Free Fallin'

My internship has been really busy these past few days.  I've been researching organizations in the UK, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales that specialize in working with disadvantaged youth ("seldom heard young people").  I created a spreadsheet with over 150 organizations along with their contact information and e-mails.  Cathy is conducting a literature review on the subject area and wanted to reach out to all of the organizations in those locations in an effort to seek resources for her research project.  The process was tricky because a lot of the websites don't publicize their e-mails and only supply an online form that can be used to write comments through the site.  Cathy requested that I find the direct e-mail of the organization because they'd be more likely to respond that way- and also told me that if I found the e-mail of an actual person in the organization that worked in policy/research/participation/advocacy that he or she would also be more likely to respond since it would be a more personalized approach. 

So... I spent the past few days searching umbrella organizations that specialize in helping disadvantaged youth, going on their sites to find their partnerships and members to expand the list, searching for their e-mails on Google if they weren't listed on the actual site or if the staff information wasn't available, and finally generating an exhausting list of contacts.  Then I had to e-mail all of them requesting information for the project, and Cathy gave me a template to copy and paste into her e-mail account.  I'm an expert at copying and pasting now, that's for sure.  I grouped all of the general e-mails together where I couldn't find a specific member of staff into one e-mail and blind copied the organizations.  However, for every organization that I was able to find a particular person to help with the research, I had to personalize the subject line with their name (so I couldn't use the BCC feature).  I probably wrote about 100 e-mails.  The task was rather tedious, but I think that the process will be worth it in the end once the responses start coming in and Cathy will be able to use the resources and suggestions they send her for her literature review.  I also love all of my co-workers, which makes some of the boring work more manageable since I'm in a great work environment with a friendly, outgoing, and younger crowd.

Speaking of the people I work with, Cathy looks exactly like Sarah Jessica Parker, and I just couldn't hold it in anymore... I had to tell her!  So after she gave me directions for my assignment, I blurted out her celebrity look-a-like.  She laughed and said she's gotten that a lot.  (I'm going to see if I can take a picture with her and post it on here... I have to figure out a way to ask her so it's not awkward or creepy but I'll try).  Here's the best part.  She goes, "I should show you my shoes then," and whips out these adorable velvet high wedges from TopShop that she had just purchased online.  Totally a pair of heels Carrie Bradshaw would rock on Sex and the City; I just pictured them in her closet of shoes.  I think they must be long lost identical twins or something.

That's enough about work for now.  In terms of my nights, Monday I went to the Comet (same old), but yesterday night we switched it up and went to Dicey's for 2 Euro night!  Every Tuesday, every kind of pint and all the Jagerbombs are 2 Euros (first time I tried those, not bad!)  The prices are so cheap for Dublin considering pints are usually more than double that price.  When I walked in I couldn't believe how packed the place was.  There was barely any room to move; there were a ton of people from a diverse variety of backgrounds including an "after work" crowd, what seemed like all the EUSA kids from my program (there was a birthday in our program so it was extra packed with EUSA students celebrating), locals, Americans, and foreigners.  Definitely the place to be on a Tuesday night.  I loved it because there were about seven bar stations so you never had to wait too long to get a drink, and there was also a huge outdoor area to get some fresh air and move around (luckily it didn't rain that night).  There was even a great band playing live music, so we danced the entire night (my title = my favorite song they sang).  My ears were still buzzing from the noise the next day.

Even though I've had some unexciting tasks at my internship lately, I'm still really happy to be working at the CSER because I feel so comfortable with everyone in the office.  I was really nervous that I wouldn't fit in with them since we're from different places, but everyone has gone out of their way to make me feel at home.  Whenever anyone makes tea, they offer me a cup.  Whenever I get to the office, they ask me about what I did the previous night. (I thought it was really funny actually when I was telling them about Dicey's because they didn't even know about two Euro night and couldn't believe how good of a deal it was.  I was shocked that I was the person to tell them something they didn't know when I've been so used to being on the receiving end.)  Finally, whenever I'm asked what my weekend plans are, they give me suggestions for places to go.  Siobhan even sent me a long e-mail listing areas that I should visit in Galway when I went last weekend because she travels there often.  She also mentioned going to a pub after work one of these days with everyone in the office, which I'm really looking forward to. 

This weekend I'm staying in Dublin to check out the sights around here (including the Leprechaun Museum! Such a tourist trap but I'm dying to go) and do some shopping on Grafton street.  Sunday we're going to the hurling match at Croke Park, the heart of Irish sporting life for over 100 years.  I'm really excited to explore my surroundings here; sometimes I get so caught up in wanting to travel on the weekends that I forget that Dublin itself has a ton of great attractions that I wouldn't want to miss.  It'll be good to have a somewhat more relaxing weekend too without having to worry about catching a bus on time or packing or rushing from place to place.  I'll post pictures from my weekend soon, but for now here's a picture of the view from my office on a sunny day:

Stay tuned!

I don't want to be number six...

After I got out of work on Friday, I rushed back to my apartment to pack and make sure I was ready for a 19:15 bus ride (I'm finally getting used to military time).  The bus took 2.5 hours and I slept the entire time with my iPod on shuffle, but when we arrived at Galway I was suddenly wide awake.  We got off the bus and headed to our hostel, "Civic Tourist."  We were greeted by an older lad named Declan, a friendly local who told us to make ourselves at home.  Here's a picture of all of us (Aunt Jamie, I figured out how to post pictures here so you can see them, but I also think it's time for you to get a Facebook!)

After arriving at the hostel, we didn't waste any time.  We changed into fancier clothes to explore Galway's nightlife, and ended up at a pub (forgot the name) and then a club (also forgot).  We got back to the hostel at 3:30 a.m., and set our alarms for 9:30 that morning so that we could make the last call for breakfast.  After we ate our toast with nutella (yum), we decided to walk around the town.  One of the girls in our group, Amy, organized a list of sights, restaurants, and cafes that she researched online before we left.  Amy reminds me a lot of my friend Lauren from home (Bizz, I know you're following this blog, so here's a shout-out to you!)  My friends at home call Lauren our "mom" because she is always organized and looking out for us.  Amy took on that role here too- she researched and booked our hostel, made us send her our bus tickets so we could print them at an online cafe ahead of time, and knew exactly where to go; she has great navigational skills.  Bizz, you'd love her.  She would totally visit me in D.C. and come up with a list of places to go and take the metro by herself while I was in class like you did.  You guys even dress alike too... creepy!

Anyways, here's what we did in Galway:
1)  Walked around a farmer's market- which they have every Saturday.

2)  Ate lunch at a delicious restaurant known for their fish and chips (guess who researched that one ahead of time).

3)  Walked around the gorgeous river and beaches and saw the Spanish Arch.

4)  Ate dinner at a really nice Italian restaurant.

After dinner, half of our group decided to go out while the other half decided to rest up for our Cliffs of Moher tour in the morning.  Guess which group was I in?!  The lame one!  I was so exhausted from the night before that I couldn't even bring myself to get out of bed, so I hit the sack early so that I would be able to appreciate the sights the next day.  Anyone who knows me well is aware that I need two very important things in life:  food and sleep.  Without either one of them, I'm crabby.  Luckily, I figured that out about myself early on in life, so I can plan accordingly during times like these.

The next morning, we woke up early to catch the bus at 10 for our Lally Tour!  Check out the website to see details of what we saw:  (http://www.lallytours.com/).  Guess who complained about being sleepy in the morning?!  Not me! :) Our bus driver was so personable and informative, I think we really lucked out.  In between stops, I learned a lot as he talked to us about the 1916 Ireland rebellion, the famous "matchmaking" festival that goes on every September in Lisdoonvarna and Lahinch Beach (I definitely thought of Patti Stanger when he was describing it...), and the famous Poulnabrone tomb (estimated to be 5,000 years old!) We stopped in Burren first, then went onto the tomb, grabbed a bite to eat at a pub, and finally stopped at the Cliffs, my favorite destination.  Here are some pictures (Cliffs of Moher, Tomb, Burren)

Our bus driver told us to be really careful at The Cliffs of Moher because five people died by standing too close to the edge and falling off when sudden gusts of wind caught them off guard.  Whenever we'd try to take a picture close to the edge, I'd freak out and tell everyone to move forward.  I didn't want any of us to be number six after all.  The whole scene reminded me of Christie's novel "And Then There Were None."  So scary!

Even though it was raining and foggy, the cliffs were absolutely incredible.  We only had an hour to walk around the area, so we were really efficient with our time and took advantage of every minute.  I didn't want to leave!  When the time was up, we headed back on the bus and back to Galway, where we then went on another 2.5 hour bus ride and finally arrived back in Dublin after a long but exciting and adventurous day.

I'm starting to realize that my title to this blog, "It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away," couldn't be more fitting.  Now that I've been in Ireland for two weeks, I'm getting used to what my friends like to call the "bipolar" weather.  In the morning (while we were in Burren), it was sunny and beautiful.  Our bus driver was so enthusiastic about the weather and told us that we would get great pictures and views at the Cliffs.  Apparently he jinxed it, because right when we arrived at the Cliffs it started to rain.  I can see why Bono and the rest of U2 sing "Beautiful Day."  Here, it's true that you really can't let it get away... you never know when the sun will fade and the rain will pour.  However, despite the rain, I had an amazing weekend, saw some incredible sights, and wasn't number six.  I'd say that's a success.

What are yous guys doing?

I'm actually writing this post as "The Bachelorette" is buffering on my computer.  And how exactly did I manage that?!  Well, for anyone reading this from AU that's going abroad in the future (Verby!), vpn.american.edu is basically a lifesaver (I was told about it through a friend on the program).  If you log in with your user-name and password and download the program, I guess your computer is then given an American IP address so you can access Pandora, Hulu, or whatever you want to watch that is only accessible in America.  Amazing.

These past few days at my internship have really busy.  I'm sure nobody really cares about what I've been doing at work, but I know that my parents are reading this and they will want to hear.  (You're welcome).  Here it is:
1.  I'm in the process of transcribing an interview that was conducted for the ECCE intervention.  Basically that means I have to type out everything that was said in the interview... not an easy task! (Remember I'm in Ireland, so everything sounds different)
2.  I looked up statistics for the Tallaght West area (where the intervention was conducted) and made a 30 page document to send to my boss so that she could use the information for future reports.
3.  I wrote five summaries on various articles pertaining to early childhood research.
4.  I ate a delicious spicy tuna roll today (Siobhan treated me).  Apparently everyone in the office orders sushi once a week.  This internship is obviously a perfect fit... food is the way to my heart.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, onto the fun stuff.  I went out to dinner Tuesday with the group of friends I've made here at a place called The Porterhouse.  The food was delicious- I ordered an Irish pie with "chips" (fries).  We were all planning on going out to Dicey's after dinner for 2 Euro night (every Tuesday!), but most of us were too tired from work.  We still made up for it the next night with Kings and Flip-Cup in our apartment.  Tonight Annie is cooking for us and I can't wait for a delicious meal to come.  I think she's making pasta Carbonara, which I LOVE to order at Corner Bakery.  It was actually my last meal before my flight (thanks Dad).  I hope it's as good as what I'm used to!

My title: as we were walking home from dinner at The Porterhouse, we ran into two 16 year old lads.  A lot of Irish people like to say "yous" as a plural for "you" instead of "you" or "you all."  So they asked, "What are yous guys doing?"  Even though I've heard the word "yous" multiple times now, I can't help but laugh.  It just sounds so grammatically incorrect to me!  But anyways, one of the girls in our group responded "Wes are going back to our apartment how about yous guys?"  The lads kept asking us questions, and she kept messing with them by responding with "Wes are..."  I don't think they ever understood the joke, but wes all had fun with it.

After work tomorrow I'm dipping out right away to get ready for Galway and The Cliffs of Moher.  I can't wait- it looks incredible in pictures.  I'll post again once I'm back.  It'll be a long weekend, I'll be staying overnight in a hostel Friday and Saturday, seeing all of Galway Saturday during the day, and going on a tour of the cliffs on Sunday.  I'll arrive back in Dublin Sunday night and then it's back to work on Monday.  I know I'll be tired, but that's not going to stop me :).  Back to the Bachelorette, if it ever actually loads.  The internet here is SO SLOW and I'm a little (a lot) impatient since I'm already two weeks behind.  If only I had Comcast and OnDemand here... but then again maybe it's a good thing I don't because it forces me to leave my apartment and explore- which is what I should be doing anyways!

Oh na na, what's your name, what's your name, what's your name?

I can officially say I survived my first day of work at the CSER!  My workday began at the Buswell's Hotel in the city center, where I helped out at a Social Care conference with another student, Roseanne, who just graduated from DCU.  You're all probably wondering what Social Care actually means.  In Ireland, they use the term to define it as the profession where people work in partnership with those who experience marginalization or disadvantage or who have special needs.  For example, Social Care Workers might work with children in residential care, people with learning or physical disabilities, people who are homeless, people with alcohol/drug dependency problems, families in the community, older people, or others who need support. 

Students interested in pursuing a degree in Social Care typically take classes in sociology, psychology, social administration and policy, law, art, communication skills, and research methods.  I found one of the most interesting aspects of attaining a social care degree to be the work practice placements, where students gain experience by working directly with organizations that fit their interests.  Roseanne told me that she was placed with different sites every year during her undergraduate career, and that she learned the most from the opportunity to work directly with the users of the services.  It sounds to me like the work placements are what we call internships, but since they are implemented into the curriculum as part of a requirement for a degree in the field, students might take them more seriously than we do in the States.

Anyways, back to my day.  When I first arrived at Buswell's, Roseanne and I were given a list of name tags to distribute to the guests attending the conference.  Here's where my title kicks in.  Like I said in a previous post, the spelling in Ireland differs dramatically from how we spell words in the States. Siobhan=Shivon?  Smithwick's=Smittick's?  I don't understand!  So while handing out name-tags may at first come across as an easy task, think again.  After factoring in some thick Irish accents, wacky spelling, and swarms of people coming to us all at once, you can only imagine my difficulty keeping up with the crowds while trying to figure out the pronunciation of the names.  I had to ask a few people to repeat their names a few times thinking that this would solve my problem, but it seemed the accents got thicker and the pronunciation quicker (I didn't really mean to rhyme that).  "Oh na na, what's your name, what's your name, what's your name?"  However, by the end, I started to get more comfortable, peel those stickers off faster, and tune out all background noise so that I didn't offend anyone by giving them the wrong name.  I was even able to listen to some of the conference after everyone had arrived, and it was easy to see how dedicated and passionate everyone who spoke was about Social Care in Ireland.

After the conference ended, I attempted to walk back to my internship site, which I was told was about a 25 minute walk.  Unfortunately, after trying to find my way and asking strangers around me where to go, I got lost (no surprise there), so I took a taxi back to the Dublin Institute of Technology.  I took the elevator up to the "Penthouse," what they call the fourth floor.  I knocked on Siobhan's door, and she led me to my office and gave me a key.  I share the space three days a week with another co-worker, and the other two days I have the room to myself.

Siobhan then gave me two heavy binders to read describing the intervention that the CSER is currently working on.  Pre-school students participating in the intervention are from Tallaght West, a disadvantaged area in Ireland.  The goal is to get the children ready for the transition to school, reduce their health problems early on, strengthen their participation in school, and help them feel safe and happy in their community.  The Early Childhood Care and Education intervention focuses on the child, the child's family, and the child's environment.  There is also a 6 week Parents Plus Community Course (PPCC), which aims to teach parents how to positively interact with their children, promote learning and confidence in their children, and reduce their children's behavioral problems.  By the end of the day, I learned everything, and I mean everything, about this intervention (I probably read 200 or so pages of text).

As I was reading about early childhood research, such as past interventions that proved successful, I realized that this internship fits my interests perfectly.  Now that I know what the ECCE is all about, I look forward to analyzing and understanding the results of the intervention.  I joined the DIT at the most exciting time since the data is already collected at every phase of the project and data entry is currently underway.  This means I'll probably get the opportunity to see how effective the intervention really is.  Although I noticed that the intervention was rather costly to implement (based on the ratio of students to teachers) and might cause future problems for its sustainability, I still can't wait to learn all I can in these next weeks to come... and hopefully see positive results from this particular intervention and from my internship experience as a whole.

Gotta slow it down baby, gotta have some fun

After sleeping in, a group of us decided to travel to Merrion Square on Saturday to watch THE STREET PERFORMANCE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!  (Check out the performers here:  http://spwc.ie/city_dublin_performers.html, and go to my Facebook album to see pictures).  The city was full of locals and tourists alike, and the streets were even blocked off so that each performer had a generous space to work with. As if the performances weren't out of the ordinary enough, the attire of the crowd added to the comical atmosphere.  The majority of the audience paraded around with red and white long sleeve shirts, hats, and plastic glasses, which the festival was selling for 15 Euros.  I thought it was humorous that the premise of “Where’s Waldo” in America is that the “Waldo” will be hard to spot in the crowd, whereas here, the Waldo’s stood out and were easy to find.

The most noteworthy acts at the festival included Goliath, standing at just four feet tall and known as the "World's Smallest Strongman," who was able to lift twice his body weight with one hand!  Wacky Chad from America accomplished a back-flip on a po-go stick without any injuries. One of my favorite jokes by Chad was “If you’re wondering what health insurance we use in the U.S., it’s the ‘do not get hurt’ policy…”  I also saw many other acts, including a “lad” who could juggle seven balls and another “lad” who could swallow fire, but Chad stood out most based on his comical personality (Here’s his website: http://wackychad.com/) Definitely a talented "lad” (they seem to use that word regularly here, it’s new to me which is why I feel the need to put it in quotations and use it excessively in one paragraph).

After the festival, a group of us decided to go to a pub nearby called The Ivy House.  I really enjoyed this particular pub because most of the pubs I’ve been to so far are more relaxing in nature, whereas The Ivy House has more of a lively feel with plenty of dancing.  They played the perfect 80’s and 90’s playlist, including Spice Girls “Stop,” (the lyrics of my title come from this song, I thought they were fitting to the theme of this post), S-Club-7’s “Reach for the Stars,” and Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.”  This was definitely my favorite night out so far because of both the enjoyable company and the upbeat atmosphere of the pub.  My only complaint was the overpriced drinks.  Now that I’ve been to numerous pubs, I have a feel of what drinks should cost.  While a pint of draught typically goes for 4.50-4.70 Euros, this pub sold pints for 5.00-5.15 Euros, and even increased the prices beyond that after midnight!

The next day I woke up early so that I could travel to Howth via train to a farmer’s market, which we heard was worth seeing from an Irish local we met in a pub a few nights earlier.  The market was really impressive- they sold everything from fresh fruit to jam to fish to jewelry to cupcakes to fudge to soap to… I could go on and on but I don’t want to bore whoever is sitting here reading this.  Check out pictures in my facebook album!  The market was full of people, and many of them brought their dogs.  This obviously put a smile on my face but also made me miss my own dog Doc.  After exploring the market, we decided to grab some fresh food and sit down to eat it.  Then we walked around the town for a bit and took in the incredible views.  As cliché as this sounds, the harbor was one of the prettiest sites I’ve ever seen, and I couldn’t seem to put my camera down because I wanted to capture every moment.  I definitely plan to travel to Howth again when I have more time to explore the summit and the surrounding areas.

I forgot to mention that at the market, Annie picked up some fresh fish and told our group that she would be happy to cook for us. Annie told me that she really enjoys cooking and would love to host “family dinners” a few nights a week for us as long as we all chip in for groceries.  Tonight she made pasta with clams, fennel, and tomatoes.  After finishing every last bite, I realized that this girl definitely knows how to cook!  I can’t wait to enjoy more future meals with my new Dublin “family,” especially because this is a tradition I like to follow in D.C. with my friends at school, so there’s a level of comfort in the familiarity of it.   

While we ate dinner we started talking about next weekends plans to travel to Galway, where we hope to stay overnight on Friday, tour Galway on Saturday, and see the cliffs on Sunday.  It’ll be a busy weekend but I can’t wait to venture outside of Dublin and see what else Ireland has to offer.  I’ll wrap this post up for now, but stay tuned for news on my first full day of work tomorrow.  I can’t believe I’ve already been in Dublin for a week now. The time is flying and I'm beginning to wonder if these two short months will be long enough to enjoy the sights of a country I’m already beginning to love.

Comets and Babies

Where to begin!  Since my last posting, I:
... went to Doyle's, a pub near Trinity College (Wednesday)
... sat on the top of the bus on a rainy day during the Dublin City Bus Tour (check out all the sites we drove past here: http://www.dublinsightseeing.ie/citytour.aspx)
... hopped off at Trinity and saw the Book of Kells and the Long Library (where I felt like I was in a fairytale- there were ladders leading up to the books!)
... pre-gamed the Guinness Storehouse tour with some Jameson at the Jameson distillery
... went to The Clock Pub and The Comet
... jotted down the number for Domino's delivery from an Irish local I met (obviously this was essential since The Spar near my apartment closes at 11)
... met my fourth roommate, Nina from Germany (Thursday)
... went to my first day of work
... lost my wallet for an hour (I wasn't kidding when I said I lose things like it's my job) but retraced my steps and found it
... went to the Temple Bar and ordered a Baby Guinness (my new FAVORITE drink, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Guinness)
... traveled back to The Comet to drink more Babies.

This is obviously an abbreviated version of my jam-packed few days, a "SparkNotes" of my Wednesday-Friday.  Clearly The Comet (my favorite pub right near my apartment) and my "Babies" are the reoccurring themes of this post.  I can definitely get used to them, and I also can't complain.  Until next time!

Half Two

Since my last post on Monday, a lot has happened!  On Tuesday morning we had orientation in a lecture hall at Dublin City University, where we learned about some of the cultural differences between Ireland and America, such as the indirectness that many Irish people are known for versus America's more direct style of communication.  Then we received directions to our internship sites along with our course assignments.  I was happy to find out that my commute was fairly easy.  I have a 10 minute walk from my apartment to the Shanowen bus stop, about a 15-20 minute bus ride from Shanowen to the Big Tree Tavern, and a 10 minute walk from Dorset Street to the CESR at the Dublin Institute of Technology.  My commute is about 30-45 minutes, depending on when the buses arrive, whereas a lot of the other students in the program have to commute over an hour!  I lucked out.

After orientation on Tuesday, I ran some errands and purchased a phone.  If anyone wants to contact me, my number is 086 400 1490.  The Dublin code is +353, which goes before the number.  Then I met up with a few new friends and walked to the local pub, The Comet.  I really liked the atmosphere of the pub, and I could definitely see myself going back there, especially because it is located so close to my apartment building.

I came back from the pub around midnight, and then I tried to watch The Bachelorette on abc.com.  This is when I learned that viewers outside of the U.S. aren't able to watch the show online because of international rights agreements. OH NO!  I honestly freaked out, I've been watching The Bachelor religiously since season one.  I guess I'll just have to tell my parents to tape it and watch it the second I touch down in Chicago.  I tried listening to pandora after my heart broke from the bad news of The Bachelorette, and then: "due to licensing constraints" I found out that I don't have access to Pandora too since I'm outside the U.S.  I guess iTunes will do for now...

The next morning, I woke up early to prepare for my interview.  I was a little nervous, so I made sure to leave with plenty of time in case I got lost.  My interview was set for 2:00, and I left around 12.  I made it to my site at 12:45, a lot earlier than expected!  I decided that I would kill time at a restaurant, so I started walking around the area looking for somewhere to go.  I couldn't find ANYTHING except for a few grocery stores and a park, so I stopped at a pub and ordered a sparkling water and vegetable soup.  Those were probably some unusual choices for a pub, but I was starving and obviously couldn't order an alcoholic beverage before an interview.

I came back to the DIT at 1:45 and anxiously waited for my interview to start after signing in.  About ten minutes later, I was greeted by an American from New York (mom, you'll enjoy hearing this!  I didn't ask her what part of NY she's from though, but I will, just for you) who has lived in Dublin for three years now.  I immediately felt comfortable with her because of our connection to the States, and she told me she even went to school in Chicago.  My nerves quickly went away and I became really excited because right away I had a feeling that my workplace would be a friendly environment.

After several minutes, a few other people at the CSER came in to talk to me.  We were led to another room, where I met Noirin and Siobhan (pronounced Shivon! "bh" in Ireland is pronounced "v" in America), who work in the early childhood department of the center.  They were also very welcoming, and they started explaining some of the different responsibilities I would have, such as using SPSS to enter data, assisting at conferences, reading publications and providing summaries, etc.  Everything sounded really interesting, and I realized I definitely wouldn't be under-worked, which was one of my fears.  I also met Kevin, who gave me a few ideas of his own.

Even though the internships start on Monday, I'm going back to the DIT Friday to meet with Kevin and some other students working on the alternative/social care department.  Then Monday, my first day of work, I get to attend a conference at a hotel in the center of Dublin where I will learn more about it.  The interview lasted an hour and a half, but that was mostly because everybody in the building was so sociable that I couldn't seem to leave before then!

I almost forgot to mention the half two.  When Kevin told me to meet him on Friday, he said "meet at half two in room 302."  I felt kind of ignorant because I had no idea what that meant, so I asked, and he laughed and said, "Oh you say it differently in America don't you.  Half two means 2:30."  I'm really glad I found that out because otherwise I would have never known when to arrive!  A few other things I learned from my future co-workers: chips in Dublin are french fries in the U.S., the date is written differently (today is considered the 15th of the 6th, so the day is written before the month), and a quick refresher on how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit (multiply the C by 2, then add 32).  Very important facts for my survival here so I can eat right, understand the date and time, and dress appropriately for the weather :).  That's all for now, but I'll post again soon because tomorrow is our Guinness Storehouse tour, one of Dublin's most distinctive attractions!  Can't wait.

"You've been drinking Smithwicks?! Not even my grandpa drinks that!"

Tonight my roommates and I decided to go out and explore Dublin.  We kind of figured out how to use the bus system, which is confusing and will probably cause my directionally challenged self problems in the future.  We took the bus from the Omni Shopping Center to the last stop, and we realized that our apartment in Santry wasn't as glamorous as the heart of the city.  After entering three pubs and walking out because they weren't up to our standards, we finally chose our perfect pub, Merkintyles. (I think that was the name, there are a lot of places that start with M here) We ordered some dinner and instantly fell in love with our Smithwicks beers, only to find out later that our choice in drinks wasn't up to Ireland standards...

After learning about a pub crawl that was taking place that night, we were tempted to go, but decided to hang out at Merk-whatever-its-called instead.  We ended up meeting two interesting people, Cameron from Canada and Peter from Ireland (Cameron looks just like William the phone salesman from the Bachelorette on Ashley's season if anyone watches).  There was a live concert in the next room, so we joined Cameron and Peter and listened to some music.  We were too tired to stay long though, so we told them we had to leave.  Just as I thought our night was over, we were approached in the pub by a thirty-something year old local.  He saw us paying for our Smithwicks beer, and here is where my blog title comes into play.  He responded to our choice of drinks with "You've been drinking Smithwicks?!  Not even my grandpa drinks that!"  Ironically, this local was drinking a Corona with lime!  Definitely not a beer that Americans hold in high regard... so we gave him trouble for his selection, all in good fun, and headed home.

To be continued...

And the adventure begins...

After my seven hour flight I have finally arrived in Dublin!  I'm a little delirious right now from the jetlag, and I didn't sleep too well on the flight.  I still made sure to pay attention during the landing so that I could enjoy the gorgeous green view.  I overheard a few girls talking about EUSA, the internship program that my university is affiliated with, when I was waiting in line for customs.  I introduced myself right away, and they were all really nice.  After going through customs, I took a taxi that was about 20 minutes from the airport to Shanowen Square, the location of my apartment building.  My taxi driver was extremely friendly, which didn't surprise me the least bit since I've been reading about the outgoing and personable personalities that many Irish people are known for.  I felt comfortable right away in my new surroundings as I was talking with my driver about my hometown, my excitement at traveling abroad, and my academic interests.

When I arrived at the apartment building I received my apartment number and room assignment.  I lugged my 49.5 pound bag (the limit is 50!), my carry on, and my backpack to my apartment block.  Little did I know that my specific apartment was at the highest floor of the block, and four sets of stairs stood in my way.  I searched aimlessly for an elevator and found that it didn't exist.  So I panicked... how was I supposed to carry all of these bags up all of these flights of stairs when my hands already felt like they were going to fall off from dragging them around in the airport?  Luckily, just as I was about to attempt to carry the bags on my own, two of my roommates showed up at the door.  They brought up my carry-on so I could focus all my attention on the 49.5 pound beast of a bag.  I finally got it up the stairs, but at one point I thought I was going to fall down with the bag in my hand.  Hopefully that'll be the last time I have to carry that bag up those stairs, but I did feel a sense of accomplishment after I was able to make it out of that situation alive.  I guess that's the price of over-packing, but two months is a long time!

There are four single rooms in the apartment and one living space with a kitchen.  The rooms are really nice, I have my own closet and my own bathroom!  My two roommates were really welcoming when I came in.  Even though they already knew each other, I felt comfortable with them and excited to see if a fourth roommate would be joining us.  After I unpack, I want to explore the city, and my roommates told me to join them with whatever they do.  I set up my internet right away and looked over the packets that I was given upon my arrival.  Tomorrow is orientation, which is exciting because I'll get to meet the rest of the students in the program.   I'm also looking forward to the city and Guinness tours.  It's been a long, exhausting day of traveling, but I'm excited for what is to come.

Pre-Departure!

I can’t believe June 12^th has finally arrived!  I’ve been looking forward to this day since I learned that I would be spending my summer in Dublin.  Since the weather will be in the 50s and 60s throughout the duration of my stay, I thought that I would title this blog “It’s a beautiful day… don’t let it get away.”  But that’s not the only significance to the title!  The lyrics are by U2, and Bono, the lead singer, lives in Dublin!  If I’m lucky maybe I’ll run into him.

On another note, my family has made sure that I’m prepared for this adventure.  I have about 6 maps and 5 guidebooks.  It sounds crazy, but they know that a) I myself have a tendency to get lost, even in my own town, and b) I lose things like its my job.  By the end of these two months, hopefully I will have mastered the ability to navigate my way around, if I don’t manage to lose all of my maps first.

While I'm in Dublin, I'll be interning at The Center of Educational and Social Research at DIT, which is a research center that seeks to improve the quality of life of children, family and society.  Here's the company website:  http://www.cser.ie/.  I'm looking forward to learning more about the responsibilities I will have, and I am ready for my confirmation interview once I arrive in Dublin.  I'll definitely post updates about my internship once I find out more!  On the weekends, I hope to do some traveling around Europe.

I have mixed emotions when it comes to my time abroad.  I'm excited to meet new people and immerse myself in a new country and culture, but I'm also nervous that I might experience culture shock and new challenges in my internship.  I remember feeling similarly before I went to overnight camp, but instead of staying in the comfort of the Midwest this time I'll be in an entirely new country!  The two situations are extremely different, but my nerves aren't stopping me, and I'm ready to "take Dublin."  Stay tuned.

("I'll bring you the biggest suitcase that is legally possible on the flight." Dad.  Guess I over-packed...)