Finally, some time to sit down and tell you all how I’ve been faring since I wrote last. I took my flight out of Boston at around quarter to 7 on Tuesday night. The flight was fine and uneventful. I tried to sleep, but instead just sort of laid in stasis mode with my eyes closed for about 2 hours. I arrived at Dublin airport at around quarter past 5 in the morning local time. I had to wait about 45 minutes before I luggage came around on the carousel, and I tried to call my mom (as per her specific instructions) on a borrowed Irish cell phone, which, naturally, doesn’t seem to work. So, without the ability to contact anyone, save those within my immediate vicinity, I exchanged my dollars for Euros and headed outside.
My instructions had been to catch the bus to the hotel in Merrion Square and to check in with my name when I got there, so I wandered around and found many taxis but no buses. So I walked a ways down the concourse until I found a man at a counter next to a bus! Relieved, I asked him for a ticket to Merrion Square as the bus pulled away and he informed me that that was indeed the bus I had needed to be on. However, another bus was to arrive in 15 minutes time. However, I really wish that I had been on that first bus because right behind me was an American woman who clearly was in desperate need of a companion because I’m not sure she stopped talking until I finally got off the bus some forty minutes later. Sorry, she did stop talking – long enough for me to answer each of her probing questions about myself of course.
I found the hotel easy enough. It was across the street from Oscar Wilde’s house! However, they did not seem to have any record of me and the man seemed utterly perplexed, so he instructed me to sit in the lounge which was occupied by only two other people talking animatedly. The woman was hard not to overhear, and as I sat I realized what she was talking about, so I asked her: “Are you talking about Study Abroad in Galway? For Butler?” She was surprised but answered in the affirmative. I told her who I was and she was shocked!
“But you were supposed to get in at 9:30.”
“Uh…sorry, no. At 5:15.”
“Oh! Well, I’m Arlene and I was sent here to meet you guys when you got here. This is Stephen, he got here at the same time you did.”
Naturally.
We discovered later that we had arrived at the same time, just in different terminals, and that he had just gotten a cab as a matter of convenience. So I had met up with my group and we had breakfast and talked for a couple of hours more until everyone was up and ready to go over to the offices around 9:45. The group had orientation (well, the rest of the group had been getting daily instructions for 2 days, but a few of us had just joined in. We were briefed on the important things like how to get medical care in an emergency and how to make potato and leek soup with one of those hand-held blenders. I hate to admit it, but seeing as how I had now been awake for about 24 hours, I dozed off a couple of times. But have no fear! – Several others did as well. Luckily, everything had been written down and given to us in a packet of information.
Finally, at around 1:30 we were let out for lunch at a charming little place I believe was called Gas Can Harry’s. My ham sandwich was so-so, but I did get a side of “chips” which were good with some ketchup. Afterwards we piled on a bus to head to Galway. I sat with a nice girl named Chelsea who goes to Vanderbilt and we talked for a while before we agreed to enjoy the scenery in quiet. For me this meant falling asleep in my seat until Arlene shouted “wake up!” because she needed to pass out more papers and cards and contracts needed to be signed. She was tickled to death that it had worked in waking me up, but really, why wouldn’t it?
Once in Galway we got our apartments assigned and a lecture about all the things we needed to do and needed to know….at 5:30. Needless to say, I was, at this point, in a bit of a trance and decided to rely on information from the more alert groups that had been in Dublin for 2 days and were well rested. Molly was assigned my roommate, and we quickly realized that before we could do anything, we needed the essentials such as sheets, toilet paper, and beer. So with a few other girls we went in search of dinner and a store. It was found 5 minutes or so walk down the street, but the whole thing turned into a confused ordeal as 5 girls traversed a mini-mall on the side of a busy road that held several fast food restaurants and stores. Finally deciding on Subway, we managed not only to confuse ourselves, but the poor staff as well (including when Bailey asked for chips and the confused man had to explain to her that they don’t serve chips, until he caught on that she was American and instructed her to say “crisps”). Somehow we managed to confusedly walk back and forth for another hour and a half, something that was really just more of a blur for me as I followed along in a docile stupor. When we got back to the apartments everyone was walking around and asking everyone to go out to the pubs and the clubs. Are you kidding me?! There was no way. So I declined and made my bed and put everything away, delivered some semblance of order to our tiny shared room, took a shower and threw myself in bed around 22:30. Oi.
Naturally, the return of the group was at 2:30 am, and the courtyard echoes. I have never noticed just how LOUD drunk people are until 2:30 this morning until they woke me up.
All too soon it was 7:30 and I got up to eat my cereal and change into something that I hadn’t been wearing for 2 days straight. As the oh-so-subtle Jack, who lives next door, explained to me only an hour or so ago, he had given me that first day as a grace period because he understood that I hadn’t showered or slept in a while. Thanks Jack.
This morning we met Arlene outside and walked to the University for International Student Orientation. It lasted a few hours, consisted of many PowerPoints, and yet another packet of information; but I took notes and am now quite convinced that I must rush out and join several clubs/go to many events on campus. We had the afternoon to ourselves, so many people went further into the city to find a phone store and explore. But Stephen and myself were still quite tired (and Stephen was hung-over), so we found lunch at the student center, opened our bank accounts at the bank on campus, and then walked back to the apartments where we spent some time laughing at some absurd and queer BBC show and some time blurting out answers at that mean host of the Weakest Link (You ARE the weakest link – goodbye!).
After Steve left, so did Molly to go for a run. I went upstairs to plan my next shopping trip that would involve more than sheets, toilet paper and a box of cereal. I heard a noise downstairs and went to investigate when I found the door open. I watched Molly close and lock the door, so I was in ready-to-pounce mode as I looked around. Finally, when I decided it had done it on its own, I tried the door several times and still couldn’t get it to lock or stay closed. The office closes and 17.00, so naturally it was 10 past. But, luckily, there was a maintenance man doing odd jobs and he saw me looking utterly perplexed and offered his assistance. Turns out that to get the door to stay closed you must turn the handle first down and then up. Well I felt like an idiot. But, we talked for a bit and it turns out he lived in Massachusetts for 7 years and cheers for the Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics as well. He also informed me that there were 2 other girls across the courtyard that were living by themselves and were decidedly lonely. So, I walked over to apartment 10 and introduced myself. I forget if her name is Tika or Kita…but it’s something like that and she’s an Erasmus student from Germany. We talked for a while and she was quite nice. Finally I headed to the store and went a little crazy with the food (well, 2 bags’ worth) and I had to carry it myself back to the apartments.
My plans for pasta were foiled when I realized after 15 minutes that my water was just not going to boil on a range that doesn’t get hot – or luck-warm for that matter. So, knowing the boys who live next door, I requested the use of their stove and offered to share my pasta. The pasta was declined, but I did manage to make a sufficient mess of the kitchen; first by making a hard-to-open bag of pasta into an exploding bag of pasta, and second by burning my forgotten-about buns in the oven. I’m a great houseguest.
Naturally when I finished and returned to my apartment, I once again gave the stove a looking-over and found a big red button beneath the cabinets that said ON/OFF. I flicked it on and guess what turned on!
Once again tonight most everyone in the complex left to go out drinking and dancing while my tired eyes remained behind. But they won’t let me get away with it for long – Molly made me promise to go out tomorrow night. Ha! We’ll see how that goes…
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