When I first arrived at Griffith College we still had around a week before classes started. Back home I would have probably taken this time to stay inside and mentally prepare myself for the coming semester. This is not the case for when you are studying abroad! This is your first chance to go out and meet other students going to your university and make friends with the people you will be stuck with for a semester, this is why rule 3 is so important Your first week should not include the word NO!
When you are in a new country it may be difficult to make new friends as you may feel very alone, the thing to remember is that most people who are here are in the same situation. Griffith College of Dublin does a very good job of offering great ways to meet other students, there are constantly parties being thrown and clubs that are meeting. It would almost be tough to not find people with similar interests as you unless you keep saying NO to the opportunities to meet others. The other thing that Griffith does (I am not sure if this on purpose or just a coincidence) is attempt to pair you with a roommate from a different culture. My current roommate is a fantastic German fellow, who keeps getting song lyrics stuck in my head! [Insert catchy song lyrics from Queen or Christmas tunes]. Your roommate will be a life-line if you decide to go to these parties as it is very easy to get overwhelmed trying to break into a huge group but if you go with a friend it always becomes easier.
For me I was very lucky to have come over with a great program from the States which required us to at least all meet up for lunch a couple times before classes really got started. I also was lucky to have someone like Olwyn who wanted us all to all stay in close contact so no one would get left out. The group that came with me has become a very close group of friends, none of us knew each other before flying over here, even though some of us go to the same university (GO CATS!). We all left our lives behind in the states to come over to Dublin, we were all alone, we were all scared of what the future held, we were all in the exact same boat, and there is nothing that can make you become friends faster than if you are all in the same situation. When it came to meeting up it was difficult because we really had no ideas of where to go and what to do, so we asked Olwyn, she was able to provide with a general idea of where to go and we took it upon ourselves to go out and explore.
Courtesy of Ellza Hines.
I think that if I had said NO to any of these opportunities I would be homesick by this point in the semester, I would have thought that going abroad might have been a mistake, I would just be counting down the days till I got home, instead I said yes. I have had so much fun this semester and it isn’t even close to being over!
Best Regards,
James Kleine-Kracht, World Traveler.
“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train.” — Oscar Wilde
Constant Student 