Week 11: November 22nd

New Friends. Student Ambassador Training Program. New Hair.

Thursday was an alright day. I bonded with a fellow Canadian, who as it turns out, is also pretty "woke" and up to date on current events. It was really nice to chat with someone with the same interests and views as myself. The day involved equal parts working on final projects, and being lazy, which was a nice change given the busy week. I had a low key evening with Netflix, and hot chocolate (shocking, I know), and slept in Friday morning. After getting groceries, and finally putting time on my phone, I sat down with Emma to finally finish our economics paper. We were really productive for about four hours, then had a dinner break, and got back at it for a few more hours, before rewarding ourselves with Netflix. Our economics professor extended the deadline for this paper from Friday, November 17, to the following Monday, giving us extra time. I'm really proud of Emma, and I because we didn't use this extra time to procrastinate, we got the paper done by Friday. I sent it to my Aunt to edit, and we felt really good about handing it in on Monday.

Saturday, I was awake at 5am to head to Dublin for the day to participate in the "International Student Ambassador Training Day" with students from across Ireland. The train to Dublin left Sligo at 7am, and I spent the entire three hours working on my paper. I was really shocked that I was able to be productive so early in the morning. I arrived to the hotel in Dublin and got a chance to chat with some of the students there. We then went on a group viking tour. It was one of those land and water tours, and it was absolutely freezing. The tour guide said I looked really cold, and brought me his jacket. After the tour we headed back to the hotel for lunch, which wasn't great. Luckily, I had packed my own back up lunch, because I'm a picky eater. I made some friends from schools all over the country and once the training session was over, we decided to hangout longer. We spent some time on Grafton street, and watched some street performers, and then had dinner together before we all had to head home. The Student Ambassador Program holds events throughout the year for all of the ambassadors including trips, and zip lining so I'm really looking forward to that. There's also a ceremony in April to receive a certificate from government officials to say I have completed the program.

Sunday, I spent the day revising my economics paper. My Aunt had edited for me, and made a ton of comments, so I adjusted it accordingly. It was really helpful to have another set of eyes on our work. She also has some knowledge on economics, so it was helpful to know that what we were saying made sense as well. I did boring adult things, worked out, cleaned, and went grocery shopping. Or I was supposed to go grocery shopping, but I got all the way there and realized I forgot my wallet. So I walked all the way into town for no reason.

Monday, the only notable thing really was that my new friend gave me an advent calendar. She's been complaining that I'm telling everyone, but isn't that the cutest thing you've ever heard? Tuesday, I had an appointment to get my hair done. A friend introduced me to his friend who is in the hair program at the college. She did her first set of highlights on me, and it turned out amazing. I'm thrilled to not have roots anymore.

Tuesday, and Wednesday nights were spent in the library. My blog posts are really boring lately, and I apologize but it's just that time of year. I have a final paper for services marketing due tomorrow, and an interview for my professional development class. I was having a hard time today anxiety wise and really wanted to go home. Mid-lecture Emma could tell I was struggling a bit, and handed me a piece of paper with ABC's written across the top. She's referring to my coping strategy of choosing a topic (usually places, or animals, sometimes artists or songs if I'm feeling adventurous) and writing out one for every letter of the alphabet. What an absolute angel she is. I don't know how I would be dealing with all this without her. I have met lots of international students who came to Ireland all alone, and I really can't imagine. Emma has been my rock from the beginning.