Study Ireland – Stories & Guides from International Students

I am Niri from China, I am a songwriter as well as a singer and Irish dancer. I am studying for a Masters in Songwriting. This means that I only have one year to go on my journey, and as I write this blog I’ve been living and studying in Ireland for a month now. 

The biggest thing I’ve learnt since I’ve been here is that it’s unexpected. This school is even better than I thought it would be, which has led to very busy days for me. I really wanted to find the opportunity to document my day to day life but I never had the time to settle down and write down everything that happened and my moods in words, but I took my Insta thumb camera with me and recorded a lot of videos.

My Chinese friend and I took a bus for two hours to a station near the school and took a taxi to our flats. Before we arrived, Vodafone was nearby, so we took our luggage and applied for a phone card for Ireland. 

It was 4pm when I arrived at the hostel and checked in at reception. I was very tired and thought that there might be a lot of things missing in the hostel that I would need to buy or clean. However, the flat had almost all the basic necessities. I stayed in a quadruple room with a separate bathroom for each person. My room had a very large bed and table, and most importantly the sheets and duvet cover were all there so I didn’t need to buy any extra. The room was dust free, there was a bin with bin bags and the chairs were soft and comfortable. The bathroom had plenty of hooks for me to hang my clothes. As well as the cupboard space where I could store my clothes was large, I didn’t have to worry at all about not having anywhere to put my things. The window area is also large so I can enjoy plenty of light and greenery every day. 

The communal kitchen has all the utensils as well, and several different kinds of pots and pans completely eliminated my worries. In fact, there was no need to prepare extra in terms of cooking tools. We were even given sugar, cereal and milk to prevent us from starving to death when we first arrived with nothing to eat XD 

The things that concerned me before I left were language and ease of living. 

Regarding language, I am a trilingual and I need to switch between Mandarin, Japanese, and English. I’ve only been learning English for a year, and I was very worried about not being able to communicate with people because of the language, even though I tried very hard to practice before coming to Ireland. 

I came here to learn my favourite Irish music and dance, but also to make international friends. Therefore the language became my biggest worry. But I had a very strong desire to interact with international friends in Ireland, so no matter how scared and nervous I was, I should still take the initiative to say hello. So I attended my first international student exchange day at the on campus Stables club. 

At first I was sitting with my Chinese friends and felt a bit awkward, but then I went around the neighbourhood alone and met a dancer from Finland. Then I met a bunch of really sweet undergraduates, and soon we were introduced to each other, went shopping at Dunes, and I had my first WhatsApp group called ‘Creepy Brown Man’ (referring to the statue Brown Thomas) with my friends from different countries. I still don’t know who came up with that name.

I love Indian culture, and I remembered that all Indian girls dance the Brahmaputra, so the first question I asked them was do you know how to dance Indian classical dance. They thought I was Korean at first, perhaps because of my brighter hair colour, and they told me I was very fashionable and I was complimented on my outfit. Each of them was very good at dressing up and they were all beautiful.

We were each from different countries in Asia, but because of some mysterious force we became good friends and I was happy to see them happily sharing their lives in the group. 

Although I do feel a bit overwhelmed when I communicate with them and sometimes I can’t understand exactly what they mean, most of the time they are very tolerant of me, and gradually I am no longer afraid to express myself. 

I don’t know if other schools can have such an open and tolerant atmosphere for international exchange, but I can tell you with certainty that at UL we respect all people from all over the world equally, and I haven’t encountered any discrimination or bad things here, and everyone is enthusiastically looking forward to communicating with new friends. 

Since then, I’ve been building my international friendships. 

One of my suitcases was filled with all the equipment I needed for composing, as well as two computers. Luckily the table was spacious enough that I managed to set it up without any problems and found an area suitable for my published albums. 

I pass the Shannon River every day, which is right next to our hostel. The scenery here is different every moment, the sky and the river are like a painting changing all the time. 

I feel like I could stay all day just looking at this view and get so much inspiration.

On the afternoon of the 4th of September at an Irish trad session, I met another great friend who I really hit it off with. She’s from Lithuania, we met each other on the way to the event, and it was probably some kind of magic that made the two of us inseparable friends for the following week. We played tennis together several times, cycled and shopped at the supermarket together, signed up for two sessions of rock climbing and took on the challenge of climbing for the first time in our lives, which was very exciting and fun. We are both Capricorns and share a love of Japanese anime. To my surprise she loves noodles and Asian food, so I cooked a meal for her. Even though she is a bit younger than me, she took care of me. She is a very attentive person who always asks me how I feel and what I think, and has always helped me when I needed it. I haven’t met someone so warm in a long time. 

Neither of us is a native English speaker, so we actually don’t talk that much a lot of the time, yet we quietly become each other’s listeners and we trust each other. 

Before I came here I had heard more than once that there is a big gap between Chinese and Western cultures and that I might encounter a lot of challenges and difficulties in getting along with my friends. Yet I never felt it was a problem or that I was comfortable with it and didn’t realise any differences or sadness in the way we behaved. I would even think that maybe the obstacle is not so much the cultural differences but the personality of the person. As long as it’s a nice person, you will be attracted to each other, no matter what country they come from and what kind of background they have. 

In addition to this another obstacle stems from your heart, whether you are tolerant enough to accept different cultures, with international friends I bring with me curiosity, not prejudice. I find everyone interesting and there is a lot to be said for the cultural background they represent. This is why I enjoy interacting with people from different countries! 

The first time I saw an Irish band and dance in Ireland was Celtic Steps at UL’s concert hall for Orientation. Each time I marveled at the speed at which the musicians played, and the moment the Irish dancing came out I was instantly lit up. There aren’t many educational resources for Irish dancing in China, so I’ve been self-taught for the past four years. After watching them perform I couldn’t help but go out on the grass and dance a little too. 

I also chose to come to this school because the interviewer told me with certainty that I could get a one-on-one Irish dance tutor as an elective, which made me excited. Although I am a composer, I have been learning and being exposed to a large number of different dance styles. I’m not a professional dancer, but I have a strong interest in Irish dance, and this passion has supported me in my studies and practice up until now. And now I have realised my wish to study with a professional teacher in this school. 

After a brief tour of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, a school building, what excited and shocked me the most was the facilities. To my surprise there were not only things from the Irish music culture but also other ethnic instruments, one of my favourite rooms is filled with ethnic instruments. 

Once again, it confirms the impression I had in my mind about this school, that it is definitely the most suitable place for international cultural and world music exchanges. 

I also went on an Irish food and culture experience, and the Irish butter was really memorable, so after it was over I went to the supermarket and bought one, although I haven’t eaten it until now. 

On the 8th of September I embarked on my first trip within Ireland. Each weekend there was a separate trip organised by Hynan’s that took us to a different famous Irish tourist attraction. The scenery was so beautiful that I almost lost the language, and I met so many great people there that I had met before. German, Japanese and French friends took lots of photos together. Time will go by very fast, and I know that we may not be able to hang out together again in the future, but having so many good memories is enough memories. 

Another thing that struck me about this school was how much activity there was, whether it was clubs or trips or some of the daily networking events. Many people may not believe that I used to be a very introverted person who didn’t like to go out, but I have been actively participating in these activities and interacting with different people almost every day since I came here. My friends and family often say that they think I’m a different person, and that the Niri they remember wouldn’t do any of these things. So maybe it’s because I’ve found a place where I can be myself, I love it here and feel free and happy. 

Even though we came from different countries and neither of us spoke English very well, I was especially touched by the patience we gave each other and the fact that we did our best to guess and understand each other’s meaning. We are not afraid of our own expression, nor do we go into language shock. 

On this day, the 11th of September we had our club day. My best friend and I already have a number of clubs that we want to join, most club membership fees are only 5 euros a year and there is a lot of variety to choose from. The most popular one I have noticed is the archery club, maybe everyone wants to be an archer. I signed up for four clubs: archery, outdoor, trampoline and music. Because I love rock climbing, using the grounds is free if I join the clubs and it helps me to relieve my stress. 

Other than that it was the first time I used the academy’s classrooms for dance practice. I love the floor specially for Irish dancers so much that I don’t want to stop dancing. 

On the 14th of September I headed off for my second weekend trip in Ireland. This time it was to the Cliffs of Moher and it wasn’t a very nice day, it was very windy and rainy. The wind and rain combined to get me soaked, and although the scenery was beautiful, it just seemed like a rush to take photos. 

It was interesting though that I was on my own when I met a French boy who had also come to a remote place to take photos, he looked like a model and as it turned out wasn’t studying anything art related. We both studied taking pictures with our canon cameras. It went from a one man operation to two. Eventually ran into two of my German friends taking a picture together with my hair uncontrollably covering my face. 

We took pictures of each other for each other. I actually wish I was a certified photographer because I feel like he’s a great model. 

Attended a night of DJ. From sitting and watching at first, I couldn’t help but get up and join in the dancing at the end. I’ve basically never been to an event like this in the past, and to be honest, it was pretty fun. Not caring about what other people think but revelling in your own world. I really like the atmosphere where I can express myself directly. 

The first archery club experience on the 18th of September was very good. Met friends from Ireland, Singapore and although I can’t remember most of the names, made a date for a future trip with my Singaporean friend who also speaks Mandarin. She’s really super good at cooking and I can always swipe her Asian food at meal times, which is really tempting. The bow and arrow are really heavy and I stopped shooting several times because I felt my arms were too tired, I thought I already had very strong muscles through my rock climbing practice. The last arrow I gave directly to the opposite curtain. Luckily our team leader was very patient with us, although I’ve forgotten his name. 

On our way back at night, my best friend and I discovered the mist. I always find mysterious and beautiful scenery hidden in the UL campus at any given moment. It was as if a genie was about to arrive. It happened to be the day when it was about to be the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival and the moon was very full. 

This was perhaps the first time I’ve used the oven to bake a pizza since I left home. My level was just off the charts, very mushy. I invited my two best friends to join me for lunch on the grass. Even though my cooking was terrible, my friends gave me the greatest compliment and ate it all. 

One of the favourite places for me is the meadow and the bridge in front of irish world academy. Standing on this bridge you can see swans and ducks playing in the clear river water and birds flying in the blue sky when the sun comes out. 

Tap dancing on the bridge doesn’t sound too good, but it’s beautiful when you take pictures. 

On 22nd of September I travelled on my third trip. This time the destination was a waterfall, but it wasn’t quite what I expected. I remembered it as a very big and loud waterfall, but this one had more of a poetic feel. Hasan prepared sandwiches for me, and for lunch we found a park with a mysterious elf hidden in it. Hasan is very passionate about photography, and even though he couldn’t read the Chinese on my camera, it didn’t stop him from taking pictures. 

I was so tired at the end of the same trip that I fell asleep at once. 

On the 27th of September, lunchtime, Irish World Academy invited a jazz band to perform. It was my first time to see a jazz band up close and personal, and I was very impressed. I was very happy that I was able to watch such a high level performance for free, and I asked the drummer a lot of questions immediately after the performance. I was very curious about how jazz musicians notate music and do improvisation. The drummer was very kind and gave me drumsticks as a souvenir. It was a great pleasure! 

Again, I woke up early for the Ambassadors’ training session at ten o’clock and cycled for twenty minutes to the destination. We were offered tea, milk, soybean, and a variety of pastries, the croissants tasted OK, Irish biscuits are hard to bite into. I couldn’t resist a drop of coffee. Each of us was given a bag containing various things with the school’s logo on it. Lunchboxes, mugs, coffee cups, green t-shirts, green socks, green hats, playing cards, etc. 

The teacher asked us to raise our hands to introduce ourselves, so I didn’t resist raising my hand. My introduction was simple, I’m a songwriting major and I hope to record this beautiful place with my music. 

After the conference we ate in the hotel restaurant, I chose the Indian style curry and rice, I met a lot of students from all over the world who were also part of UL ambassadors and were good at using self media and taking photos. We had a great time and will continue to record videos in the future as well. 

After lunch we were given a free tour of Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and the bus would take us back to the school. But I left early. 

Ben is Irish and he is in his first year like me, except he has a Bachelor’s degree and I have a Master’s degree. He is elder than me. I’m very admired that he’s been able to study at this school for four years, one year is too short for me. 

He’s one of the band members I’m playing with at this gig, and is a really good Bodhran drummer, as well as being really good at playing guitar. It was only later in the show that I realised he was also a singer with a great voice and a very distinctive tone. To me he is a genius, even though he can’t read music, he can play very well. 

That afternoon he came to me with his guitar on his back after his street performance, he took me around Limerick city centre and showed me the castle. Most importantly he loved Asian food and he took me to several Chinese supermarkets. One of his wishes was to have lots of money to buy more Chinese food. I was very shocked that he had actually eaten many different types of Chinese food and was very good at cooking. 

At first I didn’t believe him when he said he liked spicy food, because it seems to me that usually when international friends say they like spicy food they aren’t as strong as Chinese people are when it comes to spicy food. So one afternoon after school, I made him what I thought was a relatively spicy Chinese rice noodle dish. Absolutely authentic instant noodles from China. 

Turns out he seemed to eat it happily and didn’t need to drink water to relieve the spiciness as much as he seemed to. Amazing, is this what vegans can do with spicy food? 

Later he even took me to a pub in the area to join the irish session, I brought my new dayereh and we played percussion together to join their irish session. improving by doing is how he learnt. In my opinion he is playing at a professional level. 

In addition to our similar food tastes, he actually likes citypop and fantasy music, but maybe fantasy music is not the same in the West as it is in the East. 

Then we finished the show together without any problems. I’m really glad I know Irish tap dancing, tap dancing and bodhran are a perfect match. Rhythm games are always fascinating. I’m really looking forward to more collaborations with ben in the future, it reminds me of my first album. The album is set as a young girl from the East meets Angus, a Celtic male god.