Enjoying life in Ulster!

Welcome to my blog, I’m Hannah Roche and a 3rd year student in the SETU Culinary arts degree. I’m currently studying in Coleraine’s Ulster University for my Erasmus study placement. Arriving in Northern Ireland was more different than I expected. I was preparing for a similar life as home but it became apparent that the culture, food and people have their own unique persona.

It took a few weeks to understand the North, the transport, the accents and the people but I soon found myself comfortable with the change. I decided to get a job in the local hotel as a waitress to earn some extra cash and meet some local people which was probably the best idea I had. The group of people I work with are amazing and so welcoming. After work we always have a drink at the bar and most of the we go out afterwards.

Life in Coleraine is a bit slower paced then Waterford in terms of social life. There is various pubs, restaurants, nightclubs but with a slightly less population but thankful the options of traveling to Derry or Belfast for a trip is an option. Considering it was halloweekend a couple of friends and I decided to go out in Belfast for a night out rather than staying Coleraine like usual. The trip to Belfast was a perfect way to spend weekend, we got to eat out in various nice restaurants, we got to go sightseeing and most importantly we got to experience Halloween weekend nights out in different bars and nightclubs in Belfast. The transport we took was a train which only took an hour and a half, only in Belfast we used uber which was cheap and fast. University work is enjoyable and easy to do, there is no stress about deadlines or missing assignments as the UUC have a very relaxed approach to education which is very positive for me as I work better with space and time. In terms of university, I haven’t had much opportunity to meet up with any classmates due to busy schedules but in terms of my part time job I am thriving. We all travelled to Belfast last Monday for a staff night out in which we rented out tour bikes in which we travelled around Belfast on a bar on wheels which we had to pedal all while getting free drinks. The staff night was brilliant as most of the staff are my age and we all have a lot in common. We ended up in a lot of different bars around the city.

If I had to summarize my time up here so far, I would most definitely state what a great time I’m having and how grateful I am that I’ve met so many wonderful people in my short time up here so far. I am so grateful that I came up here with an open mind and am willing to meet new people, I strongly believe that it made me settle so much easier along with being able to go out with new friends to enjoy what the north has to offer.

In Bruges!

During second year in BA Culinary Arts in SETU Waterford I had the opportunity to choose somewhere to go on college placement in my third year and I decided to go to Vives University in Brugge in Belgium. Having never been to Belgium and not knowing how to speak Dutch which is the main language of the region I’m staying in I was pleasantly surprised to see that the level of English was really good from everyone so I have no issues talking to people. After I got here we had a fun induction day with all the other Erasmus students who came to Vives too. Learning about Belgium and its culture has been pretty fun so far, with the best parts in my opinion being food, beer and chocolate for obvious reasons, because they all lead to a good time. Through one of the classes I’m taking here called Taste of Belgium I’ve been able to not only learn about the culture and history of the area, I’ve also been able to taste many different products and go on trips to see different places.

The last one of these trips we went on started in front of a large cathedral here I Brugge and we walked around some of the restaurant area to take a look at all the different types of cuisine that was in that small area. I was surprised at how many good restaurants there were compared to the amount that are in Waterford, but it makes sense with how their culture views food and eating compared to Ireland.

After that we went and got some cookies in a chocolate store and took a walk past the Belgian Beer Wall, a glass wall that contains what I assume is close to evert Belgian beer and the glasses that these beers are expected to be enjoyed from, since Belgians are quite adamant that each beer needs its own glass. Something I had thought was a bit excessive but its still interesting to try different beers and see the different glasses that they are in.

After the beer wall we made our way to the chocolate museum to learn about the history of Belgian chocolate, a product that I’m sure everyone likes to eat and is very famous worldwide. We learned how chocolate was first created and how it evolved into the sweet treat that people love in this day and age. Of course there was also different types of chocolate that was available for us to try at the end of the tour, along with chocolate sculptures that were made with amazing precision and craftsmanship. I did a bit of exploring around Brugge and the surrounding towns myself going to a few of the tourist attractions myself such as the torture museum, Sculpture museum and to the beach at Oostende and Knokke. I think next I’m gonna start going to some more of the restaurants that are around to see what the food is like and I’ll be sure to tell everyone about them. Hope you enjoyed, Conor

Greetings from Toronto!

Greetings from Toronto! The time here really flies by quick I’ve already been here for 2 months, and it is feeling like a few weeks. I’ve gotten to see some much here as there is always something to explore in Toronto. Although travelling by myself was a little bit tough I am so grateful I did take the leap. Canada is quite a beautiful country and I’m so happy I just got to explore this small part. Due to living in Etobicoke. There isn’t much of a social scene so for any activities I would travel more closer to Toronto, for example I have gotten to see Ice Hockey and Basketball, which I loved.

It’s incredible learning new things about this area because you would never come across it back home. While traveling alone was dauting I was amazed by the kindness of Canadians, I knew traveling out here they were very caring people, but I suppose you don’t believe it until you see it, my classmates were so welcoming and were always interested to learn about Ireland and how it can differ too here. With the course at Humber, I do have quite a lot of down time as I only have 4 classes a week with them being 3-4 hours long and not many assignments either due. I have a small amount of work due but not as many assignments like SETU, as this course is more focused on the practical side of cooking and our course back home being 2 years longer has the opportunity to have a widespread learning base. I definitely find I am learning more and more out here as I’m viewing culinary arts through a new light, while some work is a bit repetitive, I don’t mind the practice. I have attached some photos of just a glimpse of Toronto, as there is so much going on in this city you are never bored. Especially for all the foodies which I know a lot of us are Toronto is home to one of the best food markets, called St. Lawerence market you can find everything in here, from fresh meat and fish to the largest selection of cheeses.

I have come across there truly is something for everyone here. If you are considering travelling to Canada either alone or with someone else, I would warn you when it gets cold here it gets colder, I may have been fooled by the last of the summer heat in august and early September but now it is nearly November the temperatures do drop…A LOT.

Greetings from Coleraine!

Hi, my name is Sarah and I’m on my international year of the four year level 8 culinary arts course in SETU. For semester one I have chosen to attend University of Ulster in Coleraine from September to December. University of Ulster has three campuses, Coleraine, Belfast and Derry. The Coleraine campus is much smaller than SETU with only 5000 students. There is a very relaxed atmosphere here and we met many other international students. The university has many amenities for students such as a gym, various sports clubs and a strength and conditioning suite.

I am renting an apartment with Hannah, one of my classmates. It is a two bed apartment located in Portrush. The apartment is a two minute walk from the beach and has a lovely long walk up around the cliffs with gorgeous views. It is a ten minute drive to the college by car, luckily Hannah and I take turns driving to college each day. There is a bus stop straight across from our apartment and the train station is a five minute walk also. There is lots to do around the Portrush, Coleraine and Portstewart area. I have been to many bakeries and cafes over my few weeks since my arrival in Northern Ireland. The town is very calm and quiet which is also nice.

The modules in ulster are quite different to SETU. The modules I am studying are product development, applied sensory science and quality control and lastly, food studies and nutrition We look at different aspects of food such as developing products for the shelves and researching the information needed in addition to the products. It’s interesting to see the method behind producing products and all the testing required to make it feasible for sale. For us, we only have college on Monday’s, Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s which means we can go home for the weekend if we wish. The lecturers are very warm and welcoming and are easy to talk to. They made us feel right at home upon arrival and in the first few weeks of classes. Overall, I’m enjoying my experience so far in Portrush. I’m settling into a routine and I’ve plenty of spare time to explore the area and have fun. We’re nearly halfway through, the weeks really are flying by. We finish classes on the 15th of December for Christmas. I’ll sign off here from West Beach, Portrush.

Settling into Brugge, Belgium Study Semester 1!

After spending the summer since my previous semester in SETU working in Ireland getting prepared for my international Study period where I’d be travelling to Brugge, a city in Belgium for the 1st Semester of my 3rd year on the BA (Hon) in Culinary Arts, the time came where I was ready to leave for the next adventure of my culinary career. Brugge is a historical city on the north-west of Belgium. The city has a population of 117 thousand people, and the country of Belgium has a population of 11.59 million in total. I arrived in Brugge on the 11th of September after plane journey and a few hours of travelling by bus from Charleroi Airport to get to Brugge station which was just outside the city centre. As I was travelling with plenty of luggage, I took an Uber from the station to the University of VIVES which is in the Sint – Michiels neighbourhood on the outskirts of the city. After 4 minutes in the uber I saw the University, and as soon as I got out of the uber I felt delighted, because I saw on the maps of the layout of the grounds that “The Crown” accommodation, where I would be living, was literally directly across from the main campus. I met with Katrien, the housing officer and got myself checked in and got myself comfortable after an early morning flight and a few hours of travelling, it was nice to be able to stay in the room for a few hours as I felt tired and felt like relaxing after the long morning. On the 12th of September I went to the University for induction at around 9am where I was introduced to Melanie Carbonelle, the International University Officer, and got to interact with the other international students and was given an overview of the college as well the rules and regulations towards the college. After all that was done, we were split into groups for ice breaker games which I thought were a good way of getting to know who could be on the Culinary Arts and hospitality programmes. After the ice breaker games, I was given a briefing on the Culinary Course followed by a tour of the campus buildings and facilities. After the induction, I went into Brugge City and began exploring the centre including a stop for food. I went travelling around sightseeing and shopping, as I still had to get a few college essentials as well. After all the sightseeing and as it was getting dark, I went back to the accommodation by bus as it stopped right outside the crown. Over the weekend before the semester started, I went to the neighbouring cities of Ghent and Antwerp for some more sightseeing, I also spent a fair bit of time getting settled into the accommodation. I spent a lot of time going around the main attractions and seeing the amazing old gothic style architectures around the areas. I am starting to get settled into Brugge and looking forward to seeing what the city has to offer over the next coming weeks while I complete my studies. Until next time, Stuart Dunne Maher.