Life update!

Wow time truly does fly when you're having fun. It is now the beginning of February and I am finally finding time to update my blog! Since my last update so much has happened and new adventures are unfolding.

1.) Aaron and I completed our whirlwind tour of Europe taking in cities from Belfast to Istanbul and plenty of places in between.  It is so wonderful to be home! Living out of a suitcase gets tedious after a little while.

2.) I'M ENGAGED! Aaron proposed on Christmas Eve while we were in Iceland. I can't wait to spend forever with my bestfriend.

3.)We are back in Palmerston North, living with my Nana while we organise purchasing a house.

4.) I am organised and ready to begin my final undergrad year at Massey University! Can't wait to smash out the remainder of my degree.

I will endeavour to update this blog more regularly now, so stay tuned!

Goodbye Limerick

With my final exam out of the way this evening and the joyful thought that I will never again have to analyse 1750-1850 Irish history, Aaron and I are now packed and ready to depart on the next leg of our adventure.  Thanks mainly to Aaron because apparently I don't clean or pack correctly...

My time here at UL has been an experience, with the ups and downs that come along with living and studying so far from home. It's going to be strange to possibly never see these people again as New Zealand is just so far away from the world for many it is a destination that forever remains unrealised on their bucket list.

From here Aaron and I are off to Belfast in Northern Ireland, before setting off on our European adventure taking in Reykjavik, Paris, Edinburgh, Athens and Amsterdam to name just a few of our many stopovers.  I can't wait to make memories with my best friend.

And then it will be the long journey home, with a short stopover in Australia before arriving in New Zealand on January 20th where I will have time to unwind before semester one 2016 gets underway.

UL Campus

Week eleven of semester starts tomorrow! Where has this semester gone? While there was a break in the rain today (Sunday 15 November) I decided to walk around the campus here at UL and take some photos and videos so the people at home can see where I studied this semester.

There are some pretty unique looking buildings at UL, particularly some of the newer buildings on the other side of the pedestrian living bridge to the main campus.

This is where I live, Plassey Village.  Plassey is one of the on campus accommodation options here at UL, located across the road from the main entrance to campus.  My house has 8 residents who have access to 2 bathroom and one kitchen/living facility.  My housemates this semester come from France, America, Canada, Germany and Finland.

The UL flag poles located at the campus entry.

The Schuman Building where I have classes for Irish Politics and Human Resource Management.

One of the walking paths located near the campus.

The Pedestrian Living Bridge.  This is the longest pedestrian bridge in Ireland.

The Health Sciences Building

The Graduate Entry Medical School where I have lectures for Irish history.

Plassey House.

The walk back to Plassey Village.

As you can see UL is a large a beautiful campus which creates a really nice study environment.

Limerick

Hickory dickory dock,

the mouse ran up the clock;

the clock struck one

and down he run;

hickory dickory dock.

It seemed appropriate to post a limerick considering my current location.  I departed New Zealand on July 14th and have finally made it to Limerick, the original reason for coming to Europe at all.  Only took a month and a half.

Compared so some of the other vibrant cities I've encountered on this adventure Limerick is a lot quieter, smaller and due to the continuous cloud cover, a lot more dull.  However the city isn't without a certain sort of charm.

Outside the Hunt Museum are two colourful horse statues. That's a winner in my books with zero effort.

I'm pretty certain every village, town and city in this part of the world is obliged to have at least one architecturally impressive church.  Limerick is no exception.  Multiple church steeples break the landscape around various parts of the city.  I went into the St Mary's Cathedral which has beautiful stained glass windows.  The church was founded in 1168.  Considering Abel Tasman didn't sight New Zealand until 1642, and James Cook didn't visit until 1769 it puts into perspective how young New Zealand really is.

King John's Castle sits alongside the River Shannon.  The site of the castle dates back to when Vikings lived on the island, but the actual castle was built during the reign of King John in the 13th century.

This semester I am living in one of the universities residential villages, Plassey Village.  Move in day made me feel a little sad because everyone was arriving with their families and unpacking their car loads of stuff, similar to how I was in first year in Wellington.  And I arrived by myself in a taxi with my suitcase and backpack. Sigh.

My room set up, ft. NZ pride

Monday of orientation started with a coffee morning with other international students.  I met two girls from the Netherlands and a girl from Canada who I spent to remainder of the day with.  In the afternoon we took the bus provided for international students to the Parkway shopping centre where I purchased a few essential items like a pillow and duvet so I could return the ones Plassey Village had lent to me.

In the evening we went to the campus bar, The Stables Club and had a few ciders to end a good first day at UL.

Orientation week is nice and relaxed here at Limerick University.  International students are given plenty of time to make friends and find their feet in a new university environment, as well as in a new city and country.  So far I've had a great experience.  The people I've been meeting are awesome!  I have roommates from across the world (Canada, Germany, Finland, America and France).  Looking forward to attending some lectures come Monday!