A Day in the Life of a UCC Early-Start Student

You listen, yu look, you are served free food.

Class begins at 9:30 am. You are on time, despite lingering jet lag and a late night of "pub hopping." Your classroom has floor to ceiling windows with a view of half the city, the upward slope of this side of the bowl of the valley, including the thin street along the wharf that leads to your salmon-pink apartment building. Your professor arrives. She introduced herself at orientation and you already like her; no one here has to try very hard to charm you, the Irish accent alone goes a long way. She pronounces your last name correctly as she takes roll. She spends forty-five minutes reviewing the course description. You learn:

- You will have four "field trips" around Ireland and other activities. They include a trip to Inis Meain, a fishing village where the populace still speaks Gaelic primarily, where Irish writer Synge spent time more than one hundred years ago reflecting and writing. Your sole assignment during the three day trip will be to do the same - and eat what are apparently generous amounts of food. Travel expenses, accomodation and food are all provided during class excursions.

- You will see "Riverdance" and have dinner in Killarney.

- You will attend a dinner theater production of Waiting for Godot at a famous theater in Cork.

There is a break one hour after class commences - a coffee break, which is part of the class schedule. During this half hour you buy affordable coffee downstairs and chat with classmates. You agree that to take advantage of one-way free trips to Galway and Killarney, you should stay after the class trips end and spend the weekends exploring these areas on your own.

Back in "class," your professor gives you tourism advice. Ryanair, she discloses, often has one euro or one cent flights (plus about 20 euro tax) to fill seats on flights into Europe - Spain, Amsterdam, London - when you book them early. Travel begins to seem exciting and entirely possible. After fielding some questions she dismisses your class. You have your picture taken for your university ID, set up your UCC email, and wander around downtown with classmates before reconvening to see the city's art museum exhibits. Part of class today is dinner, so you are free to make selections from the 30 euro set menu at the restaurant across the street. You have delicious garlic baguette, some sort of bean-based entree (you are a vegetarian now) and tiramisu. "Early birds" on Mondays have the option of splitting a bottle of the house wine for five euro, so you partake. You are, after all, only going to live in Ireland once.

During the regular semester classes will be primarily Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with rare exceptions, which will make four day weekends a regular event. You realize as you do course research that you might be able to fit in a life science credit - all your Kansas University still requires of you before you are able to graduate.

You have had a very good day. Class until 11:30 am tomorrow and Thursday, and another field trip and meal Friday, and you will have completed your first week as an Irish student. Life is difficult.