First 2 Days in Dublin

Hi everyone!
Yes I have arrived safely in wonderful Dublin city. I already feel like I have been gone for a week, though its only been 2 days.
So the flight here was ok, I got very lucky and sat next to an American girl on her way to Limerick, about 2 hours west of Ireland. The flight was long but fine, I mean how bad can it be when you're on your way to Dublin, right? Even in the line waiting to get on the plane in JFK I heard many irish accents so that helped me stay excited the whole trip. As you would guess, the flight attendants AND the pilots were Irish so that was awesome. Also, the whole plane was green, inside and out including a shamrock on the top of the tail wing.

Once arriving in Dublin, I met my ride at the airport and it has been an absolute whirlwind since then. After arriving at my accommodations with some other students, I was shown to empty apartment :( A little depressing when you have two hours to kill before orientation and you're not allowed to sleep... so one of the building managers brought me to a room with other girls in it. And Guess What Happened! Living in that apartment, and apparently on the same trip as me, was a girl I've know for years from Buffalo. I was her catcher when we were on the same softball team in middle school and we actually saw each other last summer in Canada. So my whole plan of coming to Dublin not knowing anyone was ruined, but definitely in a good way.

Anyways, once orientation started on Thursday we walked all around the North side of Dublin from Blackhall Pl, where I live, to Henry street which is a main shopping thoroughfare, closed off to cars. We did a bit of shopping and got cell phones. Lots of things to see in Dublin, we walked past the the Jameson Distillery the Spire of Dublin and about 100 other places that I can't remember. After what seemed like a very long walk, we came back to the apartments, scrounged up some food and went to bed.

Friday was another long day, but necessary to help us get adjusted to life in Dublin. We spent the day in a classroom for orientation learning about the academic system, the sports and societies, library, IT and volunteering opportunities. Then we went on a brief walk to find all the school buildings and had dinner at a nice restaurant, dinner was included in tuition. I, of course, had steak because I doubt I'll be able to have it again for a while. During dinner Tory (my friend from Buffalo) and I sat with the women running are program, which made for great conversation. After our walk home, we decided to opt out of a big night on the south side with a bunch of other students. Instead we tried to strike out on out own at a local pub, Glimmerman's, we soon ran into some American friends and met many new Irish ones, who I'm sure are regulars. It was a hilarious night, exactly what a first night out should be.

Sorry I'm not posting any pictures this time, I forgot new batteries, but I'll try to take some today! I'm sure I forgot a bunch of stuff, but I will add some soon.
Slainte!