First Impressions of the City

I know it’s been a while since I posted, but we’ve been kept busy!  I’ll start from where I left off last time.  Bear with me, this post will be long, but there’s a lot of catching up to do, so here we go!

The road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

So, there we were in Ireland, our journey just beginning, sitting on a plane with instrumental Christmas music playing in the background.  It was very exciting.

When we arrived at our gate, we didn’t pull up to a terminal like you would in the states.  Instead, the plane just pulled up close to a building, some stairs were pushed up to the plane's door, and we were let off onto the tarmac.  It made me think of those news videos of presidents and world leaders getting off the plane for a visit to a foreign nation, with the press surrounding the stairs and a red carpet laid out in front of them, being greeted by guards and dignitaries.   We were only greeted by the wind, but I still felt kind of special.  When I felt the weather, I actually stopped at the top of the stairs, spread my arms a little, and said, “Oh, this is nice!”  My hands and face weren’t in immediate pain from the cold!  The wind was strong, but definitely warmer than in Ohio.  It was great.

As soon as we got in the airport, we went through immigration, and met our program coordinators, Joe, a Notre Dame grad and former study abroad student in Dublin, and Kevin Whelan, an Irish professor employed by Notre Dame.  We were all exhausted.  I discovered that despite what I thought was rather inefficient packing (packing eight sweaters instead of the five that my fiancé suggested :) ), many people had much more stuff than me, and many people had a much harder time dragging their bags through the airport.  I was personally pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.

We all piled onto a bus, and we drove through Dublin on our way to our university: University College Dublin.  I was sitting with Allison and Ryan, as well as Ashley, who I had just met.  Ashley goes to Notre Dame, but is from Trinidad and Tobago.  She's on the left, and Allison's on the right.  Me and Ryan are below.

 

Can you see what's wrong with the picture on the left?  (Other than it's out of focus?)  Well I noticed it right away. The cars are driving on the wrong side of the road!  It was so crazy that I had to take a really bad picture out the bus window, just to show you all.

Kevin, our professor, narrated as we went.  He introduced us to many of the sights, including a bridge built by a famous Spanish architect, made to look like a harp,

O’Connell Bridge and O'Connell Street, the street going through the center of Dublin, with a statue of O'Connell on the front (right above the bus),

and the only “skyscraper” in the entire city, which is apparently hated by all of Dublin because it’s ugly and too tall.  They are supposed to be tearing it down soon.

I like the fact that there are no real skyscrapers.  I’m not a city person.  I’ve never lived in a city, never figured out a bus system, never had to walk by beggars on a daily basis, never had to watch my purse and pockets.  I have definitely lived in a bubble, and part of the purpose of this trip is to pop the bubble, or at least expand it a bit.  The lack of tall buildings makes the city much more friendly, much less intimidating.  It also allows what little light there is to reach the ground more effectively.

At first I found the city dirty, but I have come to realize that for a city, Dublin is probably extremely clean.  I have also gained a new appreciation for pigeons, which clean the crumbs from the streets and make the world a better, cleaner place.  They look just like American pigeons, too.

After we dropped our things off at the dorms, we were taken by the real, city bus to the O’Connell House, a building in Merrion Square where our program is centered and where we have classes twice a week.  It is the historic home of Daniel O’Connell (after which O’Connell Street is named), who helped with Ireland's independence from Britain.  The house a cute building nestled in a row of similar houses (now mostly offices and the like), which together create one big wall of brick.  Apparently, it is located on one of the most elegant Gregorian squares in Dublin.  You can't see it, but there's a handle in the middle of the door that is reminiscent of a hobbit hole. (I'll be sure to get a better picture soon.)

Kevin, our professor, is a very cool person.  His Irish accent is very heavy, which is awesome:  TH turns into T, and D turns into J.  Some year-long study abroad students told us a story: they were all telling Kevin about their plans to hike through the countryside, sleeping in plastic tarps out in the wilderness.  Kevin told them, “Okay, but watch out fer te Jew.”  “The Jew?” they replied, thinking of some crazy Jewish person hiding in the woods.  “Yeah,” Kevin said, “Te Jew can get ya.”  (Of course he meant “dew,” but “Jew” does make for a more exciting threat.)

Later, some of the other staff members took us on a tour, and we bought some basic groceries at a store in a shopping center.  Then, it was back to the dorms for some skyping with Kyle and some much-needed sleep.

Next time: my room and roommates, and UCD campus.  Yay!  I hope everyone is doing well in the states, and that you aren't too cold.  We've had highs in the 40's all week, and one day with a high of 52.