Katie McAuliffe: From Ireland to the States

Katie McAuliffe was born on November 21, 1987 in Waterford, Ireland; which is in southeast Ireland. Katie is studying abroad at Frostburg State University along with ten other students. She normally attends Mary Immaculate College in Limberk, Co. Limberk, Ireland. She is a junior but in Ireland they say that there in their third year, and she majors in English and Mass Communication. While at Frostburg State, Katie is taking an acting class and guitar class. Back at home she was a part of the music society, her grandfather is big in singing. Her first Language is English but she can speak Irish. That was a big language for her to learn because she does live in Ireland, in high school she did take up another language which was French.

Katie is one of three children. She has an older brother, 22, and is in college and a younger sister, 16, who is in high school. Her father is a police officer but in Ireland it is called a guard, and her mother is a manager at a swimming center. She gets along with her family. They are a Catholic family. People being Catholic is dying out in Ireland with the new generation, you cannot be married if you’re a priest or nun. Some of their biggest holidays are Christmas, Halloween and of course St. Patrick’s Day. I asked her are leprechaun’s real and she said laughing “No not really, it’s a myth, it’s only big in America.” She also said “There are no Lucky Charms in Ireland because it’s too sugary.” Her job back at home is at a children’s play center, it is a pirate theme and kids go there to bowl, mini golf and do other activities. Katie use to play Camogie and Gaelic football, which are Irish sports, and an all-Ireland swimmer. She also danced; Irish dancing, hip hop, tap and ballet, but she gave them all up. She still sometimes dances. Katie likes to party just like any other college student. In Ireland their legal drinking age is 18 so that was a bit of a shocker but she is 21. She likes all types of music except techno and heavy metal. Some of her favorite groups are The Script, Michael Bubble, and Take That, when she goes back home she is going to see them in concert.

Katie loves being here in America and at Frostburg State University, but she is trying to get use to the weather. Ireland does not get as much snow as Frostburg gets, but they do get a lot of rain. She does not like the food here because it’s just different; back at her school in their cafeteria they do not have a buffet style. Also they do not have dorms. On her flight to America, it was 8 hours long. They landed in Washington DC, which was her first time being there. Instead of having a green card, they were given a visa card which lasts until May. But they have a month grace period where she and the other 10 students are going to go traveling. She wants to visit New York. Katie has also traveled a lot. She has been to Paris, France to go to Disneyland, Spain, Germany, and Italy. She participated in a student exchange where she visited Nantes, France.