first things first; CORK WAS AMAZING!!!
it's a beautiful part of the country and it was made even better by the friend whose house we stayed in
we (me and four other girls) stayed with our friend adam whom we met during our stay in tuam in county galway
he's just a really nice guy and his roommate was super fun and hilarious!
by the way, "houses," atleast in cork, are kind of like apartments in the sense that they're many in one building. however, they all have street-side entrances and are about four stories tall, with each floor being very long and narrow to fit into the building complex.
it was a really fun weekend and we met a ton of other irish people who all came over to adam and chris' house on saturday night. at one point we had 17 people in their teeny tiny living room which is about six feet by nine feet, with wall-to-wall furniture! it was so hot in that small room, but it was great fun and i met a really nice guy from cobh :)
this past week has gone by so fast! ive practiced lacrosse monday through thursday, trying to better my ability and hopefully be able to play in our first game of the season this coming friday!!!
(did i mention before that i've started lacrosse?)
it's really fun and i have my own stick and ball to practice with! we have official practices on monday and thursday and then we have space in the gym to practice on tuesdays and wednesdays, but two of my friends, who are also on the team, and i like to go to the field on the track to practice.
so i've got that going. it's really fun and i'm so excited for our game on friday!!! the following monday we have our first mixer for the team...apparently we're renting out one of the rooms in the student center and there will be free drinks...they're calling it "team bonding" lol
it's pretty funny the way they do things over here. ive already heard stories about how the coach even parties with the team! he's an american from long island, new york, and he's a really good coach. he gives good pointers without talking down to those of us who are new to the sport (over half of the women's team and a good portion of the men's team) and he's pretty funny to boot.
friday i went and registered with the gardai. it actually took a lot less time than i thought it would. gabbie and i took the 8:10am bus into city centre and when we got to the headquarters, the line to get numbers was around three of the four sides of the building!!! however, i got nuber 102 and gabbie got number 113. BUT here's the thing; i think they either hand out numbers at random or backwards because our friends who were there before gabbie and i were got numbers in the 200s. anyways, after we got our numbers we went and got some breakfast and the first decent cup of coffee i've had since i got here and then went for a bit of shopping.
the woman handing out numbers said to come back around 10:30 to wait for our turn, but that there wasn't any seating at the moment, which is why we'd have to come back. we got back to the GNIB station at about 10:37 and my number had already passed!!! i was freaking out. gabbie called our friend mallori who had already registered and asked what we should do. she said to just ask someone there...(why didn't we think of that? oh yeah, probably because we were so freaked out i had missed my number!!!) so i went up to the counter where the lady was handing out numbers. she looked kind of doubtful that i'd get in same-day but sent me down to window 1 to ask to talk to the supervisor. so i went down there and explained the situation to the man there and he left for about a minute or so (a long time when you're freaking out) and came back to tell me to go to window six.
let me just interject to explain these "windows." it's basically this mini, circular room with a stool in front of a wall of glass. there are no holes so it's really hard to hear. there is this one little slot to transfer papers through to the person on the other side, but they can shut their end for security reasons. they dont even have a microphone or anything, so it's SUPER hard to understand what they're saying. PLUS there's this little camera to your left so they can both monitor you while you're there and take your picture for your GNIB card.
okay, so i went down to window six and the guy was just sitting there looking rather bored. i explained i had been sent down here and he was just like, "okay." so i asked him if that meant i was going to be able to do the process and he said yes, so i sat down and took out all of my paperwork. (there's certainly a lot, let me tell you!!!) after about five minutes of just sitting there, him looking at the computer and doing a bit of clicking the mouse here and there, he asks for my paperwork. i slide the papers and my two forms of i.d. through the little slot. basically, he just does a bit of imputing, but then comes the kicker. he asks where i'll be living while i'm in ireland. crap. i forgot my housing sheet with my official address. trying to play it off like i totally know what i'm doing, i casually say, "oh, on campus at belgrove residences." then he asks for the address. by then the caffeine had kicked in and i was jittery, plus the nerves of possibly being told i have to come back the next day because i don't have my offical housing form, made me start shaking. not noticeably, but i could feel my hands get that annoying buzzing, jittery feeling, telling me to start freaking out. lol so, in an effort to preserve the intentions for the day; getting my GNIB government card, i say, "well i can just tell it to you." YES! it works! relief spread throughout my body as he inputs everything i say. (thank goodness i have it memorized!)
long story short (though i'm starting to think i really CAN'T make a long story short, with the length of these blogs!) i got my card and the guy helping me was really nice, funny, and goodness was he cute!!! it took an hour after giving all my information to the guy till i got my card, but i got it and i can legally live and work in ireland until the 2nd of june 2009!!!
afterwards, gabbie and mallori (mallori met us in the city) did a bit more shopping then headed home. it was a really good day, despite actually having to register with the garda!!! lol
saturday we did the bus tour of dublin and got to tour the guiness factory and get a tour of an old jail. it was so fun! then we came back to campus and got ready for celebrating gabbie's birthday since she was turning 21 on sunday. we went out to mexican food (which tasted nothing like mexican food) and then out to some bars, then back home for some bailey's and some dancing. it was really fun!!!
so i think that about catches us up to right now! it's 2:28am on sunday night...well, technically monday morning. i got to talk to my parents (while my sister was still in bed! lol) and my grandma and nana. it was a good day :) OH! plus i got some skittles at the centra (a market on campus which is super expensive, but a lot more convenient than takinga 30-minute bus into the city!) so those were the highlights of my day :)
plus gabbie and mallori and i watched 27 dresses and had tea with "biscuits" (cookies) tonight.
this weekend we're going to cork again, though the girls who i'm going with didn't go last time. i have to get more batteries so i can take more pictures!!! i absolutely LOVE cork and have to figure out how to get some pictures up on here!!!
well i'm tired and even though i dont have class until 1pm tomorrow, i should get to bed.
i love you all and trust me; i miss you like crazy!!! (i kind of had a mini-breakdown of homesickness on thursday night. not fun. lol)
so i hope i'm providing some entertainment whilst writing of my travels and adventures!!!
i'll let you all know how the lacrosse game goes!
love and hugs from ireland!!!!!
LOVE YOU ALL!!!
love,
elyse
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
love from ireland
the second week of classes has begun!
well, it's halfway through, but ya know
classes are going pretty well
tomorrow ive one that i haven't been to yet; hispanic studies
should be interesting
to highlight the fact that irish students are known for not attending class on a regular basis, i'll tell you about my canadian fiction class yesterday
so the professor (well, lecturer or leader is what they call them) was taking attendance. then he said something to the affect of, "well we have eight today. eight out of sixteen. fifty percent! not bad!"
and i truly do not know if he was being sincere or sarcastic
(im kind of hoping he wasn't serious, but i have a feeling he was!)
so that's that
im feeling a bit under the weather, so to speak
mainly it's just a bit of a head cold, im guessing caused by allergies, since my sinuses are killing today!
friday will be a busy day for me, even though i haven't any classes
i have to get up early to catch the 10 bus into city centre then go to the garda headquarters to register
ive heard to expect three hours for the process on a regular day, though since it will be friday, im guessing it will be more like four hours
lucky me
AND i will have to pay the €150 to register. thank you ireland.
THEN i'll probably do a bit of shopping then head back to campus to drop off whatever i end up buying and picking up my bags for...CORK!
my friends and i are headed to cork this weekend.
my friends mallori and sophie stayed with this really nice guy adam during their homestay and he goes to school in cork
so about 5 or so of us girls are going to visit him for the weekend
should be loads of fun
we're catching at 4 o'clock bus out of dublin city centre (so i'll have to pay the €1.70 bus fare three times that day), and the bus takes about four and a half hours or so i'm told.
so it will be a long weekend
but i'm really excited about it!
i've yet to get my school books yet, so i'll do that tomorrow most likely
i have so much to read!
in my medieval class they're expecting us to reference books that the irish students have read during their first and second years studying medieval lit., but these are books which i have never read, so i've a lot of catching up to do
the other day my friend and i booked a flight to LONDON!
im so excited to finally see england!
we're going the weekend of the 17th through 19th of october
and a bunch of us may be going to barcelona. it was supposed to be rome, but i think it may be changed
which is fine
i'll just do rome next semester if i have to
take some pointers from "roman holiday" lol
well, i supposed i should be off.
i am truly beginning to miss america
not necessarily the country, i guess
more like the people in it
it's very hard not to be able to just call up my family or my best friends
the time difference is killer there
but, nonetheless, im happy here
of course there are days like today where i just dont feel well, it's cold and drizzly outside, and i just want to have some GOOD COFFEE :)
but it's all worth it
there is no way that i could ever have dreamt how amazing this place is
ive been given such a wonderful opportunity to not only see and experience ireland, but so much of the world as well
i have to figure out how to put pictures up on here so you all can see how great this place is.
i love it.
simple as that.
so goodbye for now
i'll have more to say soon, im sure!
love, sweet dreams, and goodnight;
elyse
p.s.
I'M PLAYING LACROSSE TOMORROW!
im nervous!
but i guess the lacrosse team needs players and they'll take anyone, no matter that they're inexperienced like me!
well, it's halfway through, but ya know
classes are going pretty well
tomorrow ive one that i haven't been to yet; hispanic studies
should be interesting
to highlight the fact that irish students are known for not attending class on a regular basis, i'll tell you about my canadian fiction class yesterday
so the professor (well, lecturer or leader is what they call them) was taking attendance. then he said something to the affect of, "well we have eight today. eight out of sixteen. fifty percent! not bad!"
and i truly do not know if he was being sincere or sarcastic
(im kind of hoping he wasn't serious, but i have a feeling he was!)
so that's that
im feeling a bit under the weather, so to speak
mainly it's just a bit of a head cold, im guessing caused by allergies, since my sinuses are killing today!
friday will be a busy day for me, even though i haven't any classes
i have to get up early to catch the 10 bus into city centre then go to the garda headquarters to register
ive heard to expect three hours for the process on a regular day, though since it will be friday, im guessing it will be more like four hours
lucky me
AND i will have to pay the €150 to register. thank you ireland.
THEN i'll probably do a bit of shopping then head back to campus to drop off whatever i end up buying and picking up my bags for...CORK!
my friends and i are headed to cork this weekend.
my friends mallori and sophie stayed with this really nice guy adam during their homestay and he goes to school in cork
so about 5 or so of us girls are going to visit him for the weekend
should be loads of fun
we're catching at 4 o'clock bus out of dublin city centre (so i'll have to pay the €1.70 bus fare three times that day), and the bus takes about four and a half hours or so i'm told.
so it will be a long weekend
but i'm really excited about it!
i've yet to get my school books yet, so i'll do that tomorrow most likely
i have so much to read!
in my medieval class they're expecting us to reference books that the irish students have read during their first and second years studying medieval lit., but these are books which i have never read, so i've a lot of catching up to do
the other day my friend and i booked a flight to LONDON!
im so excited to finally see england!
we're going the weekend of the 17th through 19th of october
and a bunch of us may be going to barcelona. it was supposed to be rome, but i think it may be changed
which is fine
i'll just do rome next semester if i have to
take some pointers from "roman holiday" lol
well, i supposed i should be off.
i am truly beginning to miss america
not necessarily the country, i guess
more like the people in it
it's very hard not to be able to just call up my family or my best friends
the time difference is killer there
but, nonetheless, im happy here
of course there are days like today where i just dont feel well, it's cold and drizzly outside, and i just want to have some GOOD COFFEE :)
but it's all worth it
there is no way that i could ever have dreamt how amazing this place is
ive been given such a wonderful opportunity to not only see and experience ireland, but so much of the world as well
i have to figure out how to put pictures up on here so you all can see how great this place is.
i love it.
simple as that.
so goodbye for now
i'll have more to say soon, im sure!
love, sweet dreams, and goodnight;
elyse
p.s.
I'M PLAYING LACROSSE TOMORROW!
im nervous!
but i guess the lacrosse team needs players and they'll take anyone, no matter that they're inexperienced like me!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
another update!
second day of classes
last night was CRAZY!!!
people went absolutely insane for the 1st day of classes! there was a line outside the student bar as early as about four o'clock when a bunch of us were headed to the bus stop to go into town
my friend said that there was a guy in her class that was drinking whiskey DURING the class!!! lol the irish are crazy! :)
okay; flashback to this weekend
friday we left for county galway, to a little town called tuam (pronounched tchoom). the bus ride was about three hours long down very narrow roads, going about 100 km/hr. it was insane!!!
we got there an hour early (big surprise; the bus driver was speeding the whole time!) so we had to just go chill in the reception area of this pool nearby while we waited for our host families to pick us up
in my group, it was me, leslie, and a girl called maura staying with some "sisters." hmm...well they weren't really sisters, but whatever floats their boat i guess.
the long and the short of it is that it wasn't quite what any of us were expecting from our weekend; we were ignored for a good majority of the time that we were there. the fun part was saturday night when nearly all of the americans went out to a local pub. it was so much fun! the pubs in dublin are fun, but it was great in galway b/c tuam is so small that everyone more or less knows everyone else. one my friend's host brother came along and he just added even more to the fun!
so sunday when we got back we went to a pub called the "wool shed" in downtown dublin with some guys from the lacrosse team. it was TONS of fun! apparently it was brazil (i think) independence day so it was filled with people celebrating...we had gone for the american football game, but it was all good!
afterwards we got 2 taxis back (there were quite a few of us) and hung out in my friend's apartment until about three in the morning
the next day was classes...ugh. lol
they really arent that bad
and its not even finalized until two weeks from now, i dont even know if the classes im in are going to be what i do for the semester...maybe thats why the irish kids dont go; b/c it may not even do any good if they have to change in two weeks
oh well
so last night we went to the student bar. one word; INSANE! i know i use that word a lot to describe my experiences here, but this was honest to goodness, certifiably insane! it was absolutely packed full of people. there were beer cups (plastic, thankfully) thrown all around on the floors and there was about two centimeters of beer just chillin' on the floor!!! WHAT THE HECK?!? lol some jerk stomped on my toe whilst he was jumping all around, being drunk and made me bleed...it hurt so bad i couldnt sleep! but leslie and i had tons of fun just dancing...i think we were the only sober ones there since we didnt drink before that
we met some other guys from america and headed back towards belgrove (our apartment complex). we went to our friend sarah's apartment again where we met up with MORE of the lacrosse team and talked till about three again. they brought absinthe, which you can apparently buy in eastern germany, and a couple of them had a tiny sip; apparently its so strong you need only a sip! i smelled it and it smelled terrible so i didnt want to give it a go.
today we went into city centre for shopping.
i finally have groceries and pots/pans for cooking! and a laundry hamper! and a straightener which actually works!!! lol
in about half an hour a few of us are heading to the gym for a workout, then back here for prbly either pasta and veggies or chicken and potatoes.
I LOVE IT HERE!
people are crazy, but amazing.
i think we're going to try to go to france or england soon, esp. since my roommate is from france. paris to be exact. her name is ophelie. we dont know the 3rd roommate or if she even exists! the room remains empty, so i think we'll try to check in reception and see if she's coming.
and i have to figure out skype so i can video chat with y'all! :)
and i know some of you were asking about my address, so here it is;
8.6.1 Belgrove
UCD
Belfield
Dublin 4
Ireland
OH! AND GOOD NEWS!!! I FOUND PEANUT BUTTER TODAY!!!!! im psyched :)
well im off to see what the deal is as far as when we're headed to the gym.
i hope to hear from you soon
love you
and talk later!
-elyse
last night was CRAZY!!!
people went absolutely insane for the 1st day of classes! there was a line outside the student bar as early as about four o'clock when a bunch of us were headed to the bus stop to go into town
my friend said that there was a guy in her class that was drinking whiskey DURING the class!!! lol the irish are crazy! :)
okay; flashback to this weekend
friday we left for county galway, to a little town called tuam (pronounched tchoom). the bus ride was about three hours long down very narrow roads, going about 100 km/hr. it was insane!!!
we got there an hour early (big surprise; the bus driver was speeding the whole time!) so we had to just go chill in the reception area of this pool nearby while we waited for our host families to pick us up
in my group, it was me, leslie, and a girl called maura staying with some "sisters." hmm...well they weren't really sisters, but whatever floats their boat i guess.
the long and the short of it is that it wasn't quite what any of us were expecting from our weekend; we were ignored for a good majority of the time that we were there. the fun part was saturday night when nearly all of the americans went out to a local pub. it was so much fun! the pubs in dublin are fun, but it was great in galway b/c tuam is so small that everyone more or less knows everyone else. one my friend's host brother came along and he just added even more to the fun!
so sunday when we got back we went to a pub called the "wool shed" in downtown dublin with some guys from the lacrosse team. it was TONS of fun! apparently it was brazil (i think) independence day so it was filled with people celebrating...we had gone for the american football game, but it was all good!
afterwards we got 2 taxis back (there were quite a few of us) and hung out in my friend's apartment until about three in the morning
the next day was classes...ugh. lol
they really arent that bad
and its not even finalized until two weeks from now, i dont even know if the classes im in are going to be what i do for the semester...maybe thats why the irish kids dont go; b/c it may not even do any good if they have to change in two weeks
oh well
so last night we went to the student bar. one word; INSANE! i know i use that word a lot to describe my experiences here, but this was honest to goodness, certifiably insane! it was absolutely packed full of people. there were beer cups (plastic, thankfully) thrown all around on the floors and there was about two centimeters of beer just chillin' on the floor!!! WHAT THE HECK?!? lol some jerk stomped on my toe whilst he was jumping all around, being drunk and made me bleed...it hurt so bad i couldnt sleep! but leslie and i had tons of fun just dancing...i think we were the only sober ones there since we didnt drink before that
we met some other guys from america and headed back towards belgrove (our apartment complex). we went to our friend sarah's apartment again where we met up with MORE of the lacrosse team and talked till about three again. they brought absinthe, which you can apparently buy in eastern germany, and a couple of them had a tiny sip; apparently its so strong you need only a sip! i smelled it and it smelled terrible so i didnt want to give it a go.
today we went into city centre for shopping.
i finally have groceries and pots/pans for cooking! and a laundry hamper! and a straightener which actually works!!! lol
in about half an hour a few of us are heading to the gym for a workout, then back here for prbly either pasta and veggies or chicken and potatoes.
I LOVE IT HERE!
people are crazy, but amazing.
i think we're going to try to go to france or england soon, esp. since my roommate is from france. paris to be exact. her name is ophelie. we dont know the 3rd roommate or if she even exists! the room remains empty, so i think we'll try to check in reception and see if she's coming.
and i have to figure out skype so i can video chat with y'all! :)
and i know some of you were asking about my address, so here it is;
8.6.1 Belgrove
UCD
Belfield
Dublin 4
Ireland
OH! AND GOOD NEWS!!! I FOUND PEANUT BUTTER TODAY!!!!! im psyched :)
well im off to see what the deal is as far as when we're headed to the gym.
i hope to hear from you soon
love you
and talk later!
-elyse
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
IM FINALLY HERE!!!
HELLO HELLO ALL WHO ARE READING THIS BLOG!!!
im told that several family members and close friends are anxiously awaiting some new info from me! :)
well, im in my apartment!!!
its kind of small but mostly cute. it smells like smoke though, like many places in ireland do. they recently made it law that you cant smoke inside a public building, but they have no restrictions on how far outside you can smoke...at the pub last night the bouncer was smoking literally AT the door!
dublin is amazing.
for the three days i lived in the heart of the city, i saw some amazing things. the first day i found a CASTLE!!! or, atleast me and leslie (a friend and roommate at the hostel) thought it was! we were later informed that it was a church, but it was beautiful just the same!
there is a river which flows directly through dublin, called the liffey. there are several elaborate bridges which intersect the river; some for cars and buses and others for foot passengers. they also have these strange looking boats which travel down the river...they kind of remind me of centipedes because they are so long and short...and kind of look like they have thick legs coming out of them.
dublin at night is something everyone should experience atleast once in their life. and im not just talking about the pubs!!! (which are of course great in their own right)
the city lights up and the river reflects the light beautifully. our hostel was right across from a heineken building which lit up in orange and green at night...i never thought something associated with heineken could be so beautiful! lol
yesterday i saw my first (and hopefully last) streetfight. yes, streetfight. some homeless man was attacking a rather large woman (whom i was later told looked like a swedish weight lifter or something of the sort) who had arm crutches...like the kind people use who are affected by cerebal palsy. it was pretty scary, but the woman turned out to be alright (and had pretty good ninja skills too i might add) and our bus just kept going, but it was something we all talked about for the rest of the day, and which made us thankful that our american moms had taught us the buddy system. and our group; we're pro at being buddies, since we go out in a group of five! lol
aside from the rather startling display of homelessness, dublin is really quite beautiful, lively, and friendly. the assumption that all europeans despise americans just does not work here. everyone gets so excited when they talk to us, and they find it more interesting that we're all from different parts of the country. in our hostel room, there were six of us, but five who went out on a regular basis. gabbie is from texas, leslie from san jose, california, but goes to school at gonzaga in washington, sarah is from illinois, and mallori is from minnesota. of course when i declare that im from washington, i must always specify that it is the STATE to which i am referring.
last night we went to see "an ideal husband" by oscar wilde at the abbey theatre. the first half was rather drab and very oscar wilde-esque, but the second was pretty funny! aside from going to the theatre, we have been in meetings nearly every day since we got here. learning about differences in culture, currency, and of course accent, i am realizing that there is so much that i do not know about this country, and so much that i will probably never fully understand, for the simple fact that i was not born and raised here.
apparently this is a culture where one does not express gratitude, as leslie and i found out by saying thank you to people serving us on the airplane! (we didnt fly over together, but compared experiences once we were here). currency. and the dollar. the dollar is NOTHING compared to the euro!!! although there are a number of places where we can find affordable things, the simple fact is that the euro is significantly stronger than the dollar. i have to remind myself that even though it seems like a good deal, i have to translate it into dollars, and the good deal vanishes before my eyes.
now the accent. i love it. the simple statement says it all! ;) one of our directors, hayden, had to remind us that WE are in fact the ones with the accent, not they. although the particular accent varies county to county and is apparently especially variant in limerick. i have noticed that although i can usually understand what someone is saying to me on the first, maybe second try, i have no idea what people are saying around me as i walk down the street. when i am with the americans i sometimes for get that i am in a foreign country, not just seattle. then an irish person speaks and it's like a jolt back to reality that i am in fact in IRELAND!!! no matter how many times i say it, i still can't believe it! i have wanted this for so long and now that it's actually here it still feels so surreal!
nevertheless, now onto what im sure everyone REALLY wants to know about. THE PUBS. they are grand. fantastic. tons of fun. there is no exaggeration there, i assure you! the bartenders are all so nice and willing to let you try whichever beer you want. and, i have to admit it, i do in fact LOVE guiness!!! i didn't think i would ever say that about a beer! last night was a really fun night. after the play we went back to the hostel and freshened up a bit. leslie and i were only planning on staying until about midnight, then we were going to head back since we had to leave at 10am this morning and breakfast ended at 9:30 and we had wanted to shower in the morning. THAT SURE DIDN'T HAPPEN!!! we got in at about a quarter to four! we started out at our favorite pub; porterhouse pub over in the temple bar area. this pub is about four floors, plus basement for bathrooms. (or toilet as they call it) on the third and one half floor there is a stage for the live entertainment, which is so fun! they sing so many old american songs; they sure love classic rock!!! so we started there, but after we got our beers we found out that they were closing in about ten to fifteen minutes. so we had to hurry on our beers. another group of americans were in there and on THEIR way out they told us that they were headed to something they had heard of called "the mez" and would we please join them. of course we said yes; it was only 11:30pm and we were just starting on the fun! the mez is the complete opposite of porterhouse. except in its fun. it is one floor of very stuffy (or as the irish say it; stoofy), very sweaty people. there is a live band until about one am...and there is a bouncer! he was so funny! so we hung out there until about 3:00 when we decided that we'd better eat something since we'd all had about three pints or so and either no dinner or light dinner. so we headed to the only thing open; burger king of course. we met some interesting characters, that's for sure! long story short, it was a great night and only a sample of some of the entertaining people and fun that dublin has in store for anyone.
tonight a few of us are getting together for a movie and some pizza in gabbie's apartment, i think. i am having so much fun here, but i cannot help but to miss those back home. it doesnt hit me until i have some quiet time to myself. then i realize that this isnt just some spring break trip. this is my life for nine months and id better get used to it. i have to get used to the accent, the currency, and the fact that THEY DONT HAVE PEANUT BUTTER!!! i mean, what's up with that?!? ;) but in all honesty, as unsure as i was just before i left and as homesick as i can feel at those rare times where i am not surrounded by distractions, i truly love this place and all it has to offer. i know this was the right decision for me. because this isn't just for fun. this isn't just because i felt like it. coming to dublin, feeling the tips of the wheels of the aer lingus airplane touch down on the runway, i felt like a certain part of me that had been missing since i can remember, was finally put back in place. i truly feel that this is where i should be right here, right now.
thank you to all of you who have supported me throughout all of this and throughout my life in general. and thanks if you made it all the way through to the end of the blog; i know it was a long one!!!
more soon.
love and goodnight,
elyse
im told that several family members and close friends are anxiously awaiting some new info from me! :)
well, im in my apartment!!!
its kind of small but mostly cute. it smells like smoke though, like many places in ireland do. they recently made it law that you cant smoke inside a public building, but they have no restrictions on how far outside you can smoke...at the pub last night the bouncer was smoking literally AT the door!
dublin is amazing.
for the three days i lived in the heart of the city, i saw some amazing things. the first day i found a CASTLE!!! or, atleast me and leslie (a friend and roommate at the hostel) thought it was! we were later informed that it was a church, but it was beautiful just the same!
there is a river which flows directly through dublin, called the liffey. there are several elaborate bridges which intersect the river; some for cars and buses and others for foot passengers. they also have these strange looking boats which travel down the river...they kind of remind me of centipedes because they are so long and short...and kind of look like they have thick legs coming out of them.
dublin at night is something everyone should experience atleast once in their life. and im not just talking about the pubs!!! (which are of course great in their own right)
the city lights up and the river reflects the light beautifully. our hostel was right across from a heineken building which lit up in orange and green at night...i never thought something associated with heineken could be so beautiful! lol
yesterday i saw my first (and hopefully last) streetfight. yes, streetfight. some homeless man was attacking a rather large woman (whom i was later told looked like a swedish weight lifter or something of the sort) who had arm crutches...like the kind people use who are affected by cerebal palsy. it was pretty scary, but the woman turned out to be alright (and had pretty good ninja skills too i might add) and our bus just kept going, but it was something we all talked about for the rest of the day, and which made us thankful that our american moms had taught us the buddy system. and our group; we're pro at being buddies, since we go out in a group of five! lol
aside from the rather startling display of homelessness, dublin is really quite beautiful, lively, and friendly. the assumption that all europeans despise americans just does not work here. everyone gets so excited when they talk to us, and they find it more interesting that we're all from different parts of the country. in our hostel room, there were six of us, but five who went out on a regular basis. gabbie is from texas, leslie from san jose, california, but goes to school at gonzaga in washington, sarah is from illinois, and mallori is from minnesota. of course when i declare that im from washington, i must always specify that it is the STATE to which i am referring.
last night we went to see "an ideal husband" by oscar wilde at the abbey theatre. the first half was rather drab and very oscar wilde-esque, but the second was pretty funny! aside from going to the theatre, we have been in meetings nearly every day since we got here. learning about differences in culture, currency, and of course accent, i am realizing that there is so much that i do not know about this country, and so much that i will probably never fully understand, for the simple fact that i was not born and raised here.
apparently this is a culture where one does not express gratitude, as leslie and i found out by saying thank you to people serving us on the airplane! (we didnt fly over together, but compared experiences once we were here). currency. and the dollar. the dollar is NOTHING compared to the euro!!! although there are a number of places where we can find affordable things, the simple fact is that the euro is significantly stronger than the dollar. i have to remind myself that even though it seems like a good deal, i have to translate it into dollars, and the good deal vanishes before my eyes.
now the accent. i love it. the simple statement says it all! ;) one of our directors, hayden, had to remind us that WE are in fact the ones with the accent, not they. although the particular accent varies county to county and is apparently especially variant in limerick. i have noticed that although i can usually understand what someone is saying to me on the first, maybe second try, i have no idea what people are saying around me as i walk down the street. when i am with the americans i sometimes for get that i am in a foreign country, not just seattle. then an irish person speaks and it's like a jolt back to reality that i am in fact in IRELAND!!! no matter how many times i say it, i still can't believe it! i have wanted this for so long and now that it's actually here it still feels so surreal!
nevertheless, now onto what im sure everyone REALLY wants to know about. THE PUBS. they are grand. fantastic. tons of fun. there is no exaggeration there, i assure you! the bartenders are all so nice and willing to let you try whichever beer you want. and, i have to admit it, i do in fact LOVE guiness!!! i didn't think i would ever say that about a beer! last night was a really fun night. after the play we went back to the hostel and freshened up a bit. leslie and i were only planning on staying until about midnight, then we were going to head back since we had to leave at 10am this morning and breakfast ended at 9:30 and we had wanted to shower in the morning. THAT SURE DIDN'T HAPPEN!!! we got in at about a quarter to four! we started out at our favorite pub; porterhouse pub over in the temple bar area. this pub is about four floors, plus basement for bathrooms. (or toilet as they call it) on the third and one half floor there is a stage for the live entertainment, which is so fun! they sing so many old american songs; they sure love classic rock!!! so we started there, but after we got our beers we found out that they were closing in about ten to fifteen minutes. so we had to hurry on our beers. another group of americans were in there and on THEIR way out they told us that they were headed to something they had heard of called "the mez" and would we please join them. of course we said yes; it was only 11:30pm and we were just starting on the fun! the mez is the complete opposite of porterhouse. except in its fun. it is one floor of very stuffy (or as the irish say it; stoofy), very sweaty people. there is a live band until about one am...and there is a bouncer! he was so funny! so we hung out there until about 3:00 when we decided that we'd better eat something since we'd all had about three pints or so and either no dinner or light dinner. so we headed to the only thing open; burger king of course. we met some interesting characters, that's for sure! long story short, it was a great night and only a sample of some of the entertaining people and fun that dublin has in store for anyone.
tonight a few of us are getting together for a movie and some pizza in gabbie's apartment, i think. i am having so much fun here, but i cannot help but to miss those back home. it doesnt hit me until i have some quiet time to myself. then i realize that this isnt just some spring break trip. this is my life for nine months and id better get used to it. i have to get used to the accent, the currency, and the fact that THEY DONT HAVE PEANUT BUTTER!!! i mean, what's up with that?!? ;) but in all honesty, as unsure as i was just before i left and as homesick as i can feel at those rare times where i am not surrounded by distractions, i truly love this place and all it has to offer. i know this was the right decision for me. because this isn't just for fun. this isn't just because i felt like it. coming to dublin, feeling the tips of the wheels of the aer lingus airplane touch down on the runway, i felt like a certain part of me that had been missing since i can remember, was finally put back in place. i truly feel that this is where i should be right here, right now.
thank you to all of you who have supported me throughout all of this and throughout my life in general. and thanks if you made it all the way through to the end of the blog; i know it was a long one!!!
more soon.
love and goodnight,
elyse
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