Marie Wright:  

Stateside I was one of those folks who lived at home while going to college - cheaper, more space, already know your roommates - and I am not sorry I did that. I spent a year in Ireland while working on my bachelor's degree, though, and lived in the student village at the University of limerick. Our house - #25 Plassey Village - was occupied by 4 Irish guys who lived on the ground floor, Lorcan, John, Aidan and Colin, and on the first floor two German girls, Sabina and Katja (and Katja's boyfriend who just visited for 3 months), an Irish girl, Jane, and myself. We were all over 21, non-smoking, and we got on really well, which perhaps was surprising as diverse as we all were. We never saw Colin much, because he essentially lived with his girlfriend, but we got to know his friends pretty well, because they were the ones who actually slept in his room or joined us for telly in the evenings in the kitchen/common room. We also had a "lodger". Sabine, whom we often called Sabine 2, had been put into a house with 7 chain-smoking, hard-partying 17 year old girls, and since she was good friends with Katja and Sabine 1 whom she went to University with in Wuppertal, Germany, she spent all but sleeping hours at our house. For a term she actually took Katja's room and when ever people called by for one of the Sabines we'd get to play the equivalent of "Who's On First" with them. It went like this: "Is Sabine home?" "Which one?" "The German one." "Which one?" "The blond one." "Which one?" "The one from Wuppertal." "Which one?" About this time, they'd either go away in frustration, or start indicating height, length of hair, dating or not dating and THEN we could answer their question. I loved living in Plassey Village with all it's quirks - no phones in the houses, so you had to go queue (line up and wait) if you needed to make a call, the table that was bolted to the floor with only enough chairs to accomodate the people living in the house, so guests either sat on the floor or people had to bring out desk chairs for them, a TV that was nearly bigger than the fridge, heat only 6 hours a day - I was amazed how quickly we became a family, and that house became a home. It was amazing, too, to be surrounded by so many nationalities, and to find that each group has it's "national" traits - Spaniards are loud, and I mean LOUD, louder than Americans and we're loud, and they will cheer for your failures as well as your successes. Germans are more reserved, but extremely loyal, generous and boisterous once they have decided they like you. They are still VERY sensative about World War 2, so much so that they would ask us to change the channel on the TV when ever something came on that was related to it. The fFrench are intense, a little bit arrogant, their english is precise, they aren't the ones who start the party, but they'll enjoy it if it starts. The Irish are always looking to entertain one another, love to slag others (tease or harrass) and like you better if you're willing to give back as good as you get, i(.e. a friend says to me "poor girl, can't help being stupid and lazy since you're American." my response - "I know you can't help being confused by big words, being an engineer and all, but I hope one day you'll learn that there is no 'u' in 'color'." and on the battle of word would go, to the pleasure of all involved.), they will bend every rule to help you out if they like you, dump a pint of Guiness on you every chance they get if they don't, and are in my humble opinion, some of the greatest people on earth. I was never an outsider in...Expand for more