"I go to seek a great perhaps..." -Francois Rabelais
Since I am writing under the presumption that only my mom and (possibly) my dad are reading this, I am allowing myself to be as pretentious as I'd like. And, to me, that means using fancy pants quotes when I feel like it.*
After walking through security, I almost immediately bumped into Matt. This was good because I was quite certain I was going to be lost, and he had the good graces to pretend to have not noticed the makeup stains running down my face from adios-ing my family moments before. We walked around for a bit then found our gate. The plane was delayed, not drastically, but after anticipating this trip all summer, I could barely wait another minute.
After boarding, I experienced a true Annie Troy moment when the woman next to me began explaining where she was from (New Mexico), how long she had been travelling (at that point, 20 hours), and why she was going to Ireland ("a journey of self-discovery.") Mom, I will never mock you again (that's a lie) but now I kinda understand when people just start spilling their heart and soul into you. Is this one of those gift-and-a-curse kinda things?
Now, I must be the only person on the planet who loves airline food. It's all sodium and sauce. What's not to love? For dinner, we were served a spicy chicken curry, accompanied by a wilting side salad consisting of three pieces of romaine and one mournful little tomato. Needless to say, I did not touch it. (Who am I kidding? It could have been a five star salad, but I had chicken curry in front of me. Ain't nothing gettin' in the way of that. (appreciate that fine spec of grammar, mom?))
I watched half of Amazing Spiderman 2 (Andrew Garfield *sigh*) and tried to fall asleep. Luckily, I snatched a window seat so I could watch the moon watching us as we flew over Canada, the Atlantic, and finally Ireland. I managed to sleep for about an hour or two, and before I knew it, the view had transformed into a PC wallpaper-worthy scene of rolling hills and gated farms. We cruised through customs, grabbed our bags, and found our bus. I was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, I had beaten my inevitable jet lag mind fuzz. Then I tried paying for my bus ticket with pounds. *facepalm*.
We took an aircoach bus into Dublin and walked to the IPA (Institute of Public Administration). From there, Michael Mulreany organized our transportation to our home-stays.
The taxi driver (a gorgeous Dublin native) explained the different areas of town to me throughout the ride. As we got closer and closer to the homestay house, he kept noting how nice the neighborhood was (good news, dad!)
I got out of the car, attractive taxi man grabbed my luggage, and I saw my temporary home of the next three months for the first time. (I'll include a picture in the future) It looks just like Privet Drive (except without the child abuse and magical isolation). A small townhome with a gorgeous garden, it's basically a Hollywood stereotype of an Irish house.
My housemom, Catherine, walked out of the house and gave me a big hug and kiss before introducing herself. She then made me tea and we sat in the kitchen and had a little chat. I met Catherine's husband, Finny. She showed me my room, and I unpacked my suitcases.
Then I tried to rest, but had too much adrenaline in me to get much of anything done. I called you fine people, as you know. Then, Catherine drove me around town so I could start to find my way. The town is so cute, but with many modern stores. I'm sure I'll expand on that later.
I tried to lay down again, but alas, no sleep came. I mean, I ended up writing this awesome page, so you kinda benefited, huh? haha lol jk.
For dinner, Catherine cooked Lamb stew and rice with an apple pudding dessert. I met Emily, 21, and Alice, 23. I experienced my first culture shock when we all started to eat. The family ate very quickly and absolutely cleared their plates. In America, it isn't rude if someone doesn't finish their whole plate. In fact; that's the norm. Catherine gave me a very disapproving look when she saw I still had rice on my plate. I even ate mushrooms to try and fit in, but it wasn't enough! #toughlife
After dinner, I talked with Alice, Emily, and Alice's boyfriend for a bit. I was so tired, I could only stay downstairs until 8.
Until tomorrow,
XX
Bizzle Tizzle
My housemom, Catherine, walked out of the house and gave me a big hug and kiss before introducing herself. She then made me tea and we sat in the kitchen and had a little chat. I met Catherine's husband, Finny. She showed me my room, and I unpacked my suitcases.
 |
| My bedroom |
Then I tried to rest, but had too much adrenaline in me to get much of anything done. I called you fine people, as you know. Then, Catherine drove me around town so I could start to find my way. The town is so cute, but with many modern stores. I'm sure I'll expand on that later.
I tried to lay down again, but alas, no sleep came. I mean, I ended up writing this awesome page, so you kinda benefited, huh? haha lol jk.
 |
| The view from my room... be jealous. |
For dinner, Catherine cooked Lamb stew and rice with an apple pudding dessert. I met Emily, 21, and Alice, 23. I experienced my first culture shock when we all started to eat. The family ate very quickly and absolutely cleared their plates. In America, it isn't rude if someone doesn't finish their whole plate. In fact; that's the norm. Catherine gave me a very disapproving look when she saw I still had rice on my plate. I even ate mushrooms to try and fit in, but it wasn't enough! #toughlife
After dinner, I talked with Alice, Emily, and Alice's boyfriend for a bit. I was so tired, I could only stay downstairs until 8.
Until tomorrow,
XX
Bizzle Tizzle
*I only know this quote because it came from a YA novel written by John Green. Much less impressive. Although John Green kicks ass. Mom, you know that.
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