Moving Day (from Oakland to Evans City)

Right now Matt and I are in the middle of moving out of our less than comfortable Oakland apartment. We are moving into my mom's house in Evans City for a month before we leave. I have not lived at home since I was 18 so this should be an interesting experiment.

Yesterday was wonderfully stressful for us. My poor little Honda Civic quit on us when taking a load of boxes from our old apartment to my brothers new apartment, leaving us carless in the middle of moving. I just wanted the Civic to last until we left for Ireland :( Car troubles aside, we were able to move most of our boxes into my mom's place with the help of my parents.

Also yesterday, I had my last tutoring session with my Japanese student Yoko. I had been tutoring English as a Second Language for the last seven months in Oakland as a volunteer with the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council. I am very much going to miss meeting with Yoko and being a tutor. It was such a rewarding experience and I was so glad to be able to help someone learn.

I also had to give my cat away yesterday. He just went to Matt's family, so I know he is in good hands and I will be able to see him often before we leave. BAMF was the best cat and I am going to miss him so much! I am glad to have him go to Matt's family though.

Matt's dad is coming to Oakand tonight to help us move the rest of our things and I will never have to live in Oakland again. It's an odd thought. I have lived in Oakland for four years but I am very ready to move on. And of course, it means we have just one month left before we board the plane to Dublin!!

A Million Thanks

I just want to say thank you to everyone who is following me and supporting me in my move. So many of you have given me great advice and support. It really means so much to me to know I have great friends who will continue to stick with me. Thank you everyone for your feedback about this blog, about the move and everything else!

New apartment

I have just put a deposit on an apartment in Dublin. It is within walking distance to UCD and right along a bus route into the city center. It's fairly difficult to chose a place to live when you can't look at the place in person beforehand! But, the apartment looks absolutely gorgeous from the photos and it's fully furnished. I am so excited to have something arranged! Matt and I have a hostel booked for our first night in Dublin but I can't wait to move in to my new home!

On the Rocky Road...

I suppose I have been "on the rocky road to Dublin" since I first learned of my acceptance to University College Dublin to earn a Master of Arts in Media and International Conflict. I leave Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (which has been my home for 24 years) on August 30, 2010. I will arrive in Dublin on August 31 with my boyfriend, Matt, some luggage and all my hopes and dreams for a continuing education.

I have done my fair share of traveling, but I have never called anywhere except Pittsburgh home. I am far beyond excited and more nervous than I thought I would be. In addition to simply being exited about the move, I am overjoyed to be enrolled in school again. I graduated from Point Park University in Pittsburgh in December 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Photojournalism. Call me a nerd, but I have dearly missed school since graduating.

I knew I wanted to continue my education outside of the United States so I applied to many schools in Europe. I chose University College Dublin because ... they accepted me. OK, so I was accepted to University of Helsinki as well but I was already making arrangements for Ireland. In reality, the MA in Media and International Conflict offered at UCD seemed like the perfect program for me. I couldn't be happier with my choice and I am looking forward to the course work.

So, I am beginning this blog to share my excitement, my experiences and my labors throughout this journey. Maybe I can inspire others to study overseas or help students who may encounter similar problems or have the same questions I did (and still do) about school or moving to another country.

I am open to any questions anyone may have about my experiences and I am very much open to advice, suggestions, stories, anything and everything about Dublin, Ireland, graduate school, etc.