracking as we had heard a few horror stories of students not being prepared, and not bringing the right documents. When the day came, we eagerly awaited our names to be called and went over our documents more than enough times to triple check everything was in order. We were surprised to find that the appointment was discussed in an open room, in front of everyone in the waiting room, which made it even more stressful.
Thirty minutes after our arrival, and 300 euro each later, we were granted student status cards and were set on our way. The only downside is we have to wait for our official cards to be sent to the Garda and until we receive the hard copy, we are not allowed to leave on any weekend trips outside of Ireland.
For students in Waterford, the big nights out are Monday and Wednesday nights, instead of Friday and Saturday like in Canada. This was quite interesting to us, considering we have classes every day of the week. As we haven’t wanted to miss out on anything, we have gone to a couple of events which have been fun. On the WIT student exchange Facebook page, events are always posted as a “can’t miss event”, yet they all seem to be similar to one another; drinking alcohol and dancing. As well, “Fresher’s Week,” a week for students to “let loose” and have fun, is fast approaching which means that the nightlife in Waterford City will be booming.
One of our friends, Chelsea, who is from Atlanta, Georgia, luckily lives in the apartment block right next to ours which means that we find ourselves together most days, and usually end up making dinners together. We seem to be eating a lot of rice and vegetables as they are quite inexpensive here, and because our kitchens are quite small, with the ovens even smaller, we only have a limited space to cook. But hey, the saying “rice is nice and half the price” is true to its word. The only good side to all the carbohydrates we’re consuming is the fact that we were able to join the local gym, and with it being less than a five minute walk away, we find ourselves there a lot.
Side Street in Waterford
One of the hardest adjustments in Ireland so far, as silly as it may sound and despite the numerous warnings from Steve McCartney, is crossing the road. The cars travel on the opposite side of the road than in Canada, and it’s something that we’re just not used to. After one of us having an extremely close call, it’s now a matter of us twisting our heads back and forth, excessively, to make sure of the intentions of the cars around us before jeopardizing our lives to cross the road. The streets are much narrower compared to Vancouver roads, which makes it all the more interesting to watch cars pass one another at high rates of speed and wonder how they are able to do so. We wondered why we haven’t seen any trucks while we’ve been here, but we’re beginning to understand why now. Needless to say, we will not be renting a car anytime soon.
Until next week, Jaymi and Connie.
JIBC & Waterford Student Exchange 