Halloween

Where I am from (Zimbabwe), Halloween is not a big deal. Kids don’t dress up and go trick or treating. There are no pop-up costume shops. The grocery shops don’t dedicate an aisle to decorations and masks and sweets. I remember asking what Halloween was when I was younger, and my mom said that it was the night when ghosts roamed. I concluded that it was best to stay inside. ...

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Kelly, Pennsylvania, USA

Maynooth living and studying was very different from my home University. I did not know what to expect when coming over from the United States. At home, my University is somewhat bigger, so the first rule of thumb is I was expecting to have to walk a lot further to get to my classes. I like that all my classes were close by because it made it easier to get ...

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Kehkashan, India

MA in Anthropology and development  1.      How different was living in Maynooth, Ireland and studying at Maynooth University from life in your home country?  People make the difference in Ireland, especially at Maynooth. I have travelled quite on business purposes before, however, I did not find the warmth, the ease in people which I found in Ireland. My home country is India and I love the warmth I feel in India. Saying that, the difference from ...

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Noémie, Rennes, France

Politics, Rennes 2 in Brittany Question 1 : Here, it is most expensive to live here than in France (rent and food in general). Moreover, the alcohol is more expensive as well! The most annoying part for me here was to live with a host family because it is really hard to find a place to live here. I’m lucky to have found a place in Maynooth itself, which is quite rare. ...

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Seeing More of Ireland

After January exams, I had some time before starting classes again and I decided to use the opportunity to see more of Ireland. To get to Galway, I journeyed almost directly across the country from east to west by bus. I was interested in Galway because the National University of Ireland Galway was my second-choice university, after Maynooth of course. After seeing th e city, I think I could have been ...

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Felipe, Brazil

Felipe, Brazil

I had my first contact with Maynooth University in 2013, when I started an English course with the language centre. I stayed on for another year studying biotechnology and returned to the University in 2016 to pursue my PhD in Biology. Since the beginning I have only had good experiences. The University allowed me to specialize in my field and to network with companies and other members of society. From ...

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A Day in the Life of an International Undergrad Student

The question I get asked most often from both Irish and American friends is how my daily life is different in Ireland compared to the United States. A typical day for me living in Ireland is drastically different than in the United States. To be honest, I’d say that the biggest difference would be my eating habits. While living in Ireland, I can’t indulge myself with Taco Bell (my favorite ...

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A tale of beginnings and endings

I've now gone through the leaving-someplace-I-love process more times than I'd care to remember. And let me tell you – it never gets easier, at least for me. This time around it was even harder than four years ago, at the Erasmus exchange. Back then, we all left to our various home countries, but now, I left all of my newly made and amazing friends behind, and it still aches.   Ok, ...

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A month of Irish Summer

It wasn’t the whole month of May, only a last couple of weeks and the first part of June, but we experienced the Irish Summer in its full and undimmed glory! There was sunshine, blue skies, shorts, sleeping with open windows, open-toed shoes and visits to beach (and also sunburnt cheeks on my part), all enjoyed in the divine temperatures of around 20°C. You might ask yourself why I spend ...

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