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. ...
Read MoreMaynooth 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 ...
Read MoreMA 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 ...
Read MorePolitics, 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. ...
Read MoreAfter 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 ...
Read MoreI 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 ...
Read MoreI have become fairly familiar with airports. When I leave home destined for Dublin, I look forward to the freedom I have in Ireland to live my life completely independently. I get to decide what I eat every day, what I do in my free time, and I can pursue my degree whole-heartedly. I also know that I will miss my family and my cats and having the comforts of ...
Read MoreThe 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 ...
Read MoreI'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, ...
Read MoreIt 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 ...
Read More