6 Types of UL Student

1. The Lad

Exclusively wears skinny tracksuits and a county minor jersey (or a business class half zip when it’s cold). Often seen travelling in packs and talking about hot chicken rolls.

2. The Well-Travelled One

The person making a return to college after Erasmus. Constantly talking about how much better German trains are and their need to return to a place where everyone just ‘gets it’.

3. The First Year

Usually lost but pretends not to be. Overdresses for the first six weeks before slowly, very slowly, they become a normal student and show up to lectures in whatever is clean, or just doesn’t show up at all.

4. The Secondary School Student

Usually from ‘just over the road’. Technically a college student, but came to UL with all of their school friends who they will continue hanging out with for four years while clinging on to their immaturity. Mostly seen whistling at passers by or just generally looking pretty stupid.

inbetweeners

5. The Busy One

A member of at least four societies, three clubs and student council. They also play a musical instrument, volunteer for everything, have a QCA of 4.0 but still always manage to make it to quiet pints in Stables. How? HOW?

6. The Special Snowflake

They probably have a ‘quirky’ hair colour, study Japanese because it’s a ‘quirky’ language and only go to nightclubs because it’s ironic, apparently. Oh, and they’re probably vegan too but you definitely already knew that.

 

7 Stages in Learning a Second Language

  1. Tell yourself it can’t be that difficult

All those other countries in Europe seem to know their own language and also be fluent in English…so how hard can it be

 

  1. Realise it is that difficult

Grammar? Word order? What do you mean Google Translate isn’t a reliable source?

 

       3. Struggle with basic sentences

Ich bin? Ich heiße? Mein Name? WAS IST MEIN NAME?

 

 

  1. Immediately forget everything the second you actually need to use it

So you’re in the country, ready to take the lead among your friends and interpret all the street signs and menus, then suddenly you end up crossing the Italian border after ordering something that definitely wasn’t nuggets.

 

 

  1. Lose all speaking capability around natives

You think you’re good at the language you’re studying? Think again. Around native speakers, you will be reduced to mumbling and a complete loss of vocabulary, while they spit out English words that you’ve never even heard of.

 

 

  1. Contemplate forgetting about the whole idea of a second language…

Ask yourself if you really need to put yourself through this, I mean, everyone speaks English anyway, right? You didn’t want to move abroad anyway. Nope. Not worth it.

 

 

  1. …but realise you are actually improving and be happy in that knowing a second language will open so many doors for you.

 

9 Ridiculous and Offensive St Patrick’s Day Tops Actually For Sale Right Now

St Patrick’s Day can bring out the worst in us, and by us I mean tourist retailers and stereotype-feeding Americans. I found 9 items that embody everything wrong with “Patty’s Day” culture across the pond.

  1. Do people think drunk is the default Irish setting? I mean, sometimes it is, but do we really have to make ugly tank tops about it?
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Available here

 

2. This one is offensive mainly because it suggests we can’t hold our drink. But also stereotypes and stuff.

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Available here

 

3. Ah, the age old saying – “My mom’s great grandfather was Irish so I’m totally like, from there” – is now in tank top form!

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Available here

 

4. More of the same but this time featuring awful word play.

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Available here

 

5. More like Irish girl uses weird American slang and an offensive amount of glitter.

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Available here

 

6. This is not how we operate, America.

 

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Available here

 

7. I actually came across a worrying amount of merchandise with the words ‘hooligan’, ‘shenanigans’ and ‘malarkey’ but most of them were too tragic to even put on this list. The best part about this one was the use of a four-leaf clover.

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Available here

 

8. Imagine a person paying for this. And wearing it. In public. With other people. Looking at them.

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Available here

 

9. And now, for the pièce de résistance. There’s too much going on here. Pattie’s day? Donald Trump wearing a leprechaun hat? The insinuation that St Patrick’s day was ever not great? …I need to lie down.

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Available here