FIRST 24 HOURS IN IRELAND

On Wednesday, my parents dropped me off at the Kansas City airport. I was extremely nervous that I would go to the wrong gate or miss my flight since it was my first time flying, but everything went fine! I arrived in Chicago with a three-hour layover, so I grabbed a quick dinner at the airport. Finally, my flight from Chicago to Dublin boarded, and that flight went fine, too. I didn’t sleep or go to the bathroom at all, though. I think I was too excited. I got to the Dublin airport around 11:30 AM here, so I had to take the taxi to get to our student accommodations. The taxi ride took about thirty minutes, and my tiredness was starting to kick in at this point. Once I got to Highlight, I unpacked my bags and went down to the study room for a short orientation. A few of the other interns and I began talking and decided to grab dinner at a pizza place called Lucky’s. The pizza was fantastic, and we also had a couple of drinks while we were there.

After dinner, two of the girls from dinner decided they wanted to go to a pub called Bad Bob’s, so I tagged along. We walked there in the pouring rain, but it was definitely worth it. We met some people there who said they were on a huge pub crawl and asked if we wanted to join them. Of course, we said yes! We went to a few different bars with a group of about fifty people, and it was so fun! We didn’t get home until about 3 AM, so waking up for orientation the next morning was not so fun.

After the orientation, the whole API group went on a two-hour walking tour. The sights were beautiful, and the history is so interesting! We then had a welcome meal, which consisted of appetizers, entrees, and desserts. This was a much needed three-course meal. We then walked back towards Highlight but stopped for groceries at Lidl on the way. The groceries that were available were quite different than in the United States. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get many groceries because none of us know how to work the ovens here, so until we figure that out, we can’t cook using the oven.

When getting back from grocery shopping, I had an exam to take for one of my graduate classes. I started dozing off during the exam, and I knew the jet lag and lack of sleep was starting to catch up to me. However, I didn’t let that stop me from going out with a group of other interns to the pub that night. There were about fifteen of us that went to the pub together, and we actually met Ginger Zee from Good Morning America’s mother who’s here celebrating her retirement. Again, we stayed out until about 3 AM, so the second full day, I ended up taking a nap.

My flatmates are all very nice, but the friends I am closest with so far live on the floor above me. We’re actually going to tour the Dublin Castle today, and I’m super excited! This week, I’m sharing two pictures: one from my plane ride and one of me at the pub during our first full day. I’m so ready to share more images and tell more stories in the coming weeks!