My suitcase was 64 lbs and would have had to pay additional money for the flight, but I bribed the guy at curbside check-in with $10 and he let me get away with it. Success.
I couldn't believe that I was leaving for Ireland for 2 months and leaving my family and friends behind. Excited but very nervous I walked through the airport to meet Lindsay and get dinner. We boarded the plane at the last minute & of course, my suitcase didn't fit too well overhead. Luckily, I sat next to a nice Irishman who helped me shove my suitcase on the plane and then drag it down when we landed (and it almost didn't come down). He talked to me about Ireland and about his life and job in Ireland, which included working on his farm at his house and tending to his livestock...where was I going to live again?
We landed the following day in Ireland and realized how nice the Irish were when we stepped into a cab with the friendliest cab driver I've ever encountered. We arrived in Avalon House (our hostel/new home for the next 4 days) after a quick guided tour from the cab around the city. We met up with the Wolfpack: Sylvia, Dennis, Scott, Meredith, Tyler, and Kristin and began our crowded stay at Avalon. After passing out 20 minutes after we sat down, we woke up in the afternoon and went out to the pubs. The first couple of nights we watched the sunrise since our bodies weren't adjusting too well to the time change. It was nice to get to know everyone and learn about each other's lives.
A few days later, we met up with Sylvia's friend, David, who had been in Ireland since January studying at Trinity College. He introduced us to some friends and took us to one of his favorite pubs, Flannery's (which is now one of our favorite pubs). It was fun to see all of the Scottish men in their kilts party and get ready for the soccer match that was taking place that weekend and watch them hit on our friends. It was just grand (in my best Irish accent). Since we hadn't familiarized ourselves with the area during the day, we got lost at night when we were only one block away from our hostel...ended up getting stuck in the pouring rain for about 30 minutes..only to realize the next day that we were so close. Guess that it's our fault for being drunk American's with no sense of direction.
The next night, we went to a nightclub called Palace to dance and drink. Unfortunately, I wasn't in the mood for beer yet (I wasn't used to the taste of only drinking beer and was missing my vodka waters right about now) and decided to get their pre-mixed drink of VodkaShark, a Redbull mixture with Vodka which wasn't strong or good. I had to leave to watch my sister do her debut show on So You Think You Can Dance so I didn't have as many as everyone else. Joey Skyped with me so I could watch the episode (slow as it may be), and after crying my eyes out with excitement/love/proud feelings for my sister, everyone came back home and ended up staying up until 7:00 AM because of the energy drinks we had all night. I won't be drinking those ever again.
Saturday we walked around the Temple Bar area, Grafton Street, St. Stephen's Green, and toured O'Connell Street and got to know Dublin a little better. Finally familiarizing ourselves with the city, I was feeling like I was in Dublin to stay. That night was the Barcelona/Manchester United soccer game which was so exciting for everyone in the pubs we were at. We ended up going to WoolShed's pub off of O'Connell Street which was absolutely packed with people our age. It was a complete mess and we didn't think we could find a seat, until..Sylvia decided to go up and make friends with a group of Irishmen. We ended up sitting the entire game with them and talking about the differences in America and Ireland for about an hour. We stayed the whole game, got worried after Sylvia disappeared, and I stepped off of a step wrong and twisted my ankle, again. It was a great night and Woolshed's has become one of our favorite pubs to watch sports.
Sunday we moved into another hostel, Barnacles, in the middle of Temple Bar. We added more people to the group and had to stay in different rooms, but at least we got our own showers and I felt like the room was a little bit cleaner. We decided to stay in and got ice cream and relaxed which was nice to wake up the next day not hungover.
Monday morning we finally moved into our apartment! It was so nice to finally have my own room and space to put my stuff. Kristin, Sylvia, and I all got an apartment together and one additional roommate from NY, Erica! We got so lucky that we were living with a girl who was awesome and just like us. We immediately clicked and she has become part of our Auburn group..I really forget that she goes to Brockport.
And then the first official week began...
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