Day 3: Orientation Part 2

So today, when we walked out for breakfast, the sun was shining and the sky was blue! We were so excited that we (my roommates and I) decided to not wear boots or raincoats. Ah, but we were thwarted! Only five minutes before we were due to meet the bus, we looked out the window and it was not raining, but hailing. Needless to say, most of us (at least I) decided to bring out the raincoat and boots for yet another Dublin day. The morning was spent in another orientation session and then a delicious lunch at a hotel restaurant, followed by a Q&A session that controlled the beginning of the afternoon. But then we were free (and we continue to be free until 4pm tomorrow)! Luckily, the weather was once again cooperating (i.e. no rain and a bit of sun), so a bunch of us decided to explore! We walked along the River Liffey toward the "ocean" and saw a brilliant bridge (picture soon) and took tons of pictures on the walk back to the hostel. This took us a bit, and after quickly stopping at the hostel, we went to O'Connell and Henry streets to look at mobile phones. Sadly, it is New Year's Eve (well, only a teeny bit sadly) and stores closed early!! So no new mobile phone for me, but as soon as I get to Cork, that is the first item on the agenda. I'm going almost crazy without a phone... although it is strangely freeing. :) So after our mostly failed shopping excursion, we headed to the pub next door for dinner, where I was very pleased with my salad . Now, I'm back in my room, and soon, we all will be getting ready to go out for New Year's Eve, which is supposed to be really big in Dublin! I can't wait. More updates soon.

Day 2: Orientation part 1

So after a decent sleep, not amazing (a room overlooking a busy street is fascinating during the day but a bit loud at night), we had a morning full of orientation, followed by a quick lunch and a "hop-on, hop-off" bus tour of Dublin. It was perhaps the coldest I've ever been in my whole life. Dublin is an amazing city (not too large either), but it is VERY cold and almost constantly raining. Among the twenty-some odd stops in our tour, I chose to visit Dublin Castle, Christchurch, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Kilmainham Gaol (jail), bypassing sites such as the Guinness Factory, Dublin Zoo, and National Museum. Sadly, there just wasn't enough time to visit them all. Dublin Castle was gorgeous, as was Christchurch. We didn't tour anywhere until we reached St. Patrick's, which is unbelievably beautiful (pictures to come) from floor to ceiling and every wall in between. Also interesting, St. Patrick's is the final resting place of Jonathan Swift. Upon hopping on the bus again, we were all so comfortably warm that we hated to get off again. But we wanted to see the gaol, and we figured, it's inside; how cold could it be? The answer: very, very cold. It was so cold that I can't believe that more prisoners didn't die by freezing to death. But the gaol was very interesting (packed with history) and once held several famous Irishmen (and women), most of the leaders of the Easter Rising/Rebellion, one of whom would eventually be prime minister and president of the Republic of Ireland. So after freezing in jail for almost two hours, we hopped back on the warm bus! A lovely British woman from Yorkshire sat next to me, and we began talking. (I felt like my mom :) ) Anyway, because it was a short bus ride, I don't know her whole life story, but I do now want to visit Yorkshire and meet more Britons. When we finally returned to the hostel, almost the entire Arcadia group went to the pub next door for dinner (yum!) and then we all went to see "The Sea-farer," a famous Irish play at the National Theatre of Ireland. My day ended at a pub, where I had my first legal drink :) And now, I'm back at the hostel, still slightly cold, but very comfy and ready to go to bed!
See you all soon :)

Day 1: Arrival

It's so hard to believe that I'm this tired at 8:25 at night, and yet I'm also surprised that I'm still awake. My flight was fine, nothing too exciting. I was planning to sleep, but of course, I decided to watch two movies and read a magazine instead. Anyway, I left from JFK at 5:45 pm and arrived at Dublin airport by 5:15 am. After managing to get through passport check, picking up (and hauling) two heavy suitcases, and passing through customs, I was happily greeted by an Arcadia representative. By 7 am, I was happily passed out in my hostel bed after having called my mom to let her know I'd made it. I woke up at 11:40 (still am) and "got ready" for lunch. The entire Arcadia group had lunch (which was delicious), and we got to meet some of the staff who are here in Ireland. Then a bunch of us went to the Old Jameson Distillery-- we had a good tour and got "free" whiskey. Basically, the tour was a huge Jameson advertisement, but it was still fun, and I took lots of pictures (which I will upload soon). We then walked around in the rain, bought a few essentials, and then a much smaller group (about 9) headed to dinner in Temple Bar.

I'm sure that more has happened today that is exciting, and I promise to write about it soon, but for now, I'm going to say good night! See you all soon :)

Sunday, December 27

The day before I leave!