know each other, but we were identifiably as American. A man approached our group, and told that there was a "silent disco" upstairs, where you wore headphones and danced to the music to two different DJ's. It was a weird concept, but hey, it's an experience right? We were weary, however, because we had been warned about something called "Slagging", where the Irish people would tell you something ridiculous with a completely straight face, and laugh if you believed them. As it turns out, he wasn't actually lying, and naturally we did it. It was fun to get out with everyone. As we left, we agreed that we would never do it again, but it was funny once!My phone problem was settled, and I ended up buying a cell phone and a plan over here. Now I can talk to any of my friends and family anytime I want from wherever I am. This is a huge relief for me, even if I don't need it I still have it.
On Thursday we had a walking tour of Dublin led by Martin (one of the program directors). The group was split in half, and half went with Don (the other director). I was grateful to be put in Martin's group. (Don is approaching 80, and judging by walking speeds we would cover much more of the city!) We learned where to go, where not to go, and where we might find cheaper food as opposed to the pricier tourist areas. As we walked through Grafton Street, a pedestrian-only road, people were playing music everywhere in the streets. I wanted to take a video and send it to everyone when I heard Coldplay, but my phone wasn't working. Afterwords the program got together and got lunch at a small place that Don recommended. I enjoyed a Turkey and Brie sandwich with tomato on it. It was incredible, the warm brie oozed out of the sandwich and tasted amazing. (Apparently I can't write these posts before dinner!) We wandered the streets for a while after the tour, exploring our new environment. We found a small shop called Gino's that specialized in crepes, waffles, and gelato. I ordered a chocolate hazlenut crepe. It was the most amazing crepe I've ever had, stuffed with sauce. I knew it wouldn't be my only one that I will have! We headed back to campus and later headed out to a popular student hangout called Flannerty's. It was a cool place, with live music again and a heated outdoor area in city-center. We wanted to meet some other Irish students, so we started a conversation with a group of girls nearby. As it turns out, they live in Connecticut. I'm not sure we went to the right place to meet locals! After leaving Flannerty's, Julia and Kelsey were playing a game called, "odds-are", which was really funny. I still don't understand the rules.
On Friday afternoon, we signed up for a bus tour of Dublin City and the outlying areas, which was free as part of our orientation! We were all excited to be shown around. It was a sunny day, still slightly chilly, but it seemed perfect. We got on the bus, and found out it was an open-top style. We decided to sit on top to get the best views and bear the chill. We soon realized this was a mistake! Even with the wind, we stuck it through, until it started sprinkling! By the end of the tour, everyone on the top was hiding beneath the seat in front of them, as the bottom was filled with all the people that had a brain! Either way I couldn't complain too much, it was snowing and sub-zero at home, I'll take a light sprinkle over that! At least we got a laugh out of it, and certainly learned our lesson! Later on Friday, Sean came from Maynooth to come see us for the night in Dublin, it was great to see him. On the way to a place that Sean had seen, we stopped at an Irish chain called Supermac's and marveled over what a burger tasted like. Julia, Kelsey, John, Sean, Brian and I then went down to a small pub in the city center. The rugby game against Wales was the next night, so the Welch were in town. We sat down and enjoyed a pint laughing and joking together about the first week, and talked to some of the Welch at the pub. After another trip to Supermac's, we we sent Sean back off to Maynooth and caught the bus back to our beds.
On Saturday, it was our first morning off, and I needed to sleep! I woke up at one, but it was great to gain some hours that I was desperately lacking. We left at 1:30 for the city centre and Julia, Kelsey, Brian and I found an authentic pub that supports the Irish national rugby team (I don't think the Welch were allowed in). It was so packed that there were no seats available, but there was a balcony that overlooked a TV that we found a standing spot at. We laughed a lot, because everyone around us were die-hard rugby fans and would get extremely excited when something good happened. I say, "when something good happened" because we all looked like fools because none of us know the rules of rugby, and had no idea when to cheer. After paying 5.70 euro for a drink, we all nursed ours because none of us wanted to have to get another. We were still tired, so we found a quiet table by the window and played paper football with a coaster and decided where we wanted to eat.
We decided we wanted the most authentic Irish food we could find, so naturally we went to McDonald's. We were so excited when it cost us 4 euro for a burger and chicken nuggets. We stayed for a couple of hours and it's been a while since I've laughed as hard as I did about the little frustrations of living in a different country. We finally summed it up by going to an italian shop to get gelato and crepes, which were amazing yet again. I naturally stuck with the hazlenut crepe. We came back, and went up to Gillian and Julia's common room to get ready to go out with everyone, and left for Flannery's. We ended up walking past the Temple Bar area to Doyle's where we met up with Brian.
On Sunday I wanted to relax after church, so I decided to find the rumored on campus spa. There were signs about award winning gym facilities all over campus, and I figured it was worth a shot. I think my jaw dropped 6 and a half feet when I walked into the pool area and found a beautiful tiled jacuzzi overlooking the pool. That wasn't it though! Around the pool were a Tempidarium (a warm room), a massive pulse shower, a huge tiled steam room, and a large sauna that looked into the pool. I made it my mission to hit every one of them, and I did as I spent the morning there! It was so relaxing. I made friends with a kid who was studying from Belgium, and talked to him for a while. It was another great day. I was finally starting to settle in here and enjoy it.
A 6D Movie Experience: Actually, even after doing it, I still couldn't tell you what 6D meant! As we waited for the bus to come down one night we decided to figure out what it meant. Behind the bus stop was a theater and for 4 euro you could experience it. They gave us a choice of a roller coaster movie or a shark attack movie where we could use the guns next to our seats to shoot the sharks. Let's be real, there was no choice there. Obviously we would do the shark attack. It was amusing, the seats we sat in rocked and moved with the film in 3D as we shot the sharks. We took a picture of all of us with our glasses on and guns out in the theater, but agreed that we wouldn't share that one (I'll let you imagine how cool we looked). As we headed out to the bus, yet again we agreed that it was fun, but not something that we would be doing again. We reflected as we left, in a couple of days in Dublin we had covered a silent disco and a 6D movie theater...we needed to get better at being tourists. Although we agreed we could check those off the to-do list, I'm not sure they were on there to begin with!One night we all decided not to go out, as we had spent too much money already. We got together with Gillian, Krista, John, KC, and Morgan to play Kings with a deck of cards that Brian bought in city center and got to know each other better. It was another good night.
After classes were over, the 5 of us decided it was time to eat a decent meal. (Every meal that I don't talk about here most likely consisted of peanut butter and jelly or some form of terrible macaroni that I should've learned to cook before I left home!). Julia found a place in the Temple Bar area that looked pretty cool, so we went out. It was called Mexico to Rome, and featured meals that were covering exactly that, Mexican to Italian to everything in between. It was a great night, we split an order of wings and I ordered a huge pulled pork sandwich which was one of the cheapest things on the menu, but it was, you guessed it, amazing. The fries, or sorry, "chips" were crunchy but still potato filled. Naturally there was nothing left on the plate or table when we left. The restaurant had a view of the River Liffey, and the lights of the city sparkled as they reflected on the waters. It was one of those moments where you instantly appreciate where you are. Yet again we found that same gelato shop in town, but this time I had the willpower to say no. I had spent enough money already on dinner, and was full. We called it an early night, and it was so relaxing to be with what are now good friends and feel comfortable. I couldn't wait for my head to hit my pillow and curl up in my bed.
Wednesday morning I decided to take advantage of the sunshine, and spent the morning before classes exploring the park located right outside of my apartment. There were dogs running everywhere, and it couldn't have made me happier. It was so nice outside that I actually just sat on a bench in the sun and admired the greenest field (it's true, everything is green here) for a while. Another one of those moments that made me realize how lucky I am to have this experience.
After classes on Wednesday, the entire CIEE group (30 Americans) agreed to go out to the Hard Rock Cafe Dublin and we had dinner together after classes. We got to know two students who were at DCU all year and wanted to hang out with us, as well as some insider tips which were nice to have! The Hard Rock was really expensive at 18 euro for a single cheeseburger, and I wasn't stupid! I ordered buffalo chicken strips, which were still really good. We all started talking about trips, which got me excited for the rest of my time here. We all agreed and booked a trip to the Cliffs of Moher for this weekend, which I was really excited about. I've wanted to see those since before I got here, and I will finally get my chance! After a good amount of research, I've learned that there are birds that resemble penguins there! I wonder if anyone will notice when one disappears, and I suddenly have a penguin dorm pet? That would be ideal. It was another great night, and I went back to campus with a couple of people while others went out to the pubs in Dublin.
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