I think I've finally got my classes figured out. The Irish language course conflicts with just about everything else, so I guess I'll just learn Irish some other time. I'm taking 7 courses, which are 30 credits and supposedly equal to a full course load at Williams. However, I only have five courses that I go to regularly right now. Here's what I'm taking:

• Intro to Biblical Greek This has been my favorite course so far, mainly because I love languages so much. The class is also really small, and mostly men working towards their MDiv. St. Patrick's was a seminary long before the Arts school became a part of the National University of Ireland, and they still have a strong theology school with 3 different undergraduate degrees, graduate programs, and a few seminarians.
• Paul: Rabbi and Convert, Apostle and Pastor The professor for this class is really intense, and it's for 3rd Year students, which is the last year in Irish universities. Right now we're reviewing a lot that was covered in my Early Christianity course last fall, so I don't feel like I'm in over my head yet.
• From Eden to Exile: Introduction to the Old Testament The professor for this course didn't actually show up today, so I know nothing about it.
• Introducing the Ancient Celts This is the intro course in the Celtic Studies program. A lot of my friends from IFSA Butler are in it, and it seems like a good survey of early Irish and Celtic history. It too reminds me of my Early Christianity course in that, despite the title, the professor is adamant that there was no such thing as a Celt.
• The Tain and Satire in Early Irish Literature Another fairly small class, with a good representation of Butler students. The Tain is the big Irish saga, and I read most of it as part of my saga "independent study" freshman year. The course actually meets for 4 hours a week, instead of the usual 2, but only lasts six weeks.
• Ireland 431-800 This course starts up when The Tain stops, so I won't know anything about it until November. I think mostly the same people take the two classes.
• New Testament Theology and Doctrine This course apparently meets for one week only, in October, for two hours every day, and counts for half of a normal course. I need it to balance out the Greek, which also counts for half. It is taught by a visiting professor from Oxford who can only be here for a week, apparently.

In addition to the class hours, many of my courses have tutorials that meet every few weeks. Apart from the Greek, which has regular quizzes, assessment is based entirely on one or two essays. Irish students do basically no work until the night before their essays are due. I'm hoping to stay more on top of things, as I don't have regular problem sets and assigned readings to keep me occupied. Irish students also generally don't buy books. Reading lists are just suggestions for research for papers, so they go to the library when necessary. I think I'll end up buying a few important ones just to have them handy, like the Tain, my Greek textbook, and the Bible (I didn't bring mine, so this will be about the 4th copy of the NRSV that I own). There are also some lectures on Irish history, literature, and so on specifically for international students in the evenings this week and next, which I'm thinking about attending.