My, how time flies!

I can't believe that it's October 7 already! We've been here for a little over a month and all I can think about is how little time we have left. December 22 might sound far away, but we're planning trips abroad, expecting family visits, and listing places in Ireland that we still have to visit. Frankly, 3 months doesn't sound like enough time!

Classes are in full swing and we're starting to feel like students again. The reading is beginning to pile up and assignments are quickly becoming due. Balancing classes and travel is becoming a bit tricky!

The deeper into classes we get, the more apparent it becomes to me that we really aren't in Minnesota anymore, Toto. A few stark differences:

1. No Socratic method! As painful as the Socratic method is, any good law student can tell you that you don't really learn the reading assignments if you know you don't run a risk of being drilled on the material. Another benefit: the Socratic method avoids those painful, awkward silences in class when a professor asks a question and no one responds. They always feel interminable.
2. No hypotheticals! Anyone who has had Carpenter for Con Law I or II knows how this goes: "Ms. Chambers, please use a Case X analysis to defend Case Y's outcome." Or, [long list of hypothetical facts]: "Ms. Chambers, under Case X, please tell me the outcome." Er . . . . Here, there is a much greater emphasis on just learning the black letter law. Finals are predominately in the form of papers of topics of our own choosing. This is certainly a benefit for us, as we're never going to be forced to apply Irish law to a client's situation, but I fail to see how it helps future Irish lawyers.
3. Undergraduates! My God. I know I've only been out of college for a few years now, but oh how quickly we mature. Here, a law degree can be received as an undergraduate and a master's degree in law seems optional. Hence, we're amongst youngins'. Two of my courses are graduate level, one is undergraduate, and it moves painfully slooooooow. The professor is forced to stop and explain all of the basics - stare decisis, voir dire - things we take for granted. And the students . . . oh the students. At one point, a student in the front row fell asleep, and after being awoken by the professor, was entirely unapologetic.
   
4. No laptops! It seems only the international students tote around laptops day in and day out. Irish students still write notes by hand. Gasp!
5. No casebooks! The law section of the bookstore is ridiculously small, and professors simply post case citations in the syllabuses. We don't need to buy 150-euro casebooks, which is a true financial blessing. This also means that the cases we read aren't edited, which, if you have ever read an Irish Supreme Court decision, you would realize is actually a very terrible thing.
   
6. No gunners! Save for a few excited undergraduates, my master's level courses do not have any gunners. It is truly, truly refreshing. Truly.
   

Yes, Irish law school is incredibly different from all that we're used to in the States. It's not a bad thing - it is, after all, why we came here: to experience something new. Between my Irish classes and conversations with international students, however, I have a new respect for the rigors and unique nature of the American system.

When we aren't studying, however, we are still finding time to have fun over here! Last Thursday we found our way to a karaoke night in town (and yes I got on stage, but no I was nowhere near the microphone - I left the singing to Holly). Saturday night Adi and I found some tasty Indian food. Today was the first adventure we've had a while, though.

Adi, Kalli, and I toured Malahide castle this afternoon. It's just north of Dublin in Malahide, Ireland and is unique in that it is a fully furnished castle. The tour was the cheesiest touristy thing I've done yet in this country - it was actually audio recorded, and each new room in the castle brought speakers blaring "period" music and a gentle Irish voice telling the history of Malahide. It wasn't the best production. The castle was fairly impressive. It has been in the Talbot family for 700 years and was actually inhabited until - get this - 1975. Unbelievable!

The best part of Malahide though??? THE PLAYGROUND. We were all instantly five years old again because, I promise you, this was the Best Playground On The Planet. Swings, ziplines, and the tallest slides I've ever seen:

Not to mention, a very challenging (and slightly scary) jungle gym:

We would have played in that playground all day if we could have!