Meg Arrives!

I needed the distraction, and this was the one of the century! Meg's flight arrived a half hour early, but we were already waiting at the airport. As expected, the overnight flight had gotten to her like it did when we got there. I was so glad to see her, it was so comforting to be with a familiar face. It was slightly surreal, me in Ireland for a semester, and Meg here to visit, but that was the best part. She was shocked by how warm it was, and her expression was similar to mine when I touched down, pure awe. Her attention was shifting everywhere, from the live flowers on March first, to the architecture, to the chirping morning birds. On the way to my apartment, the wheel to a suitcase she borrowed cracked, so it essentially became dead weight and sounding similar to a machine gun. We just laughed. She unloaded a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese to satisfy my withdrawal cravings, making me happier than ever! It's funny the things you miss. She spent the day sleeping off the jet lag while I tackled a couple of things that had been building up. Julia and Kelsey went to Howth with Marisa, but I figured the sleep would be the better option.

I introduced her to all of my friends, as we got ready for the Cork vs. Dublin Gaelic Football game. At the game, we sat behind a group of die-hard Cork fans around the age of 10, who were disgusted that Americans would be supporting Dublin. My personal favorite quote was that "If Dublin wins, its luck. If Cork wins, it's because they're much better". I want to be 10 again!  It was an awesome game, and the fan dedication was extreme. We sat a couple of rows up from the field in the stadium, which was absolutely massive. 19,000 people were attending, yet it wasn't even close to the capacity. Cork won, and the girls had a field day, but it was awesome. We enjoyed a five euro discount on the Croke Park game tickets if we provided our student cards, but Meg lost her Vermont Student ID, so she had to argue for the discount (her specialty!). She wound up with a phone number, and her 5 euros back, so I guess she won (typical). We followed the masses back to DCU and from there went back to the city to Flannery's Pub. It was exciting to see Meg's reaction to the city centre, with the same energy I had when I looked upon it a month ago. We strolled by the river, and I showed her Dublin with its lights

 reflecting on the River Liffey.  She socialized with everyone she could, and met one couple who were slightly too interested in us. Naturally, Meg tried to drag us with them, but we politely refused. She just laughed at us. Eventually we made it to Flannery's, where we stayed for most of the night and hung out. I laughed pretty hard watching her react to the new environment.