I'm having a great time in Ireland. Unfortunately, I don't have internet access yet so I have to pay exorbitant fees to use an internet cafe. I had an orientation in Limerick with IFSA Butler students going to both Cork and Maynooth. In addition to the Williams guy, there are a bunch of people with Ohio connections, including a girl who was in Mark's swing dance class at Oberlin.
It's amazing how many random castles there are. I've been in two already and seen plenty more on the side of the road or in the middle of towns. We took a bus from Limerick to Adare, a rather touristy village with cottages with thatched roofs, and saw their castle. The four of us in my group were the only ones on the tour and we got to go over all the ruins. Pictures to follow later. We also saw some really cool old churches, and the view from my hotel window of the River Shannon was gorgeous. I got to Maynooth this morning and I'm starting to settle in, though I haven't met any of my flatmates yet.


Noticeable differences in Ireland:
driving on the left is the biggest. It's worse than switching to port.
they don't give you free grocery bags-- you have to bring a backpack when shopping
receiving mobile calls is free, and texts are so much cheaper than calls that people almost always text (no, I don't have my first cell phone yet, but I will soon)
"euro" and "cent" are both used as the plural, so things cost two euro
everything closes at 6 o'clock

My time is about to run out, so I'll post more when I get internet again.