Day One

I made it through my first full day in Ireland! Today was a day full of orientation with the college, but we managed to have some fun too. It was even sunny!

I met a new friend today. Her name is Jen and she is one of Stacy's roommates. She goes to UBC in Vancouver and is from the Yukon. She has these Yukon mittens too, which are like Uggs for your hands. Jealous.

At 10:00 we had a meeting to discuss the events for the next two days. Afterwords we had a light lunch of sandwiches, tea and coffee with the other international students. We could also sign up for the International Student Society for two euro and they organize trips and other cultural things throughout Ireland.

After that was grocery shopping. We walked about 25 minutes to the Tesco where we searched for anyhing that was even slightly recognizable. I got a "traditional Irish stew" which contains lamb, carrrots, and potatoes but have yet to try it. I also have yet to try the milk here and am keeping my fingers crossed. The worst part about shopping was carrying all my groceries home, which took about 45 minutes.

We then went to another session for all "study abroad" students, which are basically all the Americans. We had a lesson about culture shock: how to identify and treat it. We talked about the difference between the US and Ireland. Under the Ireland side there were things like PS I Love You, U2, and Collin Farrel. As far as US, we had obesity, and natural light (both sunlight and the cheap beer). The study abroad office also throws an "Irish House Party" for students during the year. It includes irish dancing and they say that if you do a good job they will buy you a pint.

Next was finger food and wine. I still can't get over the fact that a school is serving alcohol. On the other hand, the girls from Australia and Canada can't get over the fact that we can't legally drink until 21.

Tonight we went to the Dublin city centre. Here were some of the sites:

The mall. It was built to look like a steamboat going down the Mississippi (according to our UCD guide yesterday)

"Happy Christmas" in Irish (according to some guy on the street trying to raise money for an organization called PAWS)

Temple Bar area-many pubs are here, along with Temple Bar, which we went to tonight

Temple Bar was pretty decent. They had live music which consisted of songs including "Take Me Home Country Roads," "Hotel California," and "Blue Suede Shoes." Two girls I was with got pints of Guiness. Did you know that a Guiness should take at least 2 minutes to pour? Jen got Jameson whiskey and Brittany got cider, so our table was pretty much typical Irish drinks.

You know something great about the Irish? They just start conversations with you. Some guy started one by telling me that my hat looked like a tea cozy. He then wrote down a list of bars to go to while here. Even people checking me out at the store ask me all sorts of questions and are super friendly. Love them!

I need to go to bed now considering it is 1 am GMT. I hope to go into the city centre again tomorrow and have all sorts of great pictures for you all!

Claire

Dublin fact of the day: The MGM lion was born in Dublin Zoo.