WHAT TO EXPECT FROM YOUR BELFAST EXPERIENCE

Davida DavidoffErasmus Spring 2009

Table of Contents

Belfast Isn’t What You’re Used To Do’s Don’ts Teaching Practice Social Scene Academics

Belfast Isn’t What You’re Used To

Belfast isn’t America. Things are done very differently here.

Your housing, classes, foods, and transportation is going to be different than you are used to.

Getting around will be a challenge. Remember, you don’t have a car! Taxis, buses and walking are the best and cheapest ways of getting around.

There are going to be people with different cultures and different views on things. Try to be open minded.

Do’s

Save a lot of money before coming over here. Drinks, food, rent and outings add up quickly.

Go out! Pack clothes for all sorts of weather and activities. Get a cell phone. It’s cheaper to call home with and easier to

arrange outings. Pack adaptors and convertors. The electricity is different here than

in America, if you don’t have a convertor you’re appliances can fry. Get a receipt for rent and take down your landlord’s phone

number. Travel with other students! Use fona cab or value cab. See the most of Belfast! Go to festivals and other cultural events around the city. Bring your camera to everything! You’ll want the pictures in the

future.

Don’ts

Live with only people from your country. Forget to check oil and electric! It isn’t nice to

wake up to a cold house one morning and not be able to get oil for a few days.

Think that everything will be the same as it is back home. You will need to adjust to things.

Expect internet or a dryer in your house. Walk home alone at night. Be smart, always walk

with someone. Get into political or religious debates. Be afraid to ask for help if you need it! Briege and

Paul are here to help you in any way they can.

Teaching Practice

Schools will be different than what you are used to. Expect to teach at least 3 lessons a week. The

teachers at your school will help you to organize lesson plans so you don’t feel overwhelmed.

The school day is set up differently than most schools. School usually starts around 9am and gets out around 3pm.

The teaching methods are different as well. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from the teachers.

You might not be placed in your specific majors. It will be different but you will still learn a lot from teaching in another country!

Social Scene

Pubs and Clubs House Parties

Country Night and Eurovision Quiz Nights

Pubs and Clubs

Pubs and clubs are where the Erasmus students as a group spent most of our time. We went to pubs as close as the Red Devil and as far away as on the other side of the city. Most of the students seemed to really enjoy going to the Red Devil, the Eg, the Bot, the M-Club, the Box, and Robinsons. The Bot was a happy medium for all the students since the bottom floor was a pub and the top floor had dancing. Even for those who didn’t drink, going out to pubs and clubs was one of the best ways to spend time with other students.

House Parties

Most of the house parties that took place had themes. We went all out with our costumes! We had an 80’s night, a T-party (you had to dress as something that started with the letter T), and a cartoon character party. These were the best nights since it didn’t cost much and we were all together having a good time.

Country Night and Eurovision

During international week, Paul and Briege coordinated a country night and a Eurovision contest. The country night allowed all the students to bring food from their home countries for everyone to sample. We all tried foods we never would have and now know what foods we like that are outside our comfort zone.

Eurovision was interesting for the Americans. We had no idea what it was or what we should do for it. Needless to say, we didn’t do very well. It was fun to see everyone get up and perform something. Eurovision is definitely one of the things that stick out in my mind from International Week.

Quiz Nights

Over the course of our semester at St. Mary’s we had 2 different quiz nights. The first was at the beginning of the semester. That quiz got us used to how it would work and gave us a good way to interact with the other students. The second quiz was during international week where the students and the visiting staff took the quiz together. It was a lot of fun to see what the students knew and what the teaching staff knew.

Academics

You are going to Belfast to have an experience, not to worry about school.

University classes are still important, but you have to complete only one assignment for the semester per class.

You have to attend a majority of your classes. You will go to class just to fill your time!

Check out St. Mary’s website for more information!