Greetings from Dublin!
It is currently 7:30pm here and my first day in Dublin is winding down. I'm really glad I arrived in the morning today; I got to spend all day settling in and exploring the near by town. I also don't think the jet lag will be too much of an issue because I had a full day to get my body used to Ireland.
My flight got in around 8:20am (European time). The flight went fast - I was able to sleep for a few of the hours on the plane. Getting through customs was a breeze! But, once getting through customs I was on my own to navigate my way to my host mom's house (she lives about 25 minutes from the Dublin Airport). I took a taxi, which was very easy to do! The taxi driver was also very cheerful and welcoming. It is common to get a receipt when taking a taxi, something I thought was very interesting. But, it's not common to tip the driver.
Claire, my host mom, met me at her house. She works during the day as a receptionist at the town's dentist office. She is a widow and has to grown children. She has 3 grandchildren total, one was just born a week ago. I'm hoping I get to meet the baby soon. Claire was also very welcoming! As soon as I walked in she started showing me where everything was and offered to make me tea.
My room is much bigger than expected. It has two twin beds and a fairly large wardrobe. I was able to fit everything perfectly! I'll attach a picture of that later on in a future blog post.
After settling in I decided to take a walk down to the center of square. They pronounce it, "Square Tallaght" instead of the Tallaght Square. It was a 5 minute walk. In town there is a hospital, a library, and a few shops and restaurants. I think there is more to the square but I only stayed a few minutes because it looked like it was going to rain - which it actually hailed! I did walk through one clothing store though and there was actually a small grocery store (sort of like a Wawa) in the back of the store which I thought was neat!
The weather seems to change constantly here. One minute it's sunny, the next minute it's raining. I'm glad I brought an umbrella!
After exploring the square I came home and had dinner with Claire. It was really delicious!
I am currently watching "Soaps" as Claire calls it, with her. I also just looked at this book Claire has of all the students she has housed over the years. She's been doing this since about 2003 and has had many students stay with her! The book is filled with pictures and letters from all the students. I can't wait to write in it when I am done.
Tomorrow Jessie, the other student teacher Claire is housing, returns from holiday she took with her family this past week. I am excited to get to know her and hang out! She is my age and goes to the University of Iowa. I guess we will have to put our rivalry aside :). I'm glad to have someone to travel around with!
Below are three pictures I thought I'd add:
Here I am at Philadelphia International Airport with my three bags of luggage! I was somehow able to cram 2 months of belongings in just 3 bags.
This view can be seen right when I walk out of Claire's neighborhood, towards the main road. I love that just out of town is the beautiful mountains that Ireland is famous for! You can see them from the busy streets!
This was my first dinner in Ireland! It was delicious.
Here are some phrases that the Irish say:
Bin - trash can
Luas - a train/monorail that goes all throughout Dublin
Tallaght - pronounced Talla
I hope to post every couple of days, if not every day. Hope this doesn't bore you guys too much!
-Alli
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