From reading Week to Rainy Day

Hello international students, I’m back I apologies for the long absence but ever since reading week, (reading week is where all MTU students get a week off in the end of October let’s all students complete all assignments, catch up on notes or take a well-deserved break) college has been hectic, as the number of assignments, exams, projects and otherwise is insane. Hopefully this does not scare you, but I suggest that all future and current students to realize November will always be busy and should probably prepare well. Because I most definitely did not, which would explain my absence, but I will not further elaborate in case any of my professors are reading.

Last week (week 9) MTU held its annual Open Day which welcomed many different schools around Cork, and parents and their kids. What is Open Day? A day where hopefully future MTU students are taking tours around campus and attending talks to courses they are interested in and get the opportunity to speak to a member from their respective faculty and understand how the course is shaped, what they will learn and what the requirements they need. Luckly I was fortunate enough to volunteer and work with other members from the Global Citizens Scholarship Programme and the student leaders. We welcomed a ton of potential students and got the opportunity to help them out by guiding them with directions. If any of you are potential future Global Citizens Scholarship Programme students, you may also get the chance to participate in such events if you want.

It is currently week 10 here in MTU which means a couple things, lets go one by one and explain:

• College Christmas is around the corner, for all international students who are wondering what the heck is College Christmas. Let me explain, all college students in Cork spend a whole day drinking from different pubs around the city with all your friends, meeting new people and creating many memories. Disclaimer…DRINK RESPONSIABLY! I can stress this enough I am all for having fun and experiencing the college experience especially the Irish student culture experience, but please please please be careful drink responsibly, have fun and enjoy your time. See you all hopefully at next year’s College Christmas ;)

• Winter semester 1 exams are in 2-3 weeks’ time which means tensions are high around the MTU campus and the libraries are jam packed, you have the over stressors and you have the laid back students which both are fine but as long as it lets you reach your end goal you are going to be fine, and if any assistance is required with your studies you can always book an appointment with the Academic Learning Centre, where you will be assisted with any academic support you need. For more information you many need here is the link:  https://studentengagement.cit.ie/alc

Also, future international students please pack enough winter clothes with you. I am talking about puffers, jackets, hoodies, thermal shirts, thermal pants, gloves, leg warmers, etc. Because Ireland is cold and if you do not come from a cold country, the weather here will be challenging as the temperature ranges from 0 Celsius to 10 Celsius and the rain. The damn rain, this country does not stop raining if you can guarantee one thing is that it is raining outside and always windy like ridiculous amount of wind. For your information when October approaches day light saving time happens and the clocks go back an hour which means we get an extra hour of sleep, but that means the sun rises at 8:00AM and sunsets at 4:30PM this may sound depressing due to little sunlight and you at times can feel demotivated due to the weather, but when its winter time and you know the holidays are coming and you visiting back home for Christmas it will all be worth it and knowing that you are not alone always helps, and if you still feel kind of down just remember you always have MTU’s popcorn chicken to help.