Flew out of O'Hare at 7:15pm Earth time--sorry--Chicago time. Arrived in Dublin at about 8:20am, then stood in line to have my passport checked. For an hour ("Even in Egypt it wasn't this bad" complained the elderly Southern ladies who were late for their bus tour). I didn't really mind, though. Got a bus to Galway and dozed off and on for the duration of the ride. Arrived in Galway, called a cab, dragged my suitcases to my room (a very disappointing sight), and checked out the surroundings.
My "apartment" is essentially a dorm--comparable to the Duprojects, only you need a key to get into the kitchen/living room. Why? I do not know. My room is a double, all grey and grey and a bit smaller than a Dupre double. There is one bathroom with a shower, one without, and a kitchen/common area. 4 (I think) gals live on this hall, which is locked from the outside. So it is like an apartment, but everything inside is locked. Very strange.
So that was disheartening, and I hadn't slept at all on the plane, so I was in a very bad mood. Wandered around a bit picking up odds and ends from the Dunnes superstore a little bit East of Corrib Village (my apartment place thingamajig). Got lost, found the University (very cool), found a path that runs right to my building along the River. Very nice. But I'll have to walk with other people after dark.
Got home, got wireless access, but the computer battery had run down. And the converter that I had bought (thanks alot, Best Buy guy) only works with hairdryers, straighteners, and other 500+ Watt things. Not computers, phones, ipods, etc. Which put me in an even worse mood. So I went to reception to ask where to get an adapter, and bought M&Ms, which helped. She gave me directions to Tesco (cue heavenly chorus), which is about 20 min away. I went there, got my adapter and some odds & ends, and a trash can, and headed home. And it was pouring.
Rain here is like guerilla warfare. You can't ever ever trust it. So I got drenched. Really really soaking I-just-went-swimming drenched. Got home, changed into pjs, and had a nice cup of tea while watching Torchwood. And felt much better as I got into bed at about 1030.
Woke up this morning at 10:00 as my roommate came in, along with her friend Gary, and his aunt and uncle. I was going to get up earlier and tidy up before she got here, but my US cell phone had run out of battery and passed out during the night. Sad. So that was embarrassing. They went out to the shops while I showered, dressed, and started unpacking. She came back and we introduced each other more fully. Her name is Cassie, she's from New York, a physics and poli sci major and a 5th year senior. She rock climbs and rides horses (which Ireland is, apparently, very famous for).
I headed out to do some more shopping. Little things like dish towels and, well, food. Found the city centre (at last! I had gone in the wrong direction yesterday) and a nice little cafe with wireless. And wrote the last blog post. Then wandered around a bit more, stopping into a shop to ask about SIM cards and buy a pear. I was feeling quite well, wandering around Galway munching on a pear. Only got rained on twice, and not even that bad. Passed a really awesome old cemetery, where I hope to visit again soon. I'll take photos, too.
Managed to find my way back to the shopping centre, where I got a SIM card and reactivated my (neé Bozzie's) phone. Then went in to Tesco (O Thou most Holy) and did my grocery shopping. I love grocery shopping.
Walked back home, feet screaming in agony from blisters (good thing I bought band-aids!) and arrived to find another flatmate! Claire from Orlando, who also rides horses. Chopped up carrots with an AMAZING knife that was given to us by the oh-so-generous Corrib Village (them to thank for the broken toaster and my non-working key card, too). But seriously, it's a great knife. Now my hands are orange. I'll have some chicken and rice tonight with carrots, but needed a little snack, so am finishing some toast. Pan-made toast. I feel very Irish.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT IRELAND:
Everything is ridiculously expensive.
You have to pay for shopping carts. Sorry, trolleys.
People walk on the road and drive on the sidewalk. Seriously, there are like NO rules for pedestrians. Crosswalks are few and far between and always in the middle of the road, not at corners. You just kind of cut across wherever, but nobody honks or swears at you. This will take some getting used to.
It rains multiple times a day. Often while it's sunny, but not in the light Wisconsin sun-rain thing. Full on downpour in bright sunlight. But at least that's warm
No celery in Tesco.
When you say "Thank you," shopkeepers say "No need." I like that.
Anyway, that's all for now. I'll post photos later.
If you need to contact me at all:
Email: jbrown8@macalester.edu
j.brown1@nuigalway.ie
Irish phone: 011 (if from US) 353 085 111 8006
Skype: mirecraic
Talk to you later,
J
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