Study Ireland – Stories & Guides from International Students

Ann-Chloé Mentor, a MA in Journalism student at UL from Canada writes about her experience making friends in her home away from home:

I find that clubs and societies are a great way to meet new people. Clubs (sports) and societies (culture/hobby) are a great way to make new friends with similar interests. If you are a bit insane like me, you will join lots of different societies. I am in 6 societies and 1 club. One thing I appreciate is that you can give as much or as little commitment to these societies as you want, especially when busy with college work.  

One of the societies that I am in is fashion soc. During their fashion show earlier this academic year, I was helping backstage and started talking to a few of the models, one of which happened to be celebrating her birthday that day. She invited us to her birthday celebrations, and we are now really close friends.  

With this new group of friends, I attended my first ever drag show. I didn’t quite know what to expect but I had an amazing time there. The drag show took place at Pharmacia in Limerick’s city center. Pharmacia is a popular bar which hosts loads of events every week. If you enjoy live performances, I recommend checking out their decently priced events.

I also try to go to the occasional concert. Going to concerts is something that I particularly enjoy. It’s basically my whole entire personality at this point. I’ve been to 3 concerts in Dublin so far. I saw Ruel at 3Olympia in September, Wunderhorse at The Button Factory in October and Inhaler at 3Arena in November. I already have 2 concerts lined up in February that I am really looking forward to. What I really like about concerts is that it’s a great way to meet like-minded people with similar interests. At these shows, you know that everyone listens to the same artist, so you already have something in common. Going to concerts is something that I really started to do recently. Although I’m a RAGING introvert, I try to force myself to do things alone. Going to a concert alone might be daunting but I assure you that you will meet some nice people while waiting in line.

I always bring my disposable camera with me everywhere to be able to capture these moments. Some pictures don’t turn out so great due to lighting or because my finger always seems to want to make an appearance and photobomb me. Half the time, I end up not using my camera at all because I am so in the moment. I think those tend to usually be the best times. Although capturing the essence of a special moment with friends is great for memories, making sure you are having fun and respecting your boundaries is, what I think, the most important part.