Day 2

So, day 2 of life in Ireland is basically complete (it's 11 pm here).  Day 2 = much better than Day 1!  I know I didn't get a chance to tell you about all of yesterday, so I'll try to fill in, but the jet lag and the lack of comfort in the new place just didn't make me feel happy. 

Anyway, yesterday after I arrived in Dublin, I met my group and once everyone was there, we went into the city for a bit.  We had to wait on our accommodations at the university to be cleaned because the semester students left yesterday.  So we rode around on a private bus while our coordinator talked to us about different sites.  Don't ask me what he said - I was nodding off.  We stopped at Stephen's Green shopping center and bought groceries at this store called Dunnes.  Guys, it's a department store for two floors and then its basement is a grocery store.  Imagine Macy's with a Publix below.  Strange, but clever.  That woke me up quite a bit.  We finally moved in, and then I headed to grab some wifi at the sports complex.  That worked for a bit, then dinner in the apartment, then back to the sports complex to see everyone and play some card games.

I made it till 9:30, took an Ambien, and went to sleep.  This morning, I woke up and freaked out because it was so bright outside that I thought I hadn't heard my alarm.  Nope.  It was 4:40 in the morning.  And basically daylight outside.  Strange.  Now I kind of know what it feels like in Alaska for half the year. 

We had orientation, walked to the Omni Centre (which was a mall).  The bookstore had USA travel guides on half price - I thought that was funny.  I bought a few more groceries at some pretty decent prices and we walked back.  At 2:30, Martin, our coordinator, took us on the Dublin bus to town so that we could get the hang of it.  By now, it was probably 60 degrees - I don't feel like calculating the Celsius.  But it was cold and windy.  A few of us walked around a little by the Liffey River on the O'Connell side, then met up with friends who were headed to dinner in Temple Bar (one of the areas of downtown).  We went to this bar called Porterhouse Pub and had a really funny Dubliner serve us.  The first thing he did was ask us where we were from, and I noticed that everyone else in the room was looking at us waiting for our answer.  I didn't eat (or drink) because I wasn't hungry (and don't) but everyone else had some really good food and (mostly) local brews. Check out this beer mat I thought was really funny:

We headed back to campus, and I was hungry by then so we stopped into the campus pub in The Hub to get some food - I got Mexican quesadillas!!! So excited.  I just want to find cheap Mexican food here because it seems so unnatural. 

I left some friends at the hub, came back here, skyped with mom and dad, and went back for another hour.  Now it's raining and I'm headed to bed.

Class starts tomorrow followed by a walking tour of the main parts of downtown Dublin.  I'm going to finally become a camera tourist tomorrow.  Come back soon for the next update!

Shelley

On the Emerald Isle

Hello!   I don't yet know the Irish greeting, so I'll stick with what I do know for now.  I am IN IRELAND.  My non-stop from Atlanta to Dublin was delayed for about half an hour due to the weather, but we boarded and hit the air.  I got lucky because there was no one sitting next to me (I think that was the only empty seat on the whole 767!).  I think we took off around 8:30.  I immediately started watching Leap Year.  It was over too soon, and I still hadn't gotten my dinner.  I finally got that around 11 pm.  I ate, then dozed on and off for the next 3 or 4 hours. 

When I woke up (body time ~ 3 am), the sun was shining outside.  We had about 1 hour until we landed, so I watched outside when I could see past the people in the window seats.  When we dropped through the top layer of clouds and could see Ireland, I was stunned.  We flew over this patchwork of grass and fields and stone walls, all different colors, textures, each with their own charming building nearby.

Well, the building where I am on campus is closing in 10 minutes, so I'll finish this later.