Been a busy week or so - joined the Rifle Club (air rifles only, I was a little disappointed) and became a coach on the American Football team.
1/2 off alcohol at the local store last night - I’ve got enough to last for a month!!
Still trying to figure out where to go for the Super Bowl - probably some bar in City Center.
Went to Galway for the weekend - great great grandma Calway would be so proud!
The city is pretty small, but the pubs are pretty awesome, lots of live music and beer, which, frankly is why we go to Ireland, amiright?
All day bus tour into County Clare with my roommate and a bunch of girls from Australia - saw the Cliffs of Moher, nearly got knocked on my butt by the wind. Hiked up to the top of one of the cliffs to see a castle/tower that overlooks the cliffs/water, I almost got blown over, and I had to physically pull one of the girls out of the wind to behind the castle. I then jumped off the base of the tower (4 foot drop) to see how far the wind would take me (it sounds awesome, but it’s actually about 10 times better than that!!!) I landed on my face, but that’s the price we pay.
The Burren, what I will call the Irish Desert (Don’t know if anyone else calls it that, but that’s what I’m going with). This place is nothing but slabs of rock with a bush or a bit of grass growing up between the cracks. In completely related news, I’m starting to regret leaving my camera back in the States.
Ireland is much more rural than I anticipated. Even within County Dublin itself. Completely unlike anything I’ve seen back home in terms of landscape.
Plus the grass here actually is greener.
In other news, Pats are going to the Super Bowl!!! Even better, they’re playing the Giants!! Time for avenge ‘07 boys, LETS GO!!!
1st week is over and done with — 3 days of classes ending on Wednesday? Thank you UCD!!
Though Entrepreneurial Management is gonna be a shit ton of work.
And Accounting, I’m really fucking stupid for taking this class over here—I have to re-learn how to do accounting because they have a different methodology in Europe than in the USA, especially when putting together financial statements (for non-accountants, financial statements are what they teach you in your first accounting class, finding out that everything that you though you knew is wrong is heartbreaking).
Vocab: Cheers = Thanks (i.e. when door is held, or barista hands you the coffee)
Every night is party night in Dublin, speaking of which…
Vocab: Sneaky Snooze = daytime nap so you can go out and party later that night
Went to an Irish pub in Dublin, it was good craic!
Vocab: Craic (said “crack”) = fun
Sun doesn’t rise until 8 am, sets at 4 pm, and never gets high in the sky. My shadow has not been shorter than 20 feet or so since I’ve gotten here…now I know why Irish people are so pale…
Vocab: 33 is said “turty-tree” I didn’t know this is how Irish people talked…
Best Thai food I’ve ever had at this place in Dublin - Thanks David and Dee!
Lamb is delicious.
Also had some awesome Greek food - better than anyplace in the US. The weekend was grand.
Vocab: Grand = Good (basic, I know)
Everything’s double-signed in Irish and English, the Irish are doing everything they can to preserve the Irish language.
The electrical plugs are a pain in the ass…especially when I forget to turn them on and get really frustrated when my stuff doesn’t work.
The stereotype which says that the Irish are constantly (and genuinely) disappointed by the weather in Ireland is true.
Has only rained once — but it was at night so nobody cares.
Grass is greener over here (in winter, mind you) than at any time in the US.
Vocab: people from the country are called “Boggers” (as in, people from the bogs)
…though they may not appreciate being called that…
Vocab: Garda = Police
Enjoying campus life so far, though I wish they’d turn on the heat in the buildings, I’m freezing, and I’m fairly certain my gingers will become frostbitten! Guess I’ll have another drink to warm myself up…
In every pub/club/bar I’ve been to, there’s been a Budweiser tap…must say that it is very sad they are using Budweiser to judge American beer in Europe. At least if they’re gonna import American beer, have it be a good one…though I’m sure the Australians (there’s a bunch of them) are looking at the Foster’s with similar disgust…
On the other hand, Guinness is AMAZING! It tastes totally unlike most other beers (much thicker, too, kind of creamy…I don’t know, try it yourself).
Vocab: Slainte! (Sil-AN-che) = Cheers!
Admittedly, I’ve spent the majority of my time here on campus so far…(sidebar: I’ve never been at a large university, I went from 90 students to 2400 students to 4200 students. The shear number of kids - 20,000 - walking around on any given day is weird for me. On the other hand, there’s also a ton of buildings, and during the day, there’s a ton of places to go, whether to hang out, eat, or whatever. Unfortunately, because UCD is basically a commuter school, everything except the Student Pub - That’s right, a pub on campus, suck on that! - shuts down after about 7.) It’s cool though, because Dublin is a fairly short ride on the 39A bus - which arrives at UCD directly in front of the business school! Dublin is a pretty awesome city. No skyscrapers to speak of, yet the buildings are still interesting. Grafton Street is the main drag here - think of a combination of Newbury Street and Downtown Crossing (as in, not sketchy and no traffic). Right now, Dublin City Center sort of revolves around Grafton Street (at least until I can figure out where everything else is).
Arrived in Ireland yesterday at 4:45 AM, explored campus and slept…not much going on yet, though I’m sure that that will change soon.
The food is good - free food is always a good thing!
Anyway, I’m living in a single on the first floor of my building, which has a cafeteria (small, looks almost like a coffee shop), gym and laundry room right across the entryway. May or may not post pictures.
