(Sunday)Today i woke up around 2ish and went to the gym with Ryan. He forgot his id so he went back to get it and that was the last i saw him for awhile. Anyway, i saw Heloise and Pauline there and then hung out int he hot tun with Tomas, Cam, and Julia for a while then came home.
Had some leftover salad and then was on my way to visit Wally and Anna in the city. Of course we picked a place that had two locations o i was a little bit late, but not too bad. They offered to buy me dinner so my cheeseburger was extra delicious. Also, it was funny because right when I walked in I tried to order a Guinness but hte waitress nearly knocked me off my feet when she told me they didnt have a Guinness! Somewhere in Dublin without guiness! Blasphemy. Apparently they are a microbrewery and dont sell anything they dont make. Dinner was great and it was good to talk to them. We walked back and they showed me a few cool places that they noticed, and a bunch of all you can eat buffets that I am definitely going to hit up in the future. sweet lyfe. They also brought me a towel, so I dont have to use Eddies Madagascar one anymore. great success. And more importantly, they bought me an excessive amount of sour patch kids. THATS awesome. wally said 7 bags should be a semester supply. lets hope so.
:)
Arnaud wants to play monopoly. I must end this. The oscars are on tonight in America. Benjamin button deserves everything its nominated for. tahts my opinion. im probably wrong but i liked it.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
French Dinner Night at the Terace......
SO on tuesday (feb 17) I made an American Dinner for Delphine, Pauline, Heloise, Cyril, and the roommates and on Wed they told us they would make us a French dinner. that day after classes I walked over to Subway with Arnauds girlfriend and when we were there i got wicked pumped because the girls were their with a massive grocery cart of stuff for dinner. So basically I was just pumped all day to eat. they had more grocerys in their cart for one meal than i have had since ive been here. sweet life.
When we got to their apartment at night it was really really awesome. we brought over a Heineken mini keg and some drinks but they had literally everything else. i mean plates stacked 8 inches high off the table with pre made crepes. They cooked the eggs and ham together once we got their so everything was fresh and hot and melt in your mouth fantastic. We started out with ham egg and cheese ones and then for desert we had some nutella and marmalade and sugar ones that we made. those were tremendous. After we finished eating they had invited some irish guys over and so we all sat down and played Kings with some Tesco brand drinks. should have known better. That was fun and we played some interesting rules. (tomas, magda had some interesting 10's) The night ended around 12.30 when the guy came to the door but not before we had some MGMT and MIA singalong with french people who have never actually known the words to the songs they "sing" all the time.
I stayed a little bit later and tried to steal some extra crepes for breakfast but i wasnt slick enough, got caught and went home empty handed. rough. i didnt really have class on wed so i stayed up wicked late talking to people but im annoyed because my microphone doesn't work on skype.
(Im a little bit behind but today is Saturday and i am going into town to hopefully see Jimmys brother Wally, and then head over to Hoath, some place south of here that is on the water and looks awesome supposedly.... )
i booked a trip to Scotland for april 1-4 yesterday
hockey pucks....not really worth it
laundry.....so expensive....im totally rocking the giant bucket with detergent right now.
I met a dude from south carolina yesterday. typifys your farm living red neck. (he uses those words too)
When we got to their apartment at night it was really really awesome. we brought over a Heineken mini keg and some drinks but they had literally everything else. i mean plates stacked 8 inches high off the table with pre made crepes. They cooked the eggs and ham together once we got their so everything was fresh and hot and melt in your mouth fantastic. We started out with ham egg and cheese ones and then for desert we had some nutella and marmalade and sugar ones that we made. those were tremendous. After we finished eating they had invited some irish guys over and so we all sat down and played Kings with some Tesco brand drinks. should have known better. That was fun and we played some interesting rules. (tomas, magda had some interesting 10's) The night ended around 12.30 when the guy came to the door but not before we had some MGMT and MIA singalong with french people who have never actually known the words to the songs they "sing" all the time.
I stayed a little bit later and tried to steal some extra crepes for breakfast but i wasnt slick enough, got caught and went home empty handed. rough. i didnt really have class on wed so i stayed up wicked late talking to people but im annoyed because my microphone doesn't work on skype.
(Im a little bit behind but today is Saturday and i am going into town to hopefully see Jimmys brother Wally, and then head over to Hoath, some place south of here that is on the water and looks awesome supposedly.... )
i booked a trip to Scotland for april 1-4 yesterday
hockey pucks....not really worth it
laundry.....so expensive....im totally rocking the giant bucket with detergent right now.
I met a dude from south carolina yesterday. typifys your farm living red neck. (he uses those words too)
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
american vs. French dinner....aslan...
Last night before we headed out to the on campus concert at the olebar, I made an American Dinner of hot dogs, beans, french fries, chicken nuggets, and potato salad for the french girls (and Cyril came too) It was pretty awesome especially because hte girls are going to make a french themed dinner another time (tomorrow) so that should be awesome. After dinner though we all played Kings, and I taught everyone how to play. It was pretty great that they had never heard about it and loved it so much. We actually even finished an entire game! Anyway, the cool part about that story is that the next day in class, Arnaud presented how to play in his advertising or Marketing class! He had to give a one minute presentation on ANYthing so he chose something interesting that he just learned! After he went over time his teacher told him to take extra so that they could all learn! that's awesome. Americanizing ireland...one house party at a time.
at the ole bar it was pretty awesome. this irish group aslan was there and they were really really good. the place was packed and it stayed open until 2 am so it was cool to have a place to stay all night especially whne i had no class today. they were really good. check out Aslan, Crazy World. Live would probably be the best way to listen to it so check that out on youtube. they played it as an encore and it was great. After they were done they had a a great playlist that they used with some MGMT, Kate perry, Bon Jovi, Madonna, Justice, and DAft.....it was pretty awesome.
A really fun tuesday night.
I opened a bank account here today...no more atm fees.
i think im going to go to Cork this weekend.
things are still really expensive.
Im leaving after hitting post to go eat some fresh crepes.
How bout ARoid huh.
I dropped a 20euro bill...that is painful. no more pubs the rest of the week now.
uconn down to pitt....darn...duke to bc.....miss watching that stuff
I am going to meet a host family on Monday....should be cool...hopefully ill get someone cool....
at the ole bar it was pretty awesome. this irish group aslan was there and they were really really good. the place was packed and it stayed open until 2 am so it was cool to have a place to stay all night especially whne i had no class today. they were really good. check out Aslan, Crazy World. Live would probably be the best way to listen to it so check that out on youtube. they played it as an encore and it was great. After they were done they had a a great playlist that they used with some MGMT, Kate perry, Bon Jovi, Madonna, Justice, and DAft.....it was pretty awesome.
A really fun tuesday night.
I opened a bank account here today...no more atm fees.
i think im going to go to Cork this weekend.
things are still really expensive.
Im leaving after hitting post to go eat some fresh crepes.
How bout ARoid huh.
I dropped a 20euro bill...that is painful. no more pubs the rest of the week now.
uconn down to pitt....darn...duke to bc.....miss watching that stuff
I am going to meet a host family on Monday....should be cool...hopefully ill get someone cool....
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The day after the walk, Guinness Factory, and an actual meal.
Some updates. Unsure of the days.
On Saturday the 14th, we went to the Guinness factory with the girls, Ryan, and his roommate. I slept fantastically after my epic adventure and lacrosse game the day before, but ill write about that later. Anyway, Ryans roommate Michael is from Ireland so its nice when hes directing us where to go. Anyway, we walked quite far to get to the factory but it was a nice day out so it wasn’t too big a deal. We walked by the oldest pub in Dublin (which just so happens to be outside the Guinness factory walls…..) When we finally go to the factory it was a pretty interesting tour. They had a lot of audio and visual aides on your self guided tour and they let you sample different ingredients that go into the beer. Interesting fact, Arthur Guinness signed the lease on the factory for 9000 years at 45 euros a year. Smart guy. Anyway when you get to the top of the factory (which happens to be in the shape of a large Guinness glass, they have built a 360 degree glass walled bar at the very top in which you can see all of Dublin from. You get a complimentary beer and get to enjoy it over the city so its pretty sick. When we were up at the bar I made sure everyone at the bar knew it was Leah’s birthday and then we all sang to her, so that was pretty cool. Definitely a nice little birthday song to never forget.
After the factory, we were all starving and hungry and went looking for food. We found our Mecca in the shape of a diner meant to recreate 1950’s U.S.A. Horribly cheeky and tacky but whatever. It was my first real meal that I didn’t make with pasta or out of prepackaged anything so I loved every bit of my double cheeseburger and French fries. (so much that I also helped Kelsey and Corie finish there last few bites…cant let that go to waste!) Needless to say, that was easily the best 10euros I have spent since I have been here. Freakin great. Ill never forget the way that first bite felt. It was as if I hadn’t eating real food in years.
After the factory and the bus ride home everyone was kind of exhausted so any plans to go out that night pretty much went out the window once we tried to nap. We ended up just getting a few drinks and playing some card games at our apartment until we headed over to Ryan’s apartment. Since his roommates are irish and live close by, they had their playstation 3 hooked up to a nice t.v. and so being able to play some call of duty was really nice. We even got leah to try it on her birthday…she wasn’t very good but shes showed potential. Ha ha. After she left, a few of us watched Rock’N’Rolla, the newest Guy Ritchie movie. It was pretty good and was really awesome to be able to just chill and watch a movie. I also found out that allt he guys at the apartment watch 24. So that is a great life update. Cant wait to see what Jack’s been up to lately. Anyway, Im off to cook some dinner. It is currently Tuesday, and the French girls are coming over for an “American dinner”. I’m making hot dogs (which are tiny and really overpriced), beans, fries, and chicken nuggets. Not to bad. Hopefully their French cuisine will be much better.
On Saturday the 14th, we went to the Guinness factory with the girls, Ryan, and his roommate. I slept fantastically after my epic adventure and lacrosse game the day before, but ill write about that later. Anyway, Ryans roommate Michael is from Ireland so its nice when hes directing us where to go. Anyway, we walked quite far to get to the factory but it was a nice day out so it wasn’t too big a deal. We walked by the oldest pub in Dublin (which just so happens to be outside the Guinness factory walls…..) When we finally go to the factory it was a pretty interesting tour. They had a lot of audio and visual aides on your self guided tour and they let you sample different ingredients that go into the beer. Interesting fact, Arthur Guinness signed the lease on the factory for 9000 years at 45 euros a year. Smart guy. Anyway when you get to the top of the factory (which happens to be in the shape of a large Guinness glass, they have built a 360 degree glass walled bar at the very top in which you can see all of Dublin from. You get a complimentary beer and get to enjoy it over the city so its pretty sick. When we were up at the bar I made sure everyone at the bar knew it was Leah’s birthday and then we all sang to her, so that was pretty cool. Definitely a nice little birthday song to never forget.
After the factory, we were all starving and hungry and went looking for food. We found our Mecca in the shape of a diner meant to recreate 1950’s U.S.A. Horribly cheeky and tacky but whatever. It was my first real meal that I didn’t make with pasta or out of prepackaged anything so I loved every bit of my double cheeseburger and French fries. (so much that I also helped Kelsey and Corie finish there last few bites…cant let that go to waste!) Needless to say, that was easily the best 10euros I have spent since I have been here. Freakin great. Ill never forget the way that first bite felt. It was as if I hadn’t eating real food in years.
After the factory and the bus ride home everyone was kind of exhausted so any plans to go out that night pretty much went out the window once we tried to nap. We ended up just getting a few drinks and playing some card games at our apartment until we headed over to Ryan’s apartment. Since his roommates are irish and live close by, they had their playstation 3 hooked up to a nice t.v. and so being able to play some call of duty was really nice. We even got leah to try it on her birthday…she wasn’t very good but shes showed potential. Ha ha. After she left, a few of us watched Rock’N’Rolla, the newest Guy Ritchie movie. It was pretty good and was really awesome to be able to just chill and watch a movie. I also found out that allt he guys at the apartment watch 24. So that is a great life update. Cant wait to see what Jack’s been up to lately. Anyway, Im off to cook some dinner. It is currently Tuesday, and the French girls are coming over for an “American dinner”. I’m making hot dogs (which are tiny and really overpriced), beans, fries, and chicken nuggets. Not to bad. Hopefully their French cuisine will be much better.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
ireland 101 taught by the Dropkick Murphys
the 'im in dublin moment"
the pan out after the irish team won the game and the announcer says...... we have witnessed a great contest between two mighty forces here on the fields of athenry...cut to the irish flag/irish national anthem......
that was one of my top moments so far......just sick to hear that.....
the pan out after the irish team won the game and the announcer says...... we have witnessed a great contest between two mighty forces here on the fields of athenry...cut to the irish flag/irish national anthem......
that was one of my top moments so far......just sick to hear that.....
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Roomates and Rugby......
Saturday.
(the last post was actually a Friday. And if that’s wrong then the day before is wrong too. This all happened on Saturday. As if u care. Anyway. Saturday was a great day. Probably one of the best wake ups I have ever had. If not the best, definitely the most unforgettable. I was sleeping and around 11 am ish I started to hear a few noises outside my door. I was really hopeful it was my roommate but I was in to much of a sleep coma to think about it. My true wake up in fact came when I heard my bop it being pulled and twisted and that distinguishing sound it makes when you use it. If you could have takne a picture of me I’m sure I was sitting in my bed with a huge grin on my face.
Tomas and G’Shlann were my first two roommates to arrive at the apartment. Both are business students at a French university and both are incredibly nice. Tomas’s friend Rebeeca was also with him and she is living in our apartment complex too. Both of them speak great English so that is not a problem at all. We hung out for a little bit but then after a short while we decided to head over to the grocery store and pick up some stuff. At the grocery store we picked up some stuff and that was cool (read: expensive) Tomas has never lived on his own (he commuted to school from home) so this was also his first time shopping. It was funny to see his basket with pasta, soup, and heatable pizza. Hopefully that will change a little bit so we can eat some real food. Ha ha. It was really awesome to talk to them both on the way over to the grocery store about literally everything. When we got back to the apartment we went our separate ways for a bit.
Saturday was also the day of the Ireland v. France rugby match. Rugby is an enormous deal here. Huge. Think like Red Sox Yankees on a Sunday afternoon in august big. Anyway I had some plans to go with the group of girls I have been hanging out with to watch the game at our favorite pub but appearnetly when I went shopping they had left. Also on my way back in from shopping I saw a few French girls that I had met the day earlier on the bus tour. They asked me in very broken English was I was doing and I told them I wanted to watch the game etc etc. I helped them carry some of their bags up to their room while we were talking and they have a SICK penthouse apartment with a roof deck. Super super super cool. (perfect for the French and all their cigarette smoking too Anyway I also made some tentative plans to watch the game with them too since the girls had already left. I ran back to my apt and while there Rebecca said she and Tomas were going into Temple Bar to watch the game. (Remember temple bar is an area not a bar….) I told her thanks but I was gonna go somewhere with eh French girls. Anyway long story short the French girls though I was going to meet them at the bus stop, the other girls thought I would meet them, the others left without me and I proceeded to sit at home waiting for something to happen. Ok well I made that sound kind of bad but in reality I just got on a bus and headed into the city. I was annoyed that all my plans were juggled but there was no way I was missing the game. I’d just go by myself.
When I arrived at Fitzsimmons on Temple Bar I cannot even begin to explain to you how crowded it was. Side note, its nice to offer a bouncer id and have him turn it away because you clearly look over 18….. back to how crowded it was though. Something comparable. Ill go with something like an Orchard or a Gardner party in Boston. JAMMED with fans drinking and faces painted and all their colors on. I should have taken some pictures. Anyway since tomas and Rebecca were sitting there they were obviously sitting with their French friends and cheering from French. While I was trying to squeeze close to them I was on the cusp of both groups of fans and that was very interesting to hear the roars of the crowd anytime anything happened. When you see movies about European sports fans you could very easily feel like they are exaggerating things a little bit but I tell you they really really really don’t. insane. Anyway, Rebecca had a big group of friends that we decided to out with after that but first they all stopped at McDonalds for dinner. Now I know that seems like a mute point but when I tell you this group of 20 people stopped at McDonalds for dinner, I mean they stopped at McDonalds for dinner. Literally I sat in that McDonalds for 45 minutes. (no food…too expensive) like a marathon meal at mickey D’s that they treated as no big deal! Anyway after the meal Tomas and I just decided to go back and not bother paying to go to another pub. Anyway, we caught a train back and all that time was nice to get to know him a little bit better. He loves one tree hill, he loves playing computer games, he speaks a little bit of Japanese that he randomly taught himself when he downloaded a program. Some interesting things. When we got back, since our flat is right in front of the entrance, we could see another guy sitting in our living room with G’Shlann. Arno, our new roommate was sitting at the table drinking a bottle of wine.
Arno is originally from St. Martin, but went to school in France and actually lived in Boston last semester while studying abroad at northeastern. Right from the start I knew that he was going to be a real cool guy. We sat in the living room and had a few drinks together until a knock at the window from the girls brought us to our feet. We invited them in to meet my roommates and they told us they were heading over to the Comet for a few drinks. Can’t turn something like that down so we all headed out and on the way I grabbed the French girls and invited the, (I knew if they couldn’t talk to me they could at least converse with my 3 frenchmen!) We got to the Comet and saw our friends and got right down to having a great time and getting to know everyone. I love that place. Really awesome. Anyway I also got to talk to Arno on the way there and while were their and that was really awesome. He is a really interesting dude and I know were going to have a great time. While Tomas and G’Shlann might not be to wild or go out to much, Arno probably couldn’t be more opposite. It is very important to note as well that he bought me my first Guinness draught from an Irish pub. I was waiting for the right moment and when he offered there was no more perfect of a time.
After we left the pub we all came back and had a few more drinks at our place before we all headed our separate ways. Its really awesome to just go home after the bar closes or the party ends and just be able ot chill out in your own house and not have to worry about RA’s or noise violations.
The next day Arno, Tomas, and I woke up and decided to venture into the city centre to look for a t.v. long story short we didn’t get one because there was nothing cheap and a lot of places were closed. Anyway, while we were in the city centre we found out that our new roommate, a friend of Arnos from his college in france had just moved in and was on a bus to come visit us. He wanted to get right into the city and visit a pub so rather than head back in Arno and I decided to stay while Tomas (didn’t really want to go to the pub) decided to go home. Cam was the new roommate and its debatable if I could get better luck with getting roommates in my college career. He is awesome to and we got off to a great start. We went to a few little shops before we went to the pub and the guys got some burger king (again…to expensive for me…) before we just walked in somewhere at Temple Bar and sat down for a pint. (I only had 5 euros with me so I wasn’t planning on staying very long) Well after the first round a friend of Arnos said she wanted to meet us downtown so we decided to stay for a little bit longer. Well a little bit turned into a lot bit and long story short we stayed there for about 3 hours, my new roommates telling me to stop saying no and to just accept my free drinks they kept buying me. That was great. There was a few great things about the pub we were in. for one thing it was a Sunday afternoon and it was packed. Like jammed. And they played u2 every other song. No I mean every other song was bono singing. Literally. Not like every few. EVERY OTHER SONG!!! And then around 5 or so they brought in a guy who played guitar and sang popular songs. That was sick too….group singalong at the pub. Its awesome to recognize songs in an irish pub from Dropkick Murphy’s songs because they literally are the same lyrics just with a punk band and in Ireland with an acoustic guitar. Awesome. When we got back to the flat, we had some people over while I cooked a chicken and ate some pasta. They were the first things I had ate all day and hungry doesn’t being to describe how my stomach felt. I skyped for a little bit with some people and when I came back to the common area there was like 10 or 12 french people smoking cigarettes and talking fast in the living room. Apparently a sign of things to come. Anyway not long after my American girl friends walked by on their way to the bar and stopped in to hang out as well so that was fun. I don’t recall but I think we convinced a few of them to stay in with us instead of going out. We all hung out for a little bit and when Katie was the last American to leave I decided to go bed. My roommates can speak great English but when its late and they have a few drinks in them they have no desire to speak my language. Nevertheless that night I slept like a baby and woke up the next day to worry about my classes for the day.
(the last post was actually a Friday. And if that’s wrong then the day before is wrong too. This all happened on Saturday. As if u care. Anyway. Saturday was a great day. Probably one of the best wake ups I have ever had. If not the best, definitely the most unforgettable. I was sleeping and around 11 am ish I started to hear a few noises outside my door. I was really hopeful it was my roommate but I was in to much of a sleep coma to think about it. My true wake up in fact came when I heard my bop it being pulled and twisted and that distinguishing sound it makes when you use it. If you could have takne a picture of me I’m sure I was sitting in my bed with a huge grin on my face.
Tomas and G’Shlann were my first two roommates to arrive at the apartment. Both are business students at a French university and both are incredibly nice. Tomas’s friend Rebeeca was also with him and she is living in our apartment complex too. Both of them speak great English so that is not a problem at all. We hung out for a little bit but then after a short while we decided to head over to the grocery store and pick up some stuff. At the grocery store we picked up some stuff and that was cool (read: expensive) Tomas has never lived on his own (he commuted to school from home) so this was also his first time shopping. It was funny to see his basket with pasta, soup, and heatable pizza. Hopefully that will change a little bit so we can eat some real food. Ha ha. It was really awesome to talk to them both on the way over to the grocery store about literally everything. When we got back to the apartment we went our separate ways for a bit.
Saturday was also the day of the Ireland v. France rugby match. Rugby is an enormous deal here. Huge. Think like Red Sox Yankees on a Sunday afternoon in august big. Anyway I had some plans to go with the group of girls I have been hanging out with to watch the game at our favorite pub but appearnetly when I went shopping they had left. Also on my way back in from shopping I saw a few French girls that I had met the day earlier on the bus tour. They asked me in very broken English was I was doing and I told them I wanted to watch the game etc etc. I helped them carry some of their bags up to their room while we were talking and they have a SICK penthouse apartment with a roof deck. Super super super cool. (perfect for the French and all their cigarette smoking too Anyway I also made some tentative plans to watch the game with them too since the girls had already left. I ran back to my apt and while there Rebecca said she and Tomas were going into Temple Bar to watch the game. (Remember temple bar is an area not a bar….) I told her thanks but I was gonna go somewhere with eh French girls. Anyway long story short the French girls though I was going to meet them at the bus stop, the other girls thought I would meet them, the others left without me and I proceeded to sit at home waiting for something to happen. Ok well I made that sound kind of bad but in reality I just got on a bus and headed into the city. I was annoyed that all my plans were juggled but there was no way I was missing the game. I’d just go by myself.
When I arrived at Fitzsimmons on Temple Bar I cannot even begin to explain to you how crowded it was. Side note, its nice to offer a bouncer id and have him turn it away because you clearly look over 18….. back to how crowded it was though. Something comparable. Ill go with something like an Orchard or a Gardner party in Boston. JAMMED with fans drinking and faces painted and all their colors on. I should have taken some pictures. Anyway since tomas and Rebecca were sitting there they were obviously sitting with their French friends and cheering from French. While I was trying to squeeze close to them I was on the cusp of both groups of fans and that was very interesting to hear the roars of the crowd anytime anything happened. When you see movies about European sports fans you could very easily feel like they are exaggerating things a little bit but I tell you they really really really don’t. insane. Anyway, Rebecca had a big group of friends that we decided to out with after that but first they all stopped at McDonalds for dinner. Now I know that seems like a mute point but when I tell you this group of 20 people stopped at McDonalds for dinner, I mean they stopped at McDonalds for dinner. Literally I sat in that McDonalds for 45 minutes. (no food…too expensive) like a marathon meal at mickey D’s that they treated as no big deal! Anyway after the meal Tomas and I just decided to go back and not bother paying to go to another pub. Anyway, we caught a train back and all that time was nice to get to know him a little bit better. He loves one tree hill, he loves playing computer games, he speaks a little bit of Japanese that he randomly taught himself when he downloaded a program. Some interesting things. When we got back, since our flat is right in front of the entrance, we could see another guy sitting in our living room with G’Shlann. Arno, our new roommate was sitting at the table drinking a bottle of wine.
Arno is originally from St. Martin, but went to school in France and actually lived in Boston last semester while studying abroad at northeastern. Right from the start I knew that he was going to be a real cool guy. We sat in the living room and had a few drinks together until a knock at the window from the girls brought us to our feet. We invited them in to meet my roommates and they told us they were heading over to the Comet for a few drinks. Can’t turn something like that down so we all headed out and on the way I grabbed the French girls and invited the, (I knew if they couldn’t talk to me they could at least converse with my 3 frenchmen!) We got to the Comet and saw our friends and got right down to having a great time and getting to know everyone. I love that place. Really awesome. Anyway I also got to talk to Arno on the way there and while were their and that was really awesome. He is a really interesting dude and I know were going to have a great time. While Tomas and G’Shlann might not be to wild or go out to much, Arno probably couldn’t be more opposite. It is very important to note as well that he bought me my first Guinness draught from an Irish pub. I was waiting for the right moment and when he offered there was no more perfect of a time.
After we left the pub we all came back and had a few more drinks at our place before we all headed our separate ways. Its really awesome to just go home after the bar closes or the party ends and just be able ot chill out in your own house and not have to worry about RA’s or noise violations.
The next day Arno, Tomas, and I woke up and decided to venture into the city centre to look for a t.v. long story short we didn’t get one because there was nothing cheap and a lot of places were closed. Anyway, while we were in the city centre we found out that our new roommate, a friend of Arnos from his college in france had just moved in and was on a bus to come visit us. He wanted to get right into the city and visit a pub so rather than head back in Arno and I decided to stay while Tomas (didn’t really want to go to the pub) decided to go home. Cam was the new roommate and its debatable if I could get better luck with getting roommates in my college career. He is awesome to and we got off to a great start. We went to a few little shops before we went to the pub and the guys got some burger king (again…to expensive for me…) before we just walked in somewhere at Temple Bar and sat down for a pint. (I only had 5 euros with me so I wasn’t planning on staying very long) Well after the first round a friend of Arnos said she wanted to meet us downtown so we decided to stay for a little bit longer. Well a little bit turned into a lot bit and long story short we stayed there for about 3 hours, my new roommates telling me to stop saying no and to just accept my free drinks they kept buying me. That was great. There was a few great things about the pub we were in. for one thing it was a Sunday afternoon and it was packed. Like jammed. And they played u2 every other song. No I mean every other song was bono singing. Literally. Not like every few. EVERY OTHER SONG!!! And then around 5 or so they brought in a guy who played guitar and sang popular songs. That was sick too….group singalong at the pub. Its awesome to recognize songs in an irish pub from Dropkick Murphy’s songs because they literally are the same lyrics just with a punk band and in Ireland with an acoustic guitar. Awesome. When we got back to the flat, we had some people over while I cooked a chicken and ate some pasta. They were the first things I had ate all day and hungry doesn’t being to describe how my stomach felt. I skyped for a little bit with some people and when I came back to the common area there was like 10 or 12 french people smoking cigarettes and talking fast in the living room. Apparently a sign of things to come. Anyway not long after my American girl friends walked by on their way to the bar and stopped in to hang out as well so that was fun. I don’t recall but I think we convinced a few of them to stay in with us instead of going out. We all hung out for a little bit and when Katie was the last American to leave I decided to go bed. My roommates can speak great English but when its late and they have a few drinks in them they have no desire to speak my language. Nevertheless that night I slept like a baby and woke up the next day to worry about my classes for the day.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Comet's Pub...The Irish Thortons.......
So Friday morning we started out with a breakfast sponsored by the school, which is really just Danish and some coffee. They told us about some of the courses we could take and they made some of them sound very very interesting. In Ireland a lot of the classes don’t have final exams, and some only make you write one paper that is worth your entire grade. If my schedule goes the way I want it too I shouldn’t have any exams (maybe 1) and one class that only has one 3000 word paper to determine my entire grade. Talk about all your eggs in one basket. ( Too bad Niles and Nate wont be staying up late to finish that with me)
After breakfast I tried to open a bank account but the bank was closed for some reason so Katie (a friend comparable to the looks of Natalie (Audia), the openness and willingness to meet people of Ashley forgione, and the desire to drink like Dani…not bad) anyway she and I went to check out the athletic complex here at the school which is actually pretty awesome. Having a big school really lets you stretch the limits. There is a giant rock wall, like enormous. Baptista would love this thing…could easily spend hours and hours in it. A large basketball gym (pretty bad lighting is the only complaint), racquetball, handball, tons of cardio stuff, indoor 100 yard track, wrestling mats, steam rooms, small pool, and lots of cool stuff.
Since the athletic complex is close to the liquor store and a small grocer, we decided we should just head over their and pick up some essentials while we were there. Theses stores are about a mile away from our apartment so I think that is one of the reasons I feel like I need to include it in this sort of thing. Don’t worry mom and dad im being safe!! Anyway even just talking to the grocer is awesome because ethey are all so nice and any question you ask is ok. They literally exemplify no such thing as a stupid question! He gave a us a deal on Brooklyn Lager (shout out to c1) because he says its hard to sell that in Ireland. Works for me. We carried that home (that wasn’t pleasant) because we wanted to have a little gathering to meet the people from our program later that night so just picked up enough to share. A great idea that everyone really enjoyed that night.
As Katie and I were rushing back, we were worried we might be lost and not make our tour of Dublin but luckily we made it their with plenty of time and were actually the first ones there. When we finally got there she said she hates being late for stuff. I told her our friendship might very often be strained. ha ha! The tour of Dublin by bus was overwhelming and awesome. Really really great and Im incredibly mad I didn’t have my camera (some other people took a ton of pics so you’ll see some soon) Basically they told us lots of cool places that sparked my interest that I will now want to go check out on my own. The prison tour is probably number one on my list because of all the history that it has with the irish uprisings and capitol punishments it gave out etc.
After our tour ended everyone was exhausted and pretty much went home and crashed for a couple hours. That night though we had a nice big party with all the study abroad students. I think there was something like 10 countries in the room at the same time so it was pretty cool. Everyone was sharing their hometown favorite drinks and talking about their journeys through rain and snow (the Europeans) and the jet lagged Americans. After an hour or so of everyone hanging out we literally all left out apartments at the same time to head over to a pub down the street that we saw earlier in the day. There was probably about 30 or 40 total, which cut in half when we got to the pub because some people wanted to go into the city. It is funny how when we walked into the pub we literally lit up the room and everyone at this very local, very classic irish pub took complete note of the Americans walking in. We made our way to a table and ordered our first round of drinks. After a little bit, Katie was no where to be found at our table so I took a walk around to see where she was at or what she was up to. That girl can literally go up to anyone and start a conversation. Its pretty awesome. Because of her we met some incredible incredible people. I started talking to one of the other guys next to he and soon enough we were cheering and acting like the best of friends. Really. These guys were great. Martin, Connor, JohnPaul, and a few others I cant remember. Literally all night long we sat with them and talked about everything from Christiano Ronaldo to Barack Obama to Whitey Bulger to the Red Sox to the history of the pub we were in.
I could literally go on for pages and pages about all the stuff we talked about but the highlight of the night was when one of the guys offered me a gift of his Celtic Football League hat. Literally you could see the look of surprise on his mates faces as he handed it to me and began explaining the significance of the Catholics and the history and pride and honor of the Gaelic Football League. He reiterated that wherever I walked with that hat on I would receive respect and a helping hand if needed. They continually put there hand on their heart and kept telling me how lucky I was and how proud I should be to wear it. There was also a friend of theirs named Ger at the pub as well. All the girls in our group really got along with her and she was really fun and super exuberant. Hopefully she will be back again next week.
That night was fun and after we left a couple people came over to my apartment (one girl who is a perfect cross between Katie Cornine and Alessandra….you would literally immediately think of those two if you saw her…and we had hung out and listened to music and just hung out for a little bit. A Great night . still no roommates though.
Random Thought I. I saw a robeks in downtown Dublin. Sick
Random Thought II. I sat next to some French girls on the bus tour of the city today. They made fun of me because I could not say their names.
Random Thought III. Stuff is really really really expensive here.
Random Thought IV. I got my heat to work yesterday. Like magic. ;)
Random Thought V. I really want to play some basketball.
Random Thought VI. Listening to Muse, Black Holes and Revelations
After breakfast I tried to open a bank account but the bank was closed for some reason so Katie (a friend comparable to the looks of Natalie (Audia), the openness and willingness to meet people of Ashley forgione, and the desire to drink like Dani…not bad) anyway she and I went to check out the athletic complex here at the school which is actually pretty awesome. Having a big school really lets you stretch the limits. There is a giant rock wall, like enormous. Baptista would love this thing…could easily spend hours and hours in it. A large basketball gym (pretty bad lighting is the only complaint), racquetball, handball, tons of cardio stuff, indoor 100 yard track, wrestling mats, steam rooms, small pool, and lots of cool stuff.
Since the athletic complex is close to the liquor store and a small grocer, we decided we should just head over their and pick up some essentials while we were there. Theses stores are about a mile away from our apartment so I think that is one of the reasons I feel like I need to include it in this sort of thing. Don’t worry mom and dad im being safe!! Anyway even just talking to the grocer is awesome because ethey are all so nice and any question you ask is ok. They literally exemplify no such thing as a stupid question! He gave a us a deal on Brooklyn Lager (shout out to c1) because he says its hard to sell that in Ireland. Works for me. We carried that home (that wasn’t pleasant) because we wanted to have a little gathering to meet the people from our program later that night so just picked up enough to share. A great idea that everyone really enjoyed that night.
As Katie and I were rushing back, we were worried we might be lost and not make our tour of Dublin but luckily we made it their with plenty of time and were actually the first ones there. When we finally got there she said she hates being late for stuff. I told her our friendship might very often be strained. ha ha! The tour of Dublin by bus was overwhelming and awesome. Really really great and Im incredibly mad I didn’t have my camera (some other people took a ton of pics so you’ll see some soon) Basically they told us lots of cool places that sparked my interest that I will now want to go check out on my own. The prison tour is probably number one on my list because of all the history that it has with the irish uprisings and capitol punishments it gave out etc.
After our tour ended everyone was exhausted and pretty much went home and crashed for a couple hours. That night though we had a nice big party with all the study abroad students. I think there was something like 10 countries in the room at the same time so it was pretty cool. Everyone was sharing their hometown favorite drinks and talking about their journeys through rain and snow (the Europeans) and the jet lagged Americans. After an hour or so of everyone hanging out we literally all left out apartments at the same time to head over to a pub down the street that we saw earlier in the day. There was probably about 30 or 40 total, which cut in half when we got to the pub because some people wanted to go into the city. It is funny how when we walked into the pub we literally lit up the room and everyone at this very local, very classic irish pub took complete note of the Americans walking in. We made our way to a table and ordered our first round of drinks. After a little bit, Katie was no where to be found at our table so I took a walk around to see where she was at or what she was up to. That girl can literally go up to anyone and start a conversation. Its pretty awesome. Because of her we met some incredible incredible people. I started talking to one of the other guys next to he and soon enough we were cheering and acting like the best of friends. Really. These guys were great. Martin, Connor, JohnPaul, and a few others I cant remember. Literally all night long we sat with them and talked about everything from Christiano Ronaldo to Barack Obama to Whitey Bulger to the Red Sox to the history of the pub we were in.
I could literally go on for pages and pages about all the stuff we talked about but the highlight of the night was when one of the guys offered me a gift of his Celtic Football League hat. Literally you could see the look of surprise on his mates faces as he handed it to me and began explaining the significance of the Catholics and the history and pride and honor of the Gaelic Football League. He reiterated that wherever I walked with that hat on I would receive respect and a helping hand if needed. They continually put there hand on their heart and kept telling me how lucky I was and how proud I should be to wear it. There was also a friend of theirs named Ger at the pub as well. All the girls in our group really got along with her and she was really fun and super exuberant. Hopefully she will be back again next week.
That night was fun and after we left a couple people came over to my apartment (one girl who is a perfect cross between Katie Cornine and Alessandra….you would literally immediately think of those two if you saw her…and we had hung out and listened to music and just hung out for a little bit. A Great night . still no roommates though.
Random Thought I. I saw a robeks in downtown Dublin. Sick
Random Thought II. I sat next to some French girls on the bus tour of the city today. They made fun of me because I could not say their names.
Random Thought III. Stuff is really really really expensive here.
Random Thought IV. I got my heat to work yesterday. Like magic. ;)
Random Thought V. I really want to play some basketball.
Random Thought VI. Listening to Muse, Black Holes and Revelations
Friday, February 6, 2009
Temple Bar and Some French Rugby...
So night one of going out in Dublin started with us going straight for the top, with us taking a bus into Dublin to take on the Temple Bar area. I really can not compare Temple Bar to anything I have ever experiences or have heard about. Basically, It is a street off the main roads of Dublin center that has hundreds of small and large pubs, music venues, and discotheques. Literally if you can think of a theme or a style of bar its on Temple Street. Seeing as how it snowed earlier that day the streets were icy but we made it safely to the bus stop which is about a mile away. Many of the girls weren’t a huge fan of that but from the looks of our location that will be a common occurrence. The girls that I have been hanging out with are pretty cool. There are not that many guys in my program at all (I still have no roommates) and I haven’t had much connection with the other guys. Megan is from Emmanuel and she would be how I met all the other girls. Cori and Christina go to UNH and knew each other from home. There is a girl named Julia and she’s from PA and knew about Girl Talk so she gets some major brownie points. Katie is from Pennsylvani but goes to school at West Virginia….(shes a mountaineer Natalie!) While we were waiting for the bus we met an italian guy going to DCU who invited the girls and I to his apartment the next day for a little housewarming. Good be a fun option.
The bus ride into the city was a short and painless ride, far easier than making the trek out to Stevie and the guys house in brighton. When we got their we walked around Temple street trying to figure out where to go . The first place we saw had a live band playing but there wa0s a ten euro cover so we didn’t do that. We decided that our first pub would be Harringtons. There was a guy playing guitar and it was very much what I expected except cooler because it was real! Smithwicks was my first drink of choice and we all cheered to our time abroad. Probably the best part of the pub was the fact that there was a small French rugby team their celebrating their time in Dublin (right down to the passed out man in the corner with cups and coasters and writing all over him.) The girls had some fun taking pictures of him. Anyway, we stayed and talked to these French men for a few rounds and it was really awesome to hear what they had to say and listen to them try and understand us. Now I know what Mayssas hometown is like! Right down to their cheers of YES WE CAN! CHANGE HAS COME! They loved talking to us and even bought us a few drinks. (At 5 euros , $7…that’s a great thing) They told us they were here for the huge rugby match on Saturday between France and Ireland. I guess tickets run upwards off a hundred euros so it’s a big deal. We actually plan on going into the city near the station to catch some of that excitement tomorrow. Games at 1700 hours so should be a great celebration of a day.
After Harrington’s and our great experience with the Rugby guys, we went over to the first bar we went to thinking that we were going to get in for free. Well the girls were wrong and we had to pay the 10 E but o well. It’s like freshman year at the club….you just gotta go for the ride. That place was fun and the drinks were a little cheaper, although it was very much a club atmosphere. Bill and Mickey and the guys can feel comfortable in the fac that there are plenty of bros in Dublin too! Gotti’s and bros everywhere with crazy strobe lights and strange techno remixes of don’t stop believing and MJ and beyonce. Jill and Michelle would have liked the journey remix…It went on for what seemed like hours. We had a few drinks their and by that time we were definetly feeling pretty great. We left around 2.30 and got a cab home, but not before stopping at some local burger place where I got some overpriced fries with hot ranch dressing. Strange and forieng, but worth every penny.
All in all it was a great night, definely something I will never forget. The Rugby players made it truly memorable and something I could never experience anywhere else. The only thing that stinks about the night is that I had to come back to my room by myself at the end of the night…no roommates, no talking about the night, what were gonna do tomorrow, how awesome we are, etc. O well. Hopefully soon enough. Before I went to bed I actually used my usa phone to set my alarm and it automatically set itself ot Ireland time and still showed all my messages and pictures. Allright. I started typing this and told people I would meet them in 5 minutes and its been much more than that. LatR!
Random Note I. Listening to Tha Carter III…wish I could see the grammys Sunday….gonna be awesome…
Random Note II. Go see Mike Graham at the Battle of the Bands.
Random Note III. Happy Juice. Anybody from France or French person know what that is>?
Random Note IV. Lots more to come tomorrow.
The bus ride into the city was a short and painless ride, far easier than making the trek out to Stevie and the guys house in brighton. When we got their we walked around Temple street trying to figure out where to go . The first place we saw had a live band playing but there wa0s a ten euro cover so we didn’t do that. We decided that our first pub would be Harringtons. There was a guy playing guitar and it was very much what I expected except cooler because it was real! Smithwicks was my first drink of choice and we all cheered to our time abroad. Probably the best part of the pub was the fact that there was a small French rugby team their celebrating their time in Dublin (right down to the passed out man in the corner with cups and coasters and writing all over him.) The girls had some fun taking pictures of him. Anyway, we stayed and talked to these French men for a few rounds and it was really awesome to hear what they had to say and listen to them try and understand us. Now I know what Mayssas hometown is like! Right down to their cheers of YES WE CAN! CHANGE HAS COME! They loved talking to us and even bought us a few drinks. (At 5 euros , $7…that’s a great thing) They told us they were here for the huge rugby match on Saturday between France and Ireland. I guess tickets run upwards off a hundred euros so it’s a big deal. We actually plan on going into the city near the station to catch some of that excitement tomorrow. Games at 1700 hours so should be a great celebration of a day.
After Harrington’s and our great experience with the Rugby guys, we went over to the first bar we went to thinking that we were going to get in for free. Well the girls were wrong and we had to pay the 10 E but o well. It’s like freshman year at the club….you just gotta go for the ride. That place was fun and the drinks were a little cheaper, although it was very much a club atmosphere. Bill and Mickey and the guys can feel comfortable in the fac that there are plenty of bros in Dublin too! Gotti’s and bros everywhere with crazy strobe lights and strange techno remixes of don’t stop believing and MJ and beyonce. Jill and Michelle would have liked the journey remix…It went on for what seemed like hours. We had a few drinks their and by that time we were definetly feeling pretty great. We left around 2.30 and got a cab home, but not before stopping at some local burger place where I got some overpriced fries with hot ranch dressing. Strange and forieng, but worth every penny.
All in all it was a great night, definely something I will never forget. The Rugby players made it truly memorable and something I could never experience anywhere else. The only thing that stinks about the night is that I had to come back to my room by myself at the end of the night…no roommates, no talking about the night, what were gonna do tomorrow, how awesome we are, etc. O well. Hopefully soon enough. Before I went to bed I actually used my usa phone to set my alarm and it automatically set itself ot Ireland time and still showed all my messages and pictures. Allright. I started typing this and told people I would meet them in 5 minutes and its been much more than that. LatR!
Random Note I. Listening to Tha Carter III…wish I could see the grammys Sunday….gonna be awesome…
Random Note II. Go see Mike Graham at the Battle of the Bands.
Random Note III. Happy Juice. Anybody from France or French person know what that is>?
Random Note IV. Lots more to come tomorrow.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Arrival and Orientation...
Its about 8pm here in Dublin and I am killing sometime before I go out. Matter of fact I think im going to grab a beer for myself. Gran Tuborg. That was my favorite beer when I was in Copenhagen 2 years ago at Roskilde. Pretty Delicious I must say. But anyway… Yesterday I arrived and today we had orientation. When I arrived yesterday I was met outside the baggage claim by 2 guys from DCU who just happened to be meeting us at the airport. Really cool dudes. Ones gf played ultimate Frisbee and the other was the president of the poker club. (they have poker games ever Monday…10Euro buy in and you can win like 2000Euro…..would be nice) We herded onto a bus and they drove us over to our apartments about a 15 minute drive from the airport. Our accommodations are pretty nice. There is a Spar right outside (irish 7-11) our complex gate so that is pretty nice. After we got here I spent some time getting the internet all set up (that took way longer than it should have) and unpacking. I also did some rearranging around my room. I have a single room with a bathroom but I share a kitchen with the other guys that will be moving in any minute now. Got my fingers crossed there as awesome as my first roommate… My shower is miniscule…think like half the size of emmanuels –literally. My room is pretty cool actually. I made a nice little addition to out apt when I took the door to my half closet half shelf thing off and realized that it is a perfect size for a Beirut table. It’s too bad I’m going to have to study so much. Anyway, after I was all set up I went out to explore. I dint have a phone and I didn’t know where anyone was so I took the opportunity to just go out on my own for a bit. We are very much in suburban Dublin…Nothing at all like boston. Probably more like a Jamaica Plain or a Brighton with nothing except the occasional Spar (remember 7-11) or hairdresser(there’s a bunch of those) I walked in giant circles checking everything out…a few pubs…a few liquor stores…a few spars….a few delis…that’s about it. When I finally found out from a local bank employee (where i got to cash in my 180 bucks for a 130Euros) She directed me to a large grocery store and small little shopping mall. I made it fine there and bought some stuff to hold me over for a few days. 40Euro doesn’t go very far lemme tell you. When I was walking back I actually saw a girl from Emmanuel who is in the same program and we tentatively decided to go out to a pub later on that night. I took a nap from about5=7 and had less than any desire to get out of bed into my heat absent room and go to the bar. Turns out her and her roommates felt the same way and we never met up with each other. So my first night ended with me eating some cheese and a loaf of bread. Not quite how I had pictured but I had been up for 2.5 days and that was exactly what I wanted to do. I set my alarm on the computer and went to bed.
Fast Forward the next day. Paul surprisingly sleeps through the first session of orientation. Woops. Nothing important. Its not like im in a foreign country or anything. Anyway our program head Sylvia is incredibly nice and basically told me it was no big deal and not to worry. After our next session, I met up with Megan and this other girl Sarah (whose computer we tried to dix over break…no success) After a few more sessions were had some lunch. I walked back with Megan and her roommates and we decided to just grab some pasta that I had bought the day before. So her and her two friends came over to the apt and I put my chef hat on. (Incredibly small world….two of the went to high school with Landry!) I think all in all my first irish cooking (even though I made pasta) went well.
After lunch we went back for more sessions were they told us all about safety and being a better student and the best part, all the different clubs we could potentially join. Ultimate Frisbee, texas hold-em, intramural basketball….definitely….maybe cycling or hiking…..should be fun….we’ll see….. Anyway after some more orientations sessions we picked our classes.
While we were picking classes I made a facebook group for all of us. That was cool. Anyway…my classes…pending approval are pretty sick….nothing on Fridays, late on Mondays, and nothing before 1300 ….nice……Everyone in the room made plans to communicate via that and were probably gonna all go ut later on tonight…. When we left the computer lab there was free food outside another room. Everyone looked at me funny when I loaded up my plate and stole some bottles of water (those run you about 3 Euro) and walked away with a giant grin on my face.
Right now im talking to mike and nate dogg drinking a tuborg, getting ready to go out. Ill let you know how it goes. You’re my blog. I tell you everything. PPPEEEAACCEE
Random Note I: I really want toi find out who I’m living with….Hope their awesome.
Random Note II. It snowed here about 2 inches….they say that rarely happens.
Random Note III. Im listening to Make Yourself right now…great album.
Random Note IV. Internet connection sucks here.
Random Note V. My room is currently 12 degrees Celsius.
Random Note VI. That’s about 55 degrees my friends.
Random Note VII. Im heading out now…..wish me luck!
Fast Forward the next day. Paul surprisingly sleeps through the first session of orientation. Woops. Nothing important. Its not like im in a foreign country or anything. Anyway our program head Sylvia is incredibly nice and basically told me it was no big deal and not to worry. After our next session, I met up with Megan and this other girl Sarah (whose computer we tried to dix over break…no success) After a few more sessions were had some lunch. I walked back with Megan and her roommates and we decided to just grab some pasta that I had bought the day before. So her and her two friends came over to the apt and I put my chef hat on. (Incredibly small world….two of the went to high school with Landry!) I think all in all my first irish cooking (even though I made pasta) went well.
After lunch we went back for more sessions were they told us all about safety and being a better student and the best part, all the different clubs we could potentially join. Ultimate Frisbee, texas hold-em, intramural basketball….definitely….maybe cycling or hiking…..should be fun….we’ll see….. Anyway after some more orientations sessions we picked our classes.
While we were picking classes I made a facebook group for all of us. That was cool. Anyway…my classes…pending approval are pretty sick….nothing on Fridays, late on Mondays, and nothing before 1300 ….nice……Everyone in the room made plans to communicate via that and were probably gonna all go ut later on tonight…. When we left the computer lab there was free food outside another room. Everyone looked at me funny when I loaded up my plate and stole some bottles of water (those run you about 3 Euro) and walked away with a giant grin on my face.
Right now im talking to mike and nate dogg drinking a tuborg, getting ready to go out. Ill let you know how it goes. You’re my blog. I tell you everything. PPPEEEAACCEE
Random Note I: I really want toi find out who I’m living with….Hope their awesome.
Random Note II. It snowed here about 2 inches….they say that rarely happens.
Random Note III. Im listening to Make Yourself right now…great album.
Random Note IV. Internet connection sucks here.
Random Note V. My room is currently 12 degrees Celsius.
Random Note VI. That’s about 55 degrees my friends.
Random Note VII. Im heading out now…..wish me luck!
Getting There......
At the moment it is 8.10 and I am sitting in Newark international airport, awaiting departure. Lots of flights to europe have been delayed or canceled but luckily there is nothing different about mine. While I am here right now the day surely did not go as ideally as one might like. After I got my first super cuts haircut I headed over to st. Mary’s to drop something off and then on to the bank. To my surprise when I got to the bank my wallet was nowhere to be had in my pocket. While not completely worried at first I quickly retraced all of my steps in hopes of finding it. No such luck. Nowhere at St. Mary’s nowhere at the bank, no where in the car, no where in the parking lot at branhaven plaza. GameStop, China Garden, Dots, Olympia, Hallmark, GNC, the liquor store, and the mens shop all gave me the same, “sorry no one brought it here…hope you find it” response. After I gave up hope, I decided that I was just going to forget about it and not worry. So at this moment I have a lot more cash than I should ever hold onto at one time hidden in different places around my luggage. Pretty nerve racking. In a week or so (maybe someone will return it?!? Cmon Branford!) I will order a new one and then have someone send it over to me in Dublin since the bank will not send it to a foreign country.
After a rush to fit everything in my suitcases (2) Charlie, my mom and I left for the train station. Where I took a train from new haven to Newark. Eddie and Anya and Reen and Jim all came to see me off, and my other uncle Jimmy was able to get me on the train for free which was a nice extra $40 bucks in my pocket. My mom really wanted to com e to Newark and see me off, but that seemed kind of silly for her to travel that far and have to pay for a ticket back only to see me for an extra hour or two. She could’nt make up her decision so she actually got on the train and was planning on going to the airport until she came to her senses and realized that would just make saying goodbye that much harder. We had a very notebook esque goodbye where I stood on the train and she was on the platform and we hugged it out until the doors closed on my arms. Then we waved goodbye as the train rolled on ward.
The train and the tram were awesome and got me to the airport with more than enough time to spare. (That’s how I am typing this) I just ate an assiago cheese bagel with salami that KP made and I am about to go find out what seat I will be on. I just talked with my dad, my aunt, mrs. Parfitt, and Jill. I’ll probably make a few more before I head off, but after that I will be airborne until I land in Dublin around 9.30 am (3.45 a.m. our time). (6 hour flight, 6 hr time difference) Until then!!!!
Side Note I. My two bags that I checked weighed 49.5 lbs and 50.0 lbs. That’s pretty epic packing right there.
Side Note II. The next time I type something I will be breathing Irish air. Guiness and farm animals. Great.
Side Note III. Girl TALK is playing in Dublin the night of my 21st birthday. This my friends… is the kind of shit that dreams are made of.
After a rush to fit everything in my suitcases (2) Charlie, my mom and I left for the train station. Where I took a train from new haven to Newark. Eddie and Anya and Reen and Jim all came to see me off, and my other uncle Jimmy was able to get me on the train for free which was a nice extra $40 bucks in my pocket. My mom really wanted to com e to Newark and see me off, but that seemed kind of silly for her to travel that far and have to pay for a ticket back only to see me for an extra hour or two. She could’nt make up her decision so she actually got on the train and was planning on going to the airport until she came to her senses and realized that would just make saying goodbye that much harder. We had a very notebook esque goodbye where I stood on the train and she was on the platform and we hugged it out until the doors closed on my arms. Then we waved goodbye as the train rolled on ward.
The train and the tram were awesome and got me to the airport with more than enough time to spare. (That’s how I am typing this) I just ate an assiago cheese bagel with salami that KP made and I am about to go find out what seat I will be on. I just talked with my dad, my aunt, mrs. Parfitt, and Jill. I’ll probably make a few more before I head off, but after that I will be airborne until I land in Dublin around 9.30 am (3.45 a.m. our time). (6 hour flight, 6 hr time difference) Until then!!!!
Side Note I. My two bags that I checked weighed 49.5 lbs and 50.0 lbs. That’s pretty epic packing right there.
Side Note II. The next time I type something I will be breathing Irish air. Guiness and farm animals. Great.
Side Note III. Girl TALK is playing in Dublin the night of my 21st birthday. This my friends… is the kind of shit that dreams are made of.
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