Dancers from Playhouse on Vimeo.

We’ve talked a lot here about how to learn English and study in Dublin. But we know that you have other talents too – the photograph competition a few months ago was very exciting!

When you live and study in Dublin, it can sometimes be difficult to find ways to express your creativity. It’s a new city and you have lots of classes and part-time work but there are lots of fun things you can do without taking too much time from your studies.

Here’s some suggestions for ways in which you can join in with Dublin people and make your creative mark on the city.

•    Have you seen how colourful Liberty Hall is recently? You can join in if you have a laptop and some funky ideas.
Go to the website and follow the instructions and your ideas could be up there for everyone to see:)

•    The National Art Gallery programme runs free drawing  programmes, check their website for details. It changes every month so you’re sure to find a style which suits you!

•    Do you like singing? The best karaoke experience in Dublin takes place at the Village, on Wexford Street every Sunday. This is rocknroll karaoke with the Kings of Leon, the Killers and even U2 on the list.

•    Or you could try the Open Mic at O Donoghue’s Pub.  They welcome everyone – singers, comedians and musicians.

WEEKEND TIP

Do you have a car? Book your tickets this week for the Drive-In Movie Night at Farmleigh House next weekend! It’s free but there is only one ticket per car and they sell out fast.

The Music Show is on at the RDS this weekend. Concerts, seminars and workshops on all kinds of music are taking place over the two days. You can buy one day €12 or weekend €16 tickets and the ticket covers everything so once you’re in you don’t have to pay again.

Irish Postcards

Did you make it out to some of the Guinness celebrations last night? There were some great bands so we hope you had fun!

We know you love talking! And sometimes it’s good to practice your English outside school too. One way is to join a conversation group in Dublin so that you can make new friends and find a way to practice English without worrying about exams.

Some good places to do this in Dublin are:

•    Havana Tapas Bar on South Great Georges street. It’s just around the corner from Abbey College; there is an English session every Wednesday from 17.30 to 19.30.
•    Join a Meetup Group. These are informal groups of people who meet up for activities and fun. This group is for practicing English but there are lots of others which are mostly free to join. Choose from English, photography, dancing, sports and many many more!
•    Every library in Dublin runs Language Exchange nights for free. The closest library to Abbey College is in the Ilac Centre on Jervis street.

WEEKEND TIP

Tonight is Culture Night. Museums, galleries and theatres are staying open until midnight so you’ve no excuse for missing out. Click here to find a list of events and opening times for 120 venues around the city.

Culture Night is also taking place in Galway,  Cork and Limerick so this could be a good weekend to go exploring the countryside.

Student Visa Regulations, Ireland

Many of you have been asking questions about the possible changes to the student visa regulations. As we posted a few days ago here and on the Spanish  blog, these changes are only ideas for now.

Nothing has actually changed, and we will definitely tell you IF anything does happen.

Some things you have asked about:

1. Working Hours:  INIS have said there are NO immediate plans to change the hours which international students can work. This will stay the same at 20 hours/week in term time and 40 during holidays.
2. Continuing Your Course: Yes, if you are in Ireland now and already studying then you can finish your course even IF the new changes take place.
3. Continuing Your Visa: Yes, if your visa is finishing at the end of 2009 you will be able to enrol in new courses even IF the new changes take place.  Read here for suitable courses.
4. Can we express my ideas to the government? Yes.  Colleges, universities and students representation bodies have been invited to put their ideas to the government, from now until October 9th 2009.
5. When will you know what’s happening? As the ideas are under discussion until October 9th and then being discussed further by the government, it is unlikey that any regulations will change in the near future.  We will inform you here on the blog about any change IF they happen in the future.

If you have any more questions please post them there on the blog or talk to Reception!!

WEEKEND TIP

This weekend you could hop on a free bike and have a mini-adventure cycling round Dublin city.  The new bike scheme means you can buy a 3-day ticket for 2 euro and take a bike from one of the 40 stations for a spin. If you only cycle for 30 minutes between stations you can return the bike for no charge! So you can do lots of short trips over the weekend and not spend more than the 2 euro.

And on Thursday Septmber 24, Guinness will celebrate 250 years of the black stuff.  It’s too late to get tickets for the main gigs, but you can still buy tickets for some great bands performing in pubs around Dublin. Check out this blog post with full details of where you can go

If you have any more questions about the possible changes to the Student visas please post them there on the blog or talk to Reception!!