Howth and Immigration and Once, oh my!!!!!

I feel like I’ve been failing a little at this whole blogging thing, so we’ll see if I can’t get something short up tonight.

Classes are going well enough. Travel and life in Dublin is much more exciting. Last weekend some friends and I took the DART (think metro or BART) train out to Howth (which rhymes with “both” according to my guidebook). Howth is a coastal town located on a peninsula and used to be a big port city. Walking trails span across the entire peninsula. The four of us, being of the adventurous sort, decided to take the longest of the suggested walks. This took us first along the coastal cliffs. The views were spectacular. The sun glittered off the water at the horizon, but in addition there was one spectacular glowing disk on the water closer to us. It was almost too perfect and stunning to be a natural occurrence, so I think it was probably a leprechaun’s home. Unfortunately we had good weather, which meant no rainbow to carry us across the water and, thus, no pot of gold. A bummer, I know, but I think I preferred clear weather on a hiking day.

We followed the cliffs around until we reached a lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula. Up to this point, the path had been clear, clean, and comfortable. It now became a little more…messy. We turned in slightly from following the cliffs and found ourselves forced to cross big muddy patches. This was especially fun since none of us had hiking boots. I think I personally had the best situation with my 100% white tennis shoes. Needless to say, they are no longer pristine white. Instead they are nicely colored in at least 3 different shades of brown. We probably could have made a nice analysis of the different types of soil, based on the varying hues of mud still clinging to my shoes. The scenery was incredible, and I don’t regret the walk at all. Though we were sometimes hiking through foliage, we still followed close to the cliffs. At one point, we even took a slight detour to walk down to a beach. It wasn’t quite a southern California beach, but we did find striped rocks, which were pretty cool. (I should probably post a picture of one so this comment doesn’t seem crazy.)

Eventually the path turned away from the water’s edge to cut across the peninsula and bring us back to the center of town. This was quite an adventure. We forged our way through forest and field, navigated through still more patches of mud, and even snuck across a golf course careful to avoid flying balls stuck by golfers enjoying their day in a much different way than us. Personally, I’d take a hike and awesome scenery over golf any day. Of course, I’ve never actually been golfing…

In other news I am now legally permitted to reside in Ireland through June 30! I opened my bank account, located all the necessary paperwork, waited at the Garda for two hours, and now have my official immigration card. This would be exciting (and relieving!) by itself, but I feel especially glad to have everything in order since I have my first out-of-Ireland trip planned this weekend. I’m flying to Italy to visit my best forever friend and can’t wait! A word of caution to any planning European travel: while Ryanair is very affordable, it won’t organize any flight connections for you. However, after an absurd amount of time researching flights, I have connections booked through London to Milan. I leave Friday and come back Monday and am prepared to have an incredible weekend. Italy here I come!

In keeping with the theme of this blog, I feel like I should mention some white experiences. Now that my bank account is fully functioning I can use my new “chip and pin” debit card (because not everywhere accepts swipe cards) since white people love not having cash. I also had a very white night tonight watching an independent film, Once. (Independent film, singer/songwriters, it was a win on so many white levels!) I’d never seen it, but I would now recommend it to everyone. Of course, I’d be the first to admit that my enjoyment was definitely augmented since I recognized so many scenes in the movie! You know when he’s playing his guitar on the street? Well, that’s Grafton Street and I walk on it every time I have to go to the grocery store. And when he follows the thief into the park? Well, that’s St. Stephens Green at the head of Grafton. And when she goes to the music store to play the piano? I’m pretty sure I walked through that same area on my quest to rent a viola yesterday. Yep, Once is most definitely better once you’ve been to Dublin. This means of course, if you saw the movie and didn’t like it, you just need to come visit Dublin before seeing it again. Only then can you enjoy the movie as it deserves.

Well, I guess now I’ve tweaked the meaning of “something short”…

Emma Meets a Leprechaun; January 14

Yesterday afternoon was a welcome reception for all international students. At the reception, a group I'd been hanging out with started talking with Russell who's a Trinity student from Donegal in the north of Ireland (but still in the Republican, not in the part owned by England). The reception ended around 6:30, and we decided to go out for a drink with Russell. He led our group of about 9 to a nearby pub that has student drinks. Thus, the stage was set for the following story...

Emma Meets a Leprechaun

2 friends and I wandered down to the bathroom fairly late in the night. Ali and I waited outside while our third friend used the bathroom. We're having a nice little conversation through her stall door when out of another stall walks a little Irish man! He was probably 4 1/2 feet tall (I'm not even joking) and just tiny overall. He walked out of his stall and mumbled, "There are girls? I'm in the wrong place. I must be even more pissed than all of you."

Then the leprechaun walked out the door.

Emma in Ireland: January 11, 2011

            The great comedian Christian Lander informed me that white people love study abroad. As a good “white person”, I knew I had to embrace this opportunity. I of course wanted to combine this with backpacking across Europe and embracing first world travel, so I turned my focus to the European continent. Since my only language is English, my possibilities were further limited. Since I once visited England for a week, why not try somewhere new. You know, I’m a little bit Irish; I’m a fan of Garth Brook’s song “Ireland”. Why not try Trinity College in Dublin?!

            So, after a somewhat detailed application process (and an entirely too long waiting period for Trinity to actually accept me) I’m finally here in Dublin, sitting in my room looking out my window into the city streets and across to the main campus. It’s only orientation week so far, but it’s shaping up to be a good semester. Those who know me and my weather preferences will understand my utmost joy that we have miraculously had blue skies for most of the days I’ve been here. I know it probably won’t last, but I’ll take the sun while I can.

            I arrived last Saturday after a full day (couple days; day and a half? Dang those time changes…) of travel. I arrived at campus after everything had closed. In a display of my genius, I hadn’t thought ahead to find out how to locate my key once I got here. On the bright side, my cab driver didn’t want to leave me locked out of my building and so flagged down an American student who happened to be leaving, entrusting this random person to find somewhere for my stuff and help me get my key. Thoughtful of him, I know. What can I say, the Irish seem friendly so far. My new friend Sean (many thanks to you) and I then proceeded to drop my stuff in his room and try to find someone to help me get keys. The accommodations offices were of course closed, but we noticed a security guard in the courtyard of our building who was able (thankfully) to pick up my key and welcome packet from a front desk somewhere. I was in! I had no phone, no Internet, and no concept of location, but I had a key, some Euros from the airport ATM, and enough sleep from the plane to keep going for a bit longer. I saw a little of the city, found dinner, and then headed back to my new room for real sleep. Thus ended the first day.

            Sunday was my Grand Shopping Adventure. I had a lot to accomplish and so made sure to get an early start. I bounded out of bed at 11:30 then hurriedly dressed and raced out the door…or something like that. I was pretty sure I knew roughly where I needed to go, so I headed out. My superb sense of direction (thank you Meredith for letting me borrow it temporarily) and memory from the night before led me to Grafton street, a major shopping area near Trinity. My first stop was for a cell phone. Good news, texting to other Irish phones is cheap (often free) on my pay-as-you-go phone. Bad new: it’s been a long time since I didn’t have a full phone keyboard, and I will be THRILLED to get mine back in the States. No one said life can be perfect…My next step was a mall at the head of Grafton street. I found a café for coffee and a scone while I tried to figure out my phone (unsuccessfully at first I should add). I then headed to Dunnes (which I have no clue how to pronounce), your basic everything store, for the essentials (bedding, shampoo, etc.). Laden with packages, I headed back towards Goldsmith Hall. I was a seasoned Dublin pedestrian now and was confident of my direction…and then I was lost. Luckily, I was more mentally lost (didn’t recognize my surroundings) than physically lost, and I somehow ended up back at Goldsmith without any breakdowns or calamities.

            That night was the official welcome for the Semester Start-up Program, basically a weeklong orientation for Trinity international students. I met some other students in the courtyard of Goldsmith and we headed over for pizza, wine and welcoming.

            SSP has been good so far. We (the American students) are now experts on modern Ireland, Jonathan Swift, the art and architecture of Trinity college, the layout and location of Trinity, and a handful of other topics. Last night we went on a Literary Pub Crawl of the city. Two actors took us around to four local pubs and a couple other historic Dublin landmarks around the Trinity area. We heard snippets of Becket, Shaw, and other Irish greats (I probably should have added them to our list of mastered topics above). It was a definite fun time, and one I would recommend to anyone who isn’t ashamed to be immediately recognized as a tourist. My thought is, embrace the tourist identity this week since it’s hard to avoid notice traveling in a large group of American students. There’s a whole semester ahead of me to try to blend in.

            Today was a definite highlight and a destination I would recommend as (so far) the number one thing to do in Dublin. It also gives me another topic to add to the Mastery list: Irish sports. Today we traveled across the River Liffey to the home of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The Gaelic Athletic Association includes Hurling and Gaelic Football, both distinctly Irish sports played throughout the country. The stadium is impressive in itself, but the sports played in it are incredible! Seriously, go look up Hurling and Gaelic Football. You’ll probably be jealous you didn’t grow up in Ireland playing these sports. I know I was. More than just a sports organization, the GAA is also a huge promoter of Irish culture and has a rich personal history that weaves into greater Irish history. Written description isn’t doing justice to the GAA, so just take my word for it and book a tour if you make it to Ireland.

            Other than the highlights reel there have been a lot of café/restaurant and pub trips (since no one has gone grocery shopping…and we’re in Dublin!), though these will sadly slow down when the semester actually starts on Monday (must they??). Life is good and I’m looking forward to what the rest of the semester brings. I’m still Internet-less (I’m planning an exciting visit to technical support sometime soon) and I feel like I may be getting scurvy from a lack of fruits and vegetables (about which I’m only half joking; I miss you California produce!) but I’m thrilled to be here!