I’M IN DUBLIN!!! WOOOOOO
I am typing this a little bit before midnight on Tuesday, Jan 14th, Dublin time. I arrived around 9am this morning. The past day has all been a little surreal. It is only hitting me now as I settle into my double in a 10 person suite that this is where I’ll be living for the next four months. I still need to buy small things like a laundry hamper and hand soap, stuff you don’t even realize you need until you’re there. I would say I am more under-packed than overpacked, for once in my life. But at least I’m not in the middle of nowhere and the stores aren’t very far away.
Let me tell you that jet lag off of a red-eye flight is possibly the worst feeling ever. I just woke up from a 2 and a half hour nap, before which I was awake for over 30 hours straight (yikes). I have no idea what time my body thinks it is, but it is always hungry and always sleepy, except for right now, when it is inexplicably awake and kicking.
The flight itself went as smooth as can be, which is surprising given my luck. I kept half-expecting my baggage to go missing or have security say I am not allowed to enter the country or something like that. The flight, only like 5ish hours, seemed to go by relatively quick, although it was still kinda sucky. Lots of awkwardly bent necks, sore butts, and crying babies. Sleep eluded me. This one time, I was almosssssttt there, but then the lights turned on and they fed us breakfast (aka, an unripe banana). Such is life.
The best part of the flight was the take-off and the touch-down. I departed from JFK, and it was amazing to see the little pinpricks of light get smaller and more indistinct. Landing in Ireland was also amazing, a patchwork quilt of fields interspersed with villages, just waking up to the sunrise. I didn’t have a window seat, of course, I sat somewhere in the middle. So I just had to awkwardly crane my neck to look past strangers, bitterly resenting the window-seat people who were doing something lame like sleeping or reading. I don’t care if I’m on a plane a thousand times, seeing the world through the eyes of a bird will never get old.
I haven’t explored much of Dublin, yet. Between the exhaustion and scheduling, there wasn’t much time to. The campus of DCU is very nice, although a bit quiet now, since all the students are preparing for finals. It is a smaller, more traditional campus than BU, which will be nice to experience. Although, I have to say, I now remember what it is like to be a freshman again. The awkwardness. Not knowing what to do or where to go, with the constant fear that people are judging you, sensing that you don’t belong. I couldn’t figure out how to open a door, guys. The struggle is real.
The rest of the week is orientation activities, including a central Dublin scavenger hunt tomorrow, so I will be able to post soon about the rest of Dublin! I haven’t taken any pictures yet, but those too are coming!
Everyone I have met so far, the other students in the program, the people in charge, or just regular Dublin residents, have all been extremely nice and accommodating! I can already tell I will have an excellent time here, and can’t wait to see what the rest semester has to offer!
P.S. excuse the poor grammar and spelling. Jet lag.
Morgo Goes on an Adventure 