2 weeks left @ the Rock

It’s kind of crazy to think that I only have two weeks left here is Slippery Rock. It feels like only last week I was boarding a plain in Shannon airport bound for New York. We’ll as the saying goes “time fly’s when your having fun” and it sure does. Even though it was hard leaving my family, friend and epically rugby (being injured did help the decision) coming here was defiantly one of the best choices I have made in my life so far.  I have made lifelong friends not just from the US but all across the globe. I have learned so much about American people and there culture and not just what is portrayed on tv. I have had some fantastic adventure during my time here and have many great and funny stores to tell when I get home!!

Bizarre Apps!!

We all know the saying “there’s an app for that” but I was slightly dumbfounded the other day when I was looking at the App Store on iTunes and saw that the number 1 free app was “Dyslexia Detector”. Being dyslexic I found this quite fascinating that a simple app could tell someone if they were dyslexics, it only took me a year and a trip to two education phycologist! But not only did this app tell you in 28 simple questions or less that you might be dyslexic but also if you could have Add, Dyspraxia and Dyscalculia.  On taking the test I was told that I had high levels of all of the above, which I had to laugh at, as I could not understand how it came to that conclusion from the questions it asked me. And if I had dyspraxia to the extent which the app implied I would not be able to play sports at the level I do. I found this really quite annoying as I felt that this App really belittled anyone with these difficulties.          

Technology - Reliable until you need it!!

On coming to the US, I didn’t think twice about having any difficulties staying in contact with my family and friends at home. With the impressive technology we are constantly walking around in our pockets with, it’s hard to imagine having any difficulty in contacting anyone, anywhere, in the world. Unfortunately I have found that this is not to be so true. Having an iPhone at home, I had imagined on coming to the US I would simply be able to get a US phone plan with data and be able to make the most of using apps such as Skype, What’s App, Viber and Heytell, to stay in contact with everyone at home in order to save them & me the expense of texting abroad.  This was one of the first things I did on arriving in the US… but when my iPhone provider at home in Ireland failed to unlock my iPhone, I was left with no option but to resort to good old-fashioned texting and just leave the benefits of my iPhone apps to opportunities when I have Wi-Fi. Little did I know how much I would end up depending on them!  As it turns out, sending a message to Ireland takes a little longer to get there than you would expect. Lets just say it was far from instant messaging. I have never experienced such a delay in msg delivery both to and from abroad. Some messages would deliver to the Irish phones a day later and then the same message would deliver another 3-4 times. It is crazy to think that in a world where everything is at our finger tips, text messaging is still my main point of contact with my family and friends, and is still unreliable and unpredictable.

A SRU Thanksgiving

Today was my first experience of an American Thanksgiving and it did not disappoint. Stayed in the dorms last night with some of the other Internationals and must say it was pretty creepy!! Ghost town definitely comes to mind. But today was brilliant spent it with the Noah family in Butler with the two Irish students. Definitely think a mixture of a massive home-cooked turkey meal, and midnight shopping should not go hand in hand, but none the less, a Black Friday experience must be had. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone reading this, I definitely think I will be carrying on this tradition back home.