What a wonderful weekend...

I had the most wonderful weekend - busy and filled with lots of adventure and confusion at times, but altogether wonderful!

Friday:
Friday morning we had a couple more hours of orientation meetings. A lot of the information was just a repeat of the day before. We did have a new presentation from the local constable about crime prevention. He handed out these mouse key chains that have a flashlight and alarm built into them. So don't worry mom and dad, I have everything I need to be safe now! After orientation I came back to my room to figure out what classes I was going to take and then I headed off to meet my studies adviser, Mr. Pyper, to finalize the registration process. I decided on Management of Change, Managing Behaviour, and Business Strategy as my three modules or courses. Previously, I thought the registration process at Grove City was bad, but I have since changed my mind. In order to complete registration here, I had to get an enrollment form from the international office, then I had to meet with my adviser, then I had to get the form stamped by the Ulster Business School Faculty, then I had to register online, then I had to go to the Finance Department and finally I had to go to the registry to process the paper work and get my student ID card made. As I'm writing this on Sunday, I've only completed half of the steps. But no one here seems to be in any rush to get registration taken care of, so I'm not stressing myself out about it.

After partially taking care of registration, I came back to my flat for a bite to eat and then four of us took a cab to Abbey Centre to pick up a few more groceries at Tesco and also to get cell phones. Everything is so confusing in a foreign country! Trying to get a SIM card for my roommate Emily's cell phone involved stopping at two different shopping centres and took nearly two hours! But she finally found what she was looking for, and after some additional confusion as to where the taxi was going to pick us up, we finally made it back to campus.

That night we headed over to fellow-Grover, Bethany McCune's apartment and were treated to a lovely cup of tea with milk (very Irish) by her roommate Jordan, who happens to live just a half hour away from Bethany in PA. Since we don't have television in our flat, we took full advantage of the TV and DVD selection at Bethany's and kicked back for a viewing of the classic Julia Roberts-Richard Gere flick, Pretty Woman. Oddly enough, our dear Austrian male-friend, Bernie, had seen the film more than most of us girls. We also enjoyed a competitive game of spoons before heading back to our flat for a couple of drinks and then bed.

Saturday:
We all decided to skip the alarm clocks on Saturday morning and sleep in. When we all got up at around 11:30, we packed lunches and headed to Loughshore Park, just across the street from the Jordanstown Campus. It was a crisp, cool, and wonderfully sunny morning, perfect for the adventures we had planned. We walked along the shores of the lough and then planted ourselves on the benches along the beach for a nice picnic breakfast/lunch. Then it was a short walk to the train station for a ride to Carrickfergus. Carrickfergus is a small town just up the shore of the lake from Jordanstown. When we got off the train and out of the station we were greeted by quaint little buildings and the sight of the North Gate - part of the original walls of the village a few hundred years ago. The main reason for coming to Carrickfergus was a few more blocks walking distance away, right on the shore of the lake...Carrickfergus Castle. Yes, that's right, I spent my Saturday afternoon touring the remains of a castle!!! The view from the castle walls was spectacular - you could see the shore on the opposite side of the lake, the Mourne Mountains in the distance and the town of Carrickfergus stretching along the shoreline. The thing that struck me the most was that I was standing in a structure built hundreds of years ago that now sits next to a marina and is surrounded by modern civilization. All of us enjoyed storytelling time and music in the castle, and then it was back to town to stop by St. Nicholas' Church, which is also a few hundred years old. Unfortunately, the church was not open for tours, but we got to walk around the building through the graveyard that surrounds it. This graveyard was exactly like something you'd see in a scary movie - just picturing it on a dark, foggy night gave me the chills! The rest of Saturday was spent taking the train back to Jordanstown and then enjoying a few drinks and card games in our flat before heading off to bed. Oh, and I was able to watch a full episode of Law and Order on YouTube...my first taste of American TV since arriving! Yippee!

Alright, I know I still have to write about Sunday, but other adventures are calling...