The NORTH side of Dublin

     It's about 15minutes after 7pm local time, and it feels so much later than that. beware of jet lag:it does exists, no matter how much water and sleep you think you get. We arrived at the hostel about 11am local time yesterday morning, and Dublin was (surprisingly) not rainy. It wasn't too rainy today either, though one could argue it was "misty". Awoke around 9am this morning after falling asleep around 6pm last night -- I haven't slept that much in recent memory . . . to be fair though, my roommates (my sister and two other girls who are part of the same program) also slept way too much. Our room, on the 4th floor (called floor 3 in Ireland), holds six people: it has one bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower that is perhaps 8ft x 4ft. That is, the ENTIRE room is 8ft x 4ft, and located at the end of our hall-like room, making our living space 8ft x 35-ish feet total. Very European.
     The 2 remaining girls showed up this morning before our orientation, which began at 12:30 at the hotel to the west of the hostel. I'm still working out location: we are situated on the north side of the river, which I picture in my head as the south side, so I'm trying to condition myself as much as possible to think of our building as to the north. Anyway. Lunch was exciting (and good), we had a choice of lamb stew or salmon, and those who know me know what I chose ;)
     After lunch, which included apple crisp and coffee to follow, we walked into an adjoining room for phase one of orientation, the "safety talk". As far as I'm concerned, Officer Moran can talk to us all day long. Love the accent, love the face, love the personality. the "emergency" phone numbers in Ireland are 112 and 999, though they are commonly used for any kind of contact, such as old women calling up on Christmas day for a chat because they have no one else to talk to. Sad, and I'm not all together convinced true, but you get the point. He asked for any questions and I confided to my sister and another student that the first questioned that popped into my head was, "So . . . if we called 999, could we ask for you specifically?" I admit, I have a crush on the lad.
     That was the only meeting for the day, so around 3pm we were able to hop on the Hop-On-Hop-Off  bus tour that took us around Ireland. We only had a limited amount of time, so bypassed getting off at most of the sites in favor of going to the Guinness "factory" Tour. It was pretty sweet, and we got a free pint at the top of the 360 degree tower. Totally worth it, if you're lucky enough to visit Dublin. Most of the other sites such as St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Castle, and a number of museums and other stops, we hope to check out tomorrow. The tour guides on the bus were excellent. They were engaging, amusing and didn't kill us all in the crazy traffic of Dublin. Props to them for driving those double-decker buses with skill and good humor. And thank goodness it didn't rain!
     The city has its own flavor, for sure. There are unique pubs (of course) and delightful little restaurants and shops, but it also has store fronts found in the US, and the same movies. One of the fist "American" things I saw was a poster for "The Hobbit" in the airport. G pointed it out to me before we were even through customs, I think.
     Favorite thing about Dublin, Ireland to date? The fact that I'm here experiencing it. Oh, and Stephen's park that we (G, R, and myself) randomly discovered our first night here, and the accents.

♥ C

T-minus One Week

     The hardest thing about writing is actually starting. Actually, the hardest thing about anything is the beginning: opening a can, going to school for the first time, leaving your parents, family and loved ones, turning in an application . . . but it is so worth it.
     This is my first post on my first blog on my first extended trip abroad. I am going to Ireland with my sister for the Spring 2013 semester, and it was not easy getting to where I am now. We will be leaving a week from today, and I still have a massive "To Do" list that (thankfully) grows shorter every day.
     So what do I decide to do? Mess around on my computer, make more lists, and generally participate in what a good friend of mine calls "productive procrastination". All of the major paperwork is done (and there was a lot of that, so if you're planning to study abroad, please start early) and I have everything needed to get into the country, so panic and motivation to chip at the To Do list is not as high as it should be. But, since "post something to blog" is on the list, I thought I'd start out this morning with the easiest and most enjoyable task, writing.
     The name of my blog came from a conversation via facebook, where I asked for ideas on what to call it. I think I may have let some people down by not choosing their name, or being as creative with the title as I should have. To everyone who submitted an idea, thank you! Aside from my brother's, each one was creative, clever, and much appreciated. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Adventures from The Land of Leprechauns
• There and Back Again (Tolkien, but apt for any adventure ;))
• Whilst Kissing the Blarney Stone
• The Blarney Blog
• From Ireland With Love! . . . & Beer
• The Original (my last name) Pub Crawl

     I went with "If You're Lucky Enough" because I think it can go on past my study abroad experience, and be applied to other parts of life as well. I think too, that people sometimes forget how lucky we are to be who we are, and the chances we have to change that. I don't want to sound like a Pollyanna; indeed, I have a feeling one of my posts will end up reading "If you're lucky enough to have lost your passport like me . . . "  and hopefully the sarcasm will translate.
     This blog was created to catalog and provide insights on my upcoming trip to Ireland, but I hope it will become more than that. I've got a few days left to get everything together before I leave for the trip of a life time, so this post is ending . . . now.

Thanks everyone, and Merry Christmas!

♥C