Argh, what a dreary, miserable day today. Sunday and Monday, while it did rain, the sun came out at times. Not so today - cloudy and dreary all day. We started our orientation with a campus tour and introduction to the faculty of arts today, although the latter was geared more towards undergraduate students. As far as I can tell, I'm the only international student in my program, although I won't know for sure until Monday, of course, when classes start. Last night was really noisy outside my window, with a bunch of drunk guys singing Irish rebel songs. *rolls eyes* Great. Although it was also amusing.

Registered with the nurse today and I was quite amazed to discover that I get all my medical care completely free! Kind of sad when another country treats you better than your own, eh?

Had another girl move into the flat today - a PhD student from Germany. She seems really nice.

Ok, hopefully now I can actually write something and make sense now! I was so incredibly tired earlier I almost couldn't stand it! So I'm in Derry now, in my room. It's a nice room, quite large and comfortable with a good bit of storage space. The flight from [to] Belfast was long but uneventful. I sat beside a guy from Derry who seemed nice, but I was too tired to talk much and got a couple of hours of sleep on the plane. Customs was quite simple and stress-free, and the lady at the airport was able to devise a way for me to get to Derry that didn't involve waiting at the airport for two hours. It truly feels fantastic to be here. I almost cried as the bus entered Derry - it felt SO GOOD to be back.

I don't think there's anyone here in my apartment except one other girl - Rachel Flanagan, a master's student from Co. Mayo in the Republic. We talked for an hour or two tonight, watching guys play soccer out the kitchen window. Great fun!

Tomorrow I need to find out the schedule for this week, get a cell phone, set up a bank account, and run various and sundry errands to get myself moved in. Should be fun. (rolls eyes)