Exploring Dublin's City Centre

After sleeping a solid 9 hours, I'm feeling a lot better. It was sunny and around 50 degrees this morning. We headed into Dublin City Centre (this time in the daylight) for a "treasure hunt." Our group was divided into several teams, and given a list of questions to answer about different landmarks around the city. Some of our findings included:

Garden of Remembrance (dedicated in memory of those who gave their lives in pursuit of Irish freedom)

Trinity College: Ireland's oldest university
Molly Malone: We were told she was known for her lack of modesty- check out the neckline


Ha'Penny Bridge: years ago you had to pay a half penny to cross it, thus "ha' penny"



We got some time to shop in the city centre too. Found this department store called Dunnes Stores: three floors of clothing and home goods, and the bottom floor is a grocery store! (In these types of stores they call grocery stores "food halls." I bought a towel and some washcloths. The prices and store layout reminded me of Target. Casey and I wandered into the mall next door, where I found a pair of rainboots, an essential that will definitely come in handy over the next couple months. The salesman heard me speak to the girl behind the register and asked, "Are you girls from the States?" After we said yes, he started chanting "U-S-A, U-S-A." Wasn't really expecting that- may be he's practicing for the Winter Olympics, or even this summer's World Cup?

During the day we also saw many familiar stores: American Apparel, Urban Outfitters, the Gap (my favorite), Claires.
And some fast food chains: McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, and Subway. And Eddie Rocket's, I'm guessing it the same as Johnny Rocket's- their slogan "There ain't no finer Diner."


We cooked our first dinner in the suite tonight: pasta. And we followed along with the Boston Hockey Blog to listen in on how the BU Hockey made out against Providence. The game started at 7:30pm est (12:30am our time). They lost, but it was nice to be able to follow along with Scott and Jake's posts. We also planned our trip to Howth tomorrow. Howth's located northeast of the city, on the coast.

I was also able to buy a phone tonight. Email me if you'd like the number- it's 15 cents per minute for calls to the US. You can also talk to me on Skype, my username is mly617.

Suite!

bathroom:
note, there is no distinction between the shower and the rest of the bathroom floor.

First Day in Dublin

I made it! After six hours in route, several hours at airports, a two-hour drive to Newark, and a short ride to campus, we arrived at Dublin City University (DCU) around 9am (4am est). The flight was smooth, but I wasn't able to sleep much. We checked into our "suites," the apartments we'll be sharing with 9 other people from our group. Each room houses two students, and has its own bathroom.

At noon (7am est) we had our first session of orientation. Lots of introductions, rules, and schedule information. After a short campus tour, we had the afternoon and evening to ourselves. We ate lunch in the food-court like facility on campus called "the Restaurant." What I had: a chicken baguette, similar to the American chicken patty, and chips (huge steak fries). The campus itself is small, as DCU is a fairly new university (26 years). Heavy emphasis on athletics, especially soccer. There are several beautiful fields on one side of campus. Our apartment building is located next to the sport center (gym), which is great. We toured their facility, and although it's not FitRec, it's definitely a place where I'll spend a bunch of time over the next four months. The grocery store is a 5 minute walk from our building. After a 3 1/2 hour nap, Casey and I went food shopping. Everything so far has proven to be an experience- trying to figure out which milk is 1%, 2%, or whole, finding chicken that wasn't breaded, and deciphering the cost of items (euro vs. u.s. dollar), while knocking several things off of shelves, I'm sure others could tell we were Americans.

Tonight, several of us ventured out into Dublin's city centre. We went to two different pubs, the first I can't remember the name of and the second, Oliver St. John Gogarty. At the first, I had my first Guinness and my first encounter with a local. He said his name was Christie, and after finding out I was an advertising major, he asked me to come up with ideas for campaigns for a child's bicycle and women's headbands. Maybe it was the Guinness in him talking, but he was extremely friendly and wished me well in my studies. Oliver St. John Gogarty is located on one of the tourist hotspots in Dublin. Our group met another local at the first pub, and he took us to Gogarty's. The atmosphere was friendly, and one of the waiters gave our group two platters of free chicken tender-like appetizers.

A great first day, check back for more updates and pictures!

TOMORROW

Tomorrow's the big day, it's hard to believe! I'm scheduled to depart from Newark at 7:10pm and touch down in Dublin 6:50am (1:50am est). I'm more excited than anything, I can't wait to see what Ireland and Europe are all about.

I've got a few last minute things to do in the morning before we head to the airport, including breakfast with the big brother. Thanks to everyone for your stories, advice, and kind words- check back soon for an update!

“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.” Irish Blessings

Leap Year

A few weeks ago while at the movies, my mother saw a preview for Spyglass Entertainment's Leap Year. The film depicts the story of a young woman who follows her boyfriend of several years to Ireland to propose to him. As an Irish tradition, Leap Day is the only day when women are allowed to propose to their boyfriends. And only in Ireland. Needless to say, my mom turned to me after seeing the trailer, and quickly asked, "This year isn't a Leap Year, right?"
We went to see Leap Year this past weekend. Without reading any of its reviews, I didn't know the main character (Amy Adams) lives in Boston. What a coincidence! Adams flies to Dublin in hopes of becoming engaged to her beau. She encounters some setbacks, and meets a handsome Irishman (Matthew Goode) along the way. Goode's character steals her heart, and Adams' idea of a Leap Day engagement takes an unexpected twist.

Although it was given a PG-rating, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking! I'm more excited than ever for my semester abroad!

Frozen Fenway

I made one final trip up to Boston over the weekend for the Frozen Fenway matchup between BU and BC. Despite the below freezing temperatures and steady snowfall, the experience of watching an ice hockey game in one of the nation's oldest ballparks was one I'll remember forever. BU held out in the third period to beat BC, 3-2. What a great last game to see before going overseas!

Reunited with the Roommates!

On Saturday, my three wonderful roommates ventured down (and over) to visit my hometown Bridgeton, New Jersey. We drove around the area for a couple hours, and I was able to show them where I grew up and where I went to grade and high school. We even stopped by the Cohansey soccer fields and Georgetown Pool so I could show them where I spent the majority of my childhood. Needless to say, I think they may have been taken back by the rural surroundings. We also drove down to Gandys Beach along the Delaware Bay, a place where I visited my dad's parents growing up at their beach house.

We grabbed dinner in town, and then 3/4 of us rode to Longwood Gardens in PA to view the Christmas decorations. Although the weather was cold and windy, we ventured outside to see the lights, and walked through their conservatory to view the floral displays.



It was great to see everyone, I was thrilled they each made the trip to visit! I'll miss them all tremendously next semester!