It has been a wonderful week of discovering new things and exploring the wonderful city of Dublin. Like I said before, the first day was incredibly long and exhausting. It took me a couple days after that to get over the jet lag. I have had a great week filled with orientation seminars, a bus tour of Dublin, a field trip to a farm, Irish pubs, music and I had my first class in Irish history. I am still adjusting to living here but it is getting easier and I have had so much fun already.
Orientation has been good. It has not been like going to orientation at home; it is the same thing I just feel like it is way more exciting when you are in another country. It has been interesting and informative and also very nice to have time to adjust before classes start. I did not have an alarm clock for the first few days and it was a challenge each night to figure out how I was going to wake up in time the next morning. Luckily, I eventually got a prepaid phone which had an alarm. Part of adjusting to living here was coming to the realization that I was on my own for everything. They do not have meal plans at Dublin City University; they have a cafeteria you just have to pay each time to eat there. I do share a kitchen with four other girls who are Irish and have pots and pans and such that they generously let me use.
All of the international students had the opportunity to go on a bus tour of Dublin. I was a little hesitant because it felt very much like a tourist activity. As it turns out, it was so great to see the city. I am quickly falling in love with the city. On the tour we were able to drive by all of the major sites in Dublin. For example, the Dublin Castle, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the National Museum, the Guinness factory and so many more. I am glad I went because it made me excited to know where all of those places are and I can’t wait to go explore them further. Even though I felt like such a tourist the whole time, it was well worth it.
On Saturday all of the International students took a field trip to an Irish farm. I thought this trip was funny because we have farms in the U.S. and most of us have been on a farm. However, some aspects of the farm were different. We started off the day by making traditional Irish soda bread. It was very simple and fun. While that was baking we learned and Irish dance, which I forgot the name of and learned to play the boron. The boron is an Irish drum; I have to admit it was terribly fun. Then we got to go out and see the bog. They taught us a lot about the bog (i.e. what it is, what they use it for today, what they used it for in the past and so on). For lunch we came back and had our soda bread with jam, butter, cheese and, of course, tea. Then they let us milk a cow and see many other farm animals. I have to say that the Japanese students were quite entertaining to watch because the whole experience of the farm seemed to be more foreign to them that to the American students. Then the owner of the farm demonstrated how the dog, Patches, could herd sheep. We also learned how to play hurling. Which I have discovered I am not very good at. It was a good day at the farm, and for sure an experience I will not forget.
At night, the group of us has gone into Dublin and explored all of the different pubs. It has been so fun to see how different they all are from any bar in America but also how different they are from each other. My favorite ones have been the pubs with live music and where most the people are Irish. They are so fun and so different from anything you would find in the U.S. Although I do find it very hard to understand an Irish accent when there is loud music playing in the background, but I am sure I will get better soon.
On huge cultural night I have experienced was Arthur’s Day. This was September 23rd and it is a celebration of Arthur Guinness’s birthday. This as you can imagine, is a huge deal. At 17:59 (the year he was born) the entire city and I am sure the entire nation gives a toast to Arthur Guinness. I and a few of my new friends were in a pub downtown that was packed. I could barely move. It was so much fun and a holiday that I never knew of before.
I have had so many great times already but my favorite have been the times where I have been talking with my roommates over a cup of tea, talking about the differences in our countries or playing cards. I can tell that I am going to make some great friends while I am here. I still can’t believe how fortunate I am to have this opportunity. Classes start tomorrow! I can’t wait!
Cheers,
Keely
New Irish discovery of the day: I have not seen anyone where sunglasses, even when the sun is out and shining bright.
Trinity College
The river Liffey
the post office in Down town
Trinity College
The worlds smallest pub. They say you will pass yourself when you walk in
St. Patrick's Cathedral
The national psychiatric hospital
The president's house
the bog from Causey farm
My friend Jackie and the soda bread we made together
