Crack Culture Shock

There is so much crack here in Dublin. Crack in the apartments. Crack on the streets. All the locals will even share the crack with you!.....okay so it's craic and it means fun in Gaelic! This is just one of the many things that can be hard to adjust to here on the Emerald Isle; this post will be dedicated to some of the things that are just a little different in Ireland.

First off, some phrases we've learned:
Craic- fun
Failte- welcome!
slainte- cheers
cheers- great
brillant- awesome, great
lift- elevator
slagging- making fun of you in jest
footpath- sidewalk

And those are just a small sample! You really have to listen to people here to pick up on all the slang terminology. Just wait until I come home and start talking like I still live here :P Besides the vocabulary there are some other major differences between the lifestyle here and the United States. The most difficult thing for me so far has been the lack of instant hot water! You have to go to a switch in the closet about an hour before you want to take a shower, or wash the dishes, or whatever, and turn it on and let it heat up. This is because most buildings in Ireland run on an immersion system to cut down on energy costs! This also means you have to take much shorter showers because there is limited hot water even after you have it heating for a while. It has certainly been a struggle. Another thing you have to turn on before using here is the sockets themselves. Each plug in the wall has it's own switch that you have to turn to the DOWN position to get power flowing to it. The elevator, well lift here, numbers start on zero, so my apartment is on the 4th floor of my building but I hit the 3 button when I get on the lift. The basement is -1. The lights here are motion detected too. I get about halfway down my hallway before any lights come on at all. It can be kind of creepy sometimes ahaha

It has been an interesting adjustment so far here in Ireland and with school starting tomorrow I'm sure there will be even more to get used to! I'll be sure to give you all the details.

From Dublin, With Love.

Exploring Rathmines and Beyond

Hey everyone!

Sorry about the lack of blog posts the past few days. I'm been running all over Dublin doing various things with barely any time in my apartment except to sleep! I can't to tell you all about it! So since you've heard from me last I moved into my apartment here in Rathmines. There's a video posted on my facebook but I took some better pictures to give you a better idea of my home for the next few months!

Our living room

view from the balcony

the courtyard off my bedroom balcony

kitchen

washing machine....in the kitchen

trinity student room (they're arriving on Monday)

my room

Everyone's apartment is super nice here! They vary from older to modern but all have basically the same amenities. It's taken some time to settle into stuff here but so far it has been great. After moving into the apartment we started the orientation process. Some of the Arcadia staff gave us a walking tour of our town. There's lots of students here; we make up the majority of the population, therefore there is a lot to do. Besides the two grocery stores right outside our apartment we have a butcher shop, fruit and vegetable market, bakery, and wine and spirits shop (even though you can buy alcohol in the traditional grocery store), as well as several restaurants serving all sorts of food! Everyone here buys most of their food fresh daily because there aren't any preservatives in the food here. Down the street a few minutes is the cinema as well as a mall type store where we bought all our bedding and things. The town itself is super cute and has a pretty safe vibe.

Besides all the typical informational meetings about life abroad, safety, etc, we also got the opportunity to partake in some Gaelic games! We traveled by taxi to the GAA to have private lessons in Gaelic football and hurling. It felt phenomenal to be running around and playing a sport while learning something new. I think I was pretty good at the sports, if I don't say so myself! Gaelic football is like a combination of american football, basketball, and soccer and hurling is a combination of baseball and soccer. There are plenty of videos online if you're interested in learning more about what I was doing. Anyway though, here's some pictures from the GAA.

After a super long day of orienting and football it was totally necessary to take a nap but then we went out to the Blackbird Pub for a few drinks and then got Domino's! So American of us haha 

Then, today we attempted to find our school, the IPA. It was only supposed to be a half hour walk from our accommodations but we got just a little lost. We did eventually find it located next to Aviva Stadium and then watched a rugby match going on next door! Now we're just relaxing in our friends apartment planning our day trip to Dun Laoghaire! 

Here's a few more random pictures of the exploration today: 

view outside the apartment 

irish red ale from a local brewing company

what the snack aisle looks like in the grocer

so excited they have good ketchup here!

alley art

the United States Embassy

The Canal

All for now!

From Dublin, With Love.

  

Irish Eyes are Smiling

So first day is officially in the books here in Dublin, and what a day it has been! It's about 11PM Dublin time and some of my fellow travelers are out exploring the pubs, but the jet lag hit me pretty hard so here I am illegally watching Netflix on my phone and recapping the day! But first, pictures! 

Shot of a pretty wicked thunderstorm we bypassed en route to Dublin

Christ Church Cathedral 

Outside of the Guinness Factory

Washington Monument! okay just kidding, but a similar memorial in the 

zoological gardens

Lots of interesting statues around Dublin

More zoological gardens 

Really neat pub just outside Temple Bar area

First pint here in Ireland; of course I had to go with a pale ale

So after my nap upon arrival, I had a highly questionable breakfast for my first meal in Dublin. You would think that yogurt and granola would be a safe choice, but you, my friends, would be mistaken. Whatever it was, was certainly not yogurt and had more of the taste and consistency of cream cheese. Quite unpleasant. This being said though, the thought of Irish food doesn't really scare me. Just don't tell me what it is, let ME eat it, and then fill me in :) After breakfast my other two hotel roommates arrived and we all took another well-deserved nap; like I said, this jet-lag is absolutely brutal. A little before 2PM Dublin time we walked down the street to Arcadia's Global Studies offices for our first official meet and greet with the other interns. There are only eight of us from Arcadia so we all got the chance to get to know each other. Then we decided to use our free tickets to take a Hop-on-Hop-off tour of Dublin by bus....double decker bus! They're all double deckers here which blows my mind. I feel like I'm living in a Harry Potter book. The weather was actually beautiful today so we chose to by-pass the indoor activities such as the Guinness Factory and Jameson Distillery so that we could wander around the zoological gardens, which houses the Dublin Zoo as well as the President's residence and the residence of the United States Ambassador. During this walk, one could easily think they were roaming down the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The large obelisk memorial resembles the Washington Monument and the Irish President lives in a giant white house! It was certainly unexpected. After roaming the city we decided to try and find a good pub to grab a pint and a bite to eat. We settled on Cassidy's on the south side of Dublin by the Heineken building. Only 10euro for a pint and a pizza? Can't be beat. I have to say this pub was one of the coolest places I've ever been and I wish I would have thought to take more pictures! Every surface was covered in writing: the tables, walls, bar, floor, bathrooms, everything! The whole place had a really cool vibes with low tables and couches and candlesticks made of beer bottles. In this moment, I finally started to feel at home in Dublin. It was great to just sit around, enjoying a great beer, with some really exceptional people. Everyone here has dreams as big as mine with enough courage to be here pursuing them! I can tell I'm going to like these people!

I ended the day by Facetiming some people from home even with the time difference. I'm very fortunate to get to talk to my family and friends as much as I have. Tomorrow, I move down to Rathmines and begin my adventures for real! 

Well its about 12AM Dublin time, so I should probably be getting to bed. Stay Safe USA. 

From Dublin with love. 

Day 1...here goes nothing!

Here's a picture of the view from my window of the hotel! I'll be here until tomorrow afternoon when we all move into our apartments in Rathmines, about 15 minutes south of city center. My flight was long; very long, but shortly after arriving I ran into several other Arcadia students who were very friendly and seemed just as apprehensive and curious as I was. I guess I can talk about some of my first impressions: first, I arrived well before sunrise this morning so the spectacular views of flying over Ireland were lacking :/. Second, it's so dark here! At first I thought we were still over the Atlantic just because there was no light on the land. It wasn't until we approached Dublin that you could see a glow of the city life. Third, I'm not entirely sure I'll ever get used to this driving on the left thing, but our cab driver was very entertaining and welcoming, as everyone else has been. Later today after some meetings, I'll be able to do some exploring but strangely enough I'm really just ready to get my classes started! It's not that I'm in a rush to get them over with; I'm just excited to get back into  a routine. Well, I'm gonna  try to nap before orientation gets going.

Until later America.

Make life extraordinary

I think it's safe to say my summer is over as I sit in front of the airport window watching the planes take off and land. After talking about it for almost a full year the day has finally come; I'm going to Ireland! The last week has been full of many tearful goodbyes with friends and family. I know I'm going to miss everyone terribly but there's no way I could give up this opportunity. For those of you out of the loop, the next three months will be spent in Dublin, Ireland, as well as some other European destinations, exploring and interning for Parliament, as well as going to school. Had you told me just a few years ago this is what I'd be up to, I would have called you crazy, but here we are! I'm going to try to keep this blog updated as much as possible so that everyone stateside can keep up with what I'm doing! Next time you here from me I'll be abroad!

Lots of love,

Carlee