Accommodation:

I'm living in Rivers Apartments, one of three on-campus accommodations provided by NUI Maynooth. My apartment building (Erne) is three stories high, with three apartments per floor (I'm on the ground floor, which made moving in really easy. It was even easier considering I only had two suitcases and a backpack.) Each apartment has a hallway, five rooms, and a common room. The rooms themselves are smallish - about the size of a room in Founders or Stuart. All of the rooms are singles and we all get our own bathrooms. (Although the bathrooms are pretty tiny. My shower is a pipe coming out of the ceiling and a drain on the floor.) The common room has a few couches, a coffee table, a dining table, and a kitchen. We've got a stove, microwave, fridge, and high-tech kettle (for the tea, of course).

I really like the way they serve the tea in Ireland. Thomas, one of my roommates, demostrated the proper Irish way - adding sugar and milk. It's quite delicious.

I'm rooming with two Irish guys (Thomas and Kevin), a guy from China (Hawkins is his English name), and a girl from Switzerland (Arlette). Arlette and Kevin are working on their masters, Hawkins is in his third year, and Thomas has just started college (although he is 24 years old, instead the standard Irish 17). Thomas has a real infectious enthusiasm for the whole college experience, but we'll see how long that lasts :) He's majoring in music (vocals, guitar, and sax) and I get to borrow his guitar. We also jam together every so often (me on guitar and him on saxophone).
The cultural exchange that happens with us is something unique and enjoyable. Fun fact for the day: American culture - the accent, the sports, the music, the food - are all very popular in China, particularly amoung the youth.