(This is actually my second update; look below for the first part)
Greetings from Cork! A lot has happened this week, so I'll try to be brief.
On Tuesday, to stave off jet-lagged exhaustion, I decided to go for a walk around Dublin with the tentative end destination of the National Gallery. Some of the paintings sounded excellent, but I wasn't sure how much I could actually appreciate a museum while so tired. I never got the chance, though, because I was lost after walking for ten minutes or so. In Ireland, they don't label anything. If an address actually contains a street number, which isn't guaranteed, chances are that none of the buildings have physical numbers on the outside so you can't find it anyway. More likely, you'll just get the name of a street and have to find the building yourself. But good luck finding the street - they aren't labeled half the time. Worse, street signs are stuck seemingly randomly on the sides of buildings at intersections, and it's almost impossible to figure out which street you're on. Cork is even more confusing because they have a bunch of streets called "quays" that aren't near water at all; apparently, Cork used to be a city filled with canals until they decided to pave them over years ago, so the streets are incredibly windy and not well planned.
Anyway, even with a detailed map of Dublin it took me about an hour to find my way back to the hostel. Once there, I had to wait until they cleaned my room and then I took a four hour nap. I woke up around 4:30, so it was too late to visit most of the touristy sights. The National Library is open late, until about 9 pm, so I walked there and managed to not get lost. They had an excellent exhibit on Yeats with tons of original manuscripts, readings of his poetry, and displays of cool artifacts like the instrument designed for him to use while he read his poetry, journals filled with his crazy mystic ideas, family photo albums, and a tapestry designed by his sister for "The Lake Isle of Innisfree." Afterward, I walked through Dublin a bit more, ate by the river, and then went back to my hostel and slept more.
On Wednesday I hoped to go around Dublin a bit more, but with all my luggage and everything I decided just to head to the train station. It took me a long time to find the tram (basically a trolley) to Heuston Station. The girl I sat next to was very friendly and showed me where to buy my ticket at the station and also carried one of my bags. After a long process at the train station of trying to buy cheaper tickets, I finally was on the way to Cork! The train ride was fairly long but I got to see a lot of Irish countryside on the way. It was very pretty, even more so when I saw my first bit of sunshine in Ireland! I arrived in Cork around 3 pm, then took a bus to my dorm. Public transportation and luggage, especially when you're not especially sure you're going the right way, are not the best combination.
A little bit about Cork - it is a great city! Dublin was fine, but it seemed a lot like you would expect any city to be. Of course, I was pretty jetlagged at the time, so hopefully I'll enjoy it more when I return. But Cork is wonderful. First, there is actual sunlight here! Sure, it rains half the time when it is sunny but I did get to see a really spectacular rainbow. The streets wind all over, there are wide sidewalks and cobblestone walkways for pedestrians in the shopping district, and it is so cozy it almost feels like it isn't a city at all. It definitely is a city, because it has all the culture, amenities, and fleets of taxis, but some of the neighborhoods are very residential and seem a lot like east coast suburbs. Part of this is probably due to the fact that right outside of the city, it is countryside. The hills that border Cork are covered in the patchwork green of farms, and the area seems pretty sparsely populated. As strange as this is to me, it is kind of nice. Most stores in Cork shut down early, around five or six, but the city is amazingly busy at night with tons of pubs, nightclubs, cafes and small take away restaurants.
I spent a lot of Wednesday and Thursday going around Cork, getting used to the double decker buses (the only form of public trans here) and exploring the various shopping areas as I attempted to fill my empty apartment. My room is pretty big, with a double bed and a spacious closet area. I also have my own bathroom, which is amazing. The apartment is for five students, and I only have one roommate so far. It will kind of suck to have people moving in after we've established a routine, but we might get some Irish students, which would be cool (especially if they can drive - grocery shopping using buses is not fun). Still, I am pretty happy with my apartment and will definitely be sad to return to the dorms at Swarthmore.
Friday was the day of the program orientation. The actual orientation part was pretty dull, as we just sat in a lecture hall and listened to information, half of which we already knew. Luckily the evening was more exciting. The UCC student council gave campus tours, which were interesting but not too helpful for actually finding your way around (this seems to be a common theme in navigating Ireland). I have never seen a college with greener grass. We heard all sorts of stories and legends about UCC, a lot of which were about Republican students (those who wanted an independent Ireland, not to be confused with US Republicans) destroying various parts of campus that symbolized England (as the school was built by Queen Victoria). Next, we went to the student council building for tea, coffee, and biscuits (in Ireland, cookies, not the rolls) and to socialize a bit. We walked to a movie theater nearby and got to see I Love You, Beth Cooper for free (plus free snacks). Movies in Ireland all seem to be a few months behind. After that, we went to a pub for free bowling, karaoke, and snooker (or pool - hilariously, the student council vp Ian honestly thought that Americans called it snooker, not pool). The karaoke was really fun. Then, they took us to a nightclub, but the techno music got pretty old. Some of us walked back at around 1 am, and it only took us about 30 minutes, at a slow pace, to get from the city center to our dorms. Afterwards, I hung out with some of the international students. Overall, it was a pretty fun, although very long, day.
More about Ireland: Think of early November. It is getting colder, and it is very gray and rainy. This is a lot like Irish weather, except year-round. Although it is August here, their summer, everyone wears sweaters and jackets, or at least long-sleeved shirts. I have seen very few t-shirts. Shorts are basically non-existent. The temperature has been in the low 60s all week, and when combined with rain and particularly the wind in Cork, it seems really cold. It's not too bad right now, as there is some sun in Cork and it just feels a lot like autumn. I am a bit worried about winter, which is the rainy season...
I hope you are all enjoying yourselves back in the warm Philly weather. I miss you all,
Julia
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Welcome to Ireland
I am writing this entry from a hostel in Dublin after about two hours in Ireland. The weather is, shockingly, rainy, and it's rather chilly too - a high of about 64 degrees, versus 94 in Philly.
My journey to Ireland was pretty stressful since I had never left the US, traveled anywhere alone, or been on a plane alone. In fact, my plane experience was limited to a high school orchestra trip where the parents and teachers did everything, so essentially I had no idea what was going on. Impressively, I managed to avoid any major mistakes when boarding the plane and I was actually beginning to think that this whole process would be easy. I learned the error of my ways shortly after, when despite my efforts I could not work the video player. Then, I failed to learn how to recline my chair. Don't even ask. Anyway, that turned out to be for the best because the older Irish woman seated next to me and a muscular Irish man sitting behind her got into a fight because she wanted to recline her chair and he kept shoving it back upright. Then, the flight attendant (also Irish) yelled at them and told them to act like adults. (As much as tourists emphasize the Irish friendliness, it seems like the Irish temper cannot be ignored.) Afterwards, the man switched seats so that he was behind me, so I guess it's good that I couldn't figure out where the lever was.
The plane flight was otherwise as good as six hours in a confined space could be. As I was leaving JFK Airport I had a great view of NYC and of the Atlantic. Looking over the ocean from a low altitude, I saw a lot of white splashes and gray shapes, which I realized were probably sharks after seeing hours of similar footage on Shark Week. It was pretty scary but also amazing. The view from the plane was great at sunset and also when they turned the lights off at around 10pm. Since we were over the Atlantic, it was pitch black and you could see the stars incredibly clearly. The plane food was surprisingly good and we got to Dublin a bit early.
The long immigration line and the part where I couldn't find the baggage claim aren't very interesting. I finally had all my things together and I was ready to leave the airport, but I was completely parched after the 3 oz servings of water they give you on the plane. Spotting a soda machine, I thought it would be easy enough to get a drink. But no! The machine did not have a slot for paper bills. It took me several minutes to realize that you are supposed to use the €1 coins. After that, I tried to get a drink but it said everything was unavailable, even though you could see through the glass that they had the soda. Finally, I got a Fanta and some change. I promptly dropped the Fanta (it had a very oddly shaped bottle!) so that when I opened it, it sprayed all over me. And the worst part was that after all that work, it wasn't even cold!
Also, did I mention that it is raining?
It's not exactly an auspicious start, I admit, but it'll make the inevitable future mistakes seem a lot less stupid. Besides, it could've been worse - the plane might've crashed over the Atlantic and I would've slowly died of hypothermia before sharks ripped me apart. Anyway, I'm sure it will be very exciting once I get an opportunity to nap or sleep. Until then, I will attempt to entertain you with my terrible and completely unfounded observations about Ireland. I've only been here for three hours, so don't expect anything profound or accurate.
So far, the strangest things about Ireland are:
The Euro - they have €1 coins and €2 coins, and people actually use them! Plus all the denominations of paper money are different sizes, which means the more valuable ones don't really fit in my wallet. Euros aren't really bad, but they do annoy me because all my money is now automatically 1/3 less valuable.
Junk food - I'll admit this is based on extremely limited observation, but it appears that Ireland has a Pringles obsession. They sold the little cans on the plane for €2 (which seems ridiculous) and there is a vending machine exclusively for Pringles in the hostel. Weird, right? But it's even stranger when you consider that Ireland is supposedly known for its potatoes, and Pringles suck.
Also, there is a lot of Fanta. It seems rather popular.
What keeps confusing me, though, is how different soda bottles and candy wrappers look here, even when they are for a product like 7-up or Kit-Kats that you can get in the US.
CNN - with British accents, and cricket, but scarily similar otherwise.
Humorous image of the day: The Irish hipster sitting in front of me who watched 17 Again (the movie with Zac Efron). Also, the girl (I think she was American) who was drinking Guinness when the flight attendants handed out the breakfast orange juice.
My journey to Ireland was pretty stressful since I had never left the US, traveled anywhere alone, or been on a plane alone. In fact, my plane experience was limited to a high school orchestra trip where the parents and teachers did everything, so essentially I had no idea what was going on. Impressively, I managed to avoid any major mistakes when boarding the plane and I was actually beginning to think that this whole process would be easy. I learned the error of my ways shortly after, when despite my efforts I could not work the video player. Then, I failed to learn how to recline my chair. Don't even ask. Anyway, that turned out to be for the best because the older Irish woman seated next to me and a muscular Irish man sitting behind her got into a fight because she wanted to recline her chair and he kept shoving it back upright. Then, the flight attendant (also Irish) yelled at them and told them to act like adults. (As much as tourists emphasize the Irish friendliness, it seems like the Irish temper cannot be ignored.) Afterwards, the man switched seats so that he was behind me, so I guess it's good that I couldn't figure out where the lever was.
The plane flight was otherwise as good as six hours in a confined space could be. As I was leaving JFK Airport I had a great view of NYC and of the Atlantic. Looking over the ocean from a low altitude, I saw a lot of white splashes and gray shapes, which I realized were probably sharks after seeing hours of similar footage on Shark Week. It was pretty scary but also amazing. The view from the plane was great at sunset and also when they turned the lights off at around 10pm. Since we were over the Atlantic, it was pitch black and you could see the stars incredibly clearly. The plane food was surprisingly good and we got to Dublin a bit early.
The long immigration line and the part where I couldn't find the baggage claim aren't very interesting. I finally had all my things together and I was ready to leave the airport, but I was completely parched after the 3 oz servings of water they give you on the plane. Spotting a soda machine, I thought it would be easy enough to get a drink. But no! The machine did not have a slot for paper bills. It took me several minutes to realize that you are supposed to use the €1 coins. After that, I tried to get a drink but it said everything was unavailable, even though you could see through the glass that they had the soda. Finally, I got a Fanta and some change. I promptly dropped the Fanta (it had a very oddly shaped bottle!) so that when I opened it, it sprayed all over me. And the worst part was that after all that work, it wasn't even cold!
Also, did I mention that it is raining?
It's not exactly an auspicious start, I admit, but it'll make the inevitable future mistakes seem a lot less stupid. Besides, it could've been worse - the plane might've crashed over the Atlantic and I would've slowly died of hypothermia before sharks ripped me apart. Anyway, I'm sure it will be very exciting once I get an opportunity to nap or sleep. Until then, I will attempt to entertain you with my terrible and completely unfounded observations about Ireland. I've only been here for three hours, so don't expect anything profound or accurate.
So far, the strangest things about Ireland are:
The Euro - they have €1 coins and €2 coins, and people actually use them! Plus all the denominations of paper money are different sizes, which means the more valuable ones don't really fit in my wallet. Euros aren't really bad, but they do annoy me because all my money is now automatically 1/3 less valuable.
Junk food - I'll admit this is based on extremely limited observation, but it appears that Ireland has a Pringles obsession. They sold the little cans on the plane for €2 (which seems ridiculous) and there is a vending machine exclusively for Pringles in the hostel. Weird, right? But it's even stranger when you consider that Ireland is supposedly known for its potatoes, and Pringles suck.
Also, there is a lot of Fanta. It seems rather popular.
What keeps confusing me, though, is how different soda bottles and candy wrappers look here, even when they are for a product like 7-up or Kit-Kats that you can get in the US.
CNN - with British accents, and cricket, but scarily similar otherwise.
Humorous image of the day: The Irish hipster sitting in front of me who watched 17 Again (the movie with Zac Efron). Also, the girl (I think she was American) who was drinking Guinness when the flight attendants handed out the breakfast orange juice.
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