欢迎来到戈尔韦

虽然我还没有拿起小提琴, or play tag in a far-off field with some sheep, 我的第一个星期 在戈尔韦留学在美国，爱尔兰当然不是平静的. I hopped off my red-eye plane at Shannon Airport in utter disbelief that I am actually here––for the next four months. My mission to see everything was suddenly ignited before my flight even came to a complete stop. 而且，这个传说是真的. It’s not a myth: 爱尔兰 is breathtaking and beautiful, and the grass is definitely greener on the other side. Lo and behold: here is a list of the five greatest things that I saw and experienced during 我的第一个星期 as a NUI 高威 girl; however, let the record show that this particular list is probably interchangeable with almost everything here.

5. 高威国立大学的四合院

I really just had to visit this during orientation. 不仅仅是因为天气晴朗, but because I was determined to finally see this picturesque capstone of my new university in the flesh. 早在我到来之前, 我痴迷地跟踪在戈尔韦拍摄的照片, and I discovered many students standing in front of this specific building. It’s almost like it was designed with the future of Instagram in mind (#nofilternecessary). 这种环境不仅能让人平静下来, but a sample of the beauty envisioned whenever I would think of 爱尔兰.

4. 农贸市场，Ft. 甜甜圈男

托马斯。, 戈尔韦的东航项目主管, 我的团队很珍惜他, taught us how to maneuver our ways through Eyre Square, 主城中心, 作为周末欢迎活动的一部分. 然而, while we enjoyed walking along the stone-coated streets and seeing new sights in daylight, some of us were pretty hungry––until we met yet another new person. Please pardon my taking this time to ask: do you know the doughnut man? 好吧, when 托马斯。 brought us to a bustling street market, he left us to explore the lined shops for a few minutes. 然后, he casually bought us Boychik Doughnuts without letting us know that our lives would be forever changed. These doughnuts are a key definition of the word “delicious,“就在此时此地, I found myself not only immersed in the Irish culture, 还有肉桂甜甜圈. We watched this man craft slices of heaven before our very eyes without our initial knowledge.

3. Sult的卡拉ok之夜，大学酒吧 

我不会对卡拉ok说不, 所以这并不是我尝试过的新事物, but it was my first time belting Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” in Europe, 我真的停不下来. I can tell that this semester is going to be more than all right, and this night was a grand start to what 高威 is all about: a vibrant community that cheers one another on. I even performed this song with a girl I had just met five minutes before, and I now look at her as a potential friend for life. 无论是在酒吧还是在街上, 音乐鼓舞着戈尔韦人民的精神, 它从不错过任何一个节拍.

2. J约翰康尼利公司. 在罗辛大教堂 

漫步在戈尔韦的长步道上, a few gals and I ran into a kindhearted woman who was playing with her puppy by the bay, 她邀请我们去看她的朋友, 约翰Conneely, 在那个星期天晚上演出. Even though his performance didn’t begin until midnight, we still went. 而音乐一开始是柔和的, it eventually evolved into a passionate and electrified soiree, with all different cultures and smiles intermingling within the central dance space.

1. 新星酒吧的音乐之夜

Another legend is true: the Irish are actually the friendliest people. After only knowing my “flatmate” for one night, she invited me out with her friends to a musical night at Nova Bar, 里面有《宝博体育》里的歌, 《宝博体育》和《律政俏佳人. Omigod, omigod, you guys, this was seriously so much fun! I am truly glad that I am now able to surround myself with people of my heritage. I became a part of their night in Eyre Square, and they didn’t once make me feel misplaced. 无论我走到哪里, I feel like I already belong -- and by choosing 高威, 我搬到了离海洋更近的地方, 但在生活中离浅滩越远.

就像这一天著名的戈尔韦湾, 未来是不明确的和模糊的, 然而令人兴奋和完全值得. Here, where the sky meets the sea, even more adventure calls after me. 现在看着我潜入.