Team Cork is thriving. We have overcome obstacles and dealt with many difficult situations along the way, but I am proud to say we made it. The toughest challenge we have had to deal with has been attaining our Visas; and now that we have them and are legally here in Ireland for the next year, Team Cork is officially real. With the season starting this upcoming weekend and classes fully underway, it is great to get into a routine of things. Classes on Monday through Wednesday and practices throughout the week have become the norm. The hardest part is adjusting to city life and having to deal with an hour commute to and from practices every night. This has been made easier with the purchase of my new bike (which I am extremely proud of) because the public transportation system here is so unreliable. I feel like a local as I make my thirty minute bike ride through the city every day and wave to local business owners like they know me. I have already found some cool new places in the city to get food, and can definitely tell you where to get the best burrito or sandwhich on the go. My team also recieves a lot of local support, and I have met multiple people who have told me how excited they are to see us play this year. It was also very cool to see an article on our team in the local newspaper accompanied by a picture of my teammates and I. All the support and enthusiasm has me very excited to get the season started this weekend.
I am getting to know lots of new people from all over the world and have hit the jackpot with my awesome roomates, or Team France as I refer to them. I have three roomates, two guys and a girl, all from different parts of France. We have all quickly become good friends and I’m thankful I got so lucky with my roomates. However, I do not speak any French, which leaves me in great confusion when they begin to talk with one another in their own language, as they do most of the time. I am pretty sure we are good friends but for all I know they could be making fun of me this whole time because I have no idea what they are saying. They speak passable English and I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about French food and hobbies. They have been teaching me two French words a day, so slowly but surely I am now learning French. I can’t wait to be able understand what they are saying when they speak amongst themselves, and I really hope we’re friends because that’s the impression I have been under this whole time. Hopefully in a couple more weeks I will have learned enough French to figure it out. Stay tuned.
