My life changed on Jan. 5 when I landed in Ireland. Throughout my time here so far, my experiences have contributed to my new personal love affair with travel and my own development.

Coming from a fairly urban area of Connecticut, I was never used to a small town where I could witness miles upon miles of green farmland. When I stepped off the plane from the United States, there was no question in my mind that I was in Ireland as it looked exactly like how all of the photographs depicted it.

This semester, I started classes at University College Cork, a large school that could be comparable to a state school in the U.S. At first, it was a big change going from Suffolk to UCC. It was clear that campus life was an important part of the college experience to the students here and they all seemed to know each other — something that initially made me feel like an outcast. Getting used to the traditional campus at UCC was awkward since I live off-campus in an apartment with some roommates, only one of which I knew from Suffolk, Denise Fortin.

As I got used to the close-knit community at UCC, I have grown to enjoy the school spirit that seemed to lack at Suffolk’s Boston campus, making this a more welcoming environment.

Outside the campus walls, the small city of Cork is full of friendly people, mostly college students and elderly residents, who are happy to give anyone directions or a recommendation to a local pub. In Ireland, it seems people drink to relax and socialize with others, not to go overboard or binge. Instead, the pubs are a calm atmosphere to have a good social hour with friends and classmates.

Different to Boston’s urban life, there isn’t an MBTA transit system in Cork to take me five miles away from campus to another town. Instead, there are only small bus routes to get around. In the morning before class, a bus picks me up across the street at the train station and brings me directly to campus, making my life extremely convenient.

When I get to school, my classes consist of large lecture halls instead of the small, cramped rooms of Donahue and Archer. Depending on the course, about 70 to 150 people could be in the hall with me at a time. For each class, homework and tests are rare. Instead, I either have a large paper due or an exam the last week of classes that will test my knowledge from the entire semester. All of my professors begin each class by talking about what the exam or paper will focus on, so there wouldn’t be any surprises. Each of them are understanding and reasonable –making my adjustment to this type of campus and way of learning easier.

Living here has been a nice change of pace as my apartment in Cork is cozier than my small dorm room in Miller Hall. Besides Denise, my other roommates include two boys, one from Germany and the other from Iowa. Each week, we make a family-style dinner that typically consists of American cuisine. We also invite our friends we have made from UCC who are from all different countries.

Like many study abroad students, we are able to take a multitude of trips across Europe because flights and hostels are so cheap. Denise and I went on a weekend-long trip with our school to see the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula. When we got there, the view was extraordinary. On one side, there were beautiful hills and sheep scattered about them — exactly how I pictured Ireland would look before I came to study. On the other side were cliffs that looked over the Atlantic Ocean, which displayed the most beautiful color of blue in the water.

At the Ring of Kerry, we had a tour bus throughout the mountains. We were able to see the lakes that were at different levels and a stunning waterfall. While heading back to Cork, we stopped at the infamous Muckross House and Park. At the Muckross House, I felt like I had gone back in time with the elegance of the architecture and the horse-drawn carriage in the driveway.

Days later, I visited the Blarney Castle and eagerly watched people climb up the steps to kiss the stone at the top. When you finally reach the top, you can’t help but pause to take in the view that the grounds of the castle sit on.

A few weeks ago, I bought a plane ticket and booked another hostel to head to Amsterdam as a spur of the moment idea.

So far, my experience in Ireland has been one of the best for me. I am completely surrounded by new friends and there is always something new to explore. Never will I be bored here, as I will always find somewhere to go.