So, I suppose now that I'm official, I should tell the story, and tell about all my happenings. First off, let me just say that all the flights went really well. Took off on time (or even early, as was the case in Lincoln) and got to their destinations without trouble. The airport in Philadelphia was nice--didn't even have to go through security again for the international leg! Also, my baggage arrived at the same time I did, so things were great!
While in Philadelphia, I met these two Irish ladies, one of whom had just dropped her daughter off at Cornell for college. They were very friendly, and gave me some good, motherly advice about where to live, where to avoid, and how to watch myself while in Dublin. They even gave me their contact info, so I could tell them if I found the hostel all right.
Since arrival, things have been a bit of a blur. I wandered around campus for a while, tried to find some advice about accommodation (as they call it here), but Trinity College wasn't expecting any post-grads to show up until September, so they were rather useless. Did get an O2 sim card out of it for the phone, though, so I wrangled an Irish phone number.
The next step was to sit in the hostel (with the free wifi) and email people about rooms they'd posted on the little website dedicated for such things, daft.ie. It was very useful; I had three tours booked less than 12 hours after I'd arrived!
In any case, I went to check them out. Met some nice people, mostly couples with extra rooms (one from New Zealand, one from France) and finally decided to room with a guy named from Holland who is in Dublin for work. It's a nice place--roomy, kind of quaint. It's on a little street about a block away from a mid-level thoroughfare, so pretty quiet but still lots of conveniences around. Also, the pair of girls living upstairs seem cool and the landlady is really nice and laid-back as well. I'm already moved in, and I think I'll get on well here.
Really, though, that's all I have to report. It's been mostly business so far, but now that I'm settled, the fun begins!
As a sign off, though, have a random story about Ireland:
So, last night (my first in Dublin) I went down the street from the hostel (Jacob's Inn) to a pub called Molloy's. It was a pretty traditional looking place, green walls and woodwork sort of thing. At the bar, there was a group of people--an older couple (maybe mid-60s) and two of their slightly younger friends (35-40, I'd guess). They were talking and carrying on, so I sat down next to them for my Guinness. After a few songs and some banter back and forth amongst them, one of them caught my eye as I observed and invited me over.
They seemed pretty taken aback that my name was "Clay"--apparently not to common over there. But still, they were quite friendly; they asked about Nebraska, sang me some old Irish tunes, and even had me sing a couple "Nebraska" songs ("There is No Place Like Nebraska" was a big hit, and they all sang along for "King of the Road").
In any case, they heard that I was coming to Trinity and was looking for accommodation, so the older gent, Jack, offered me a room in his own house, supposedly a 15 minute walk from Trinity! He even gave me his number so I could call and go see it (he suggested Friday; I probably will call him, just for the novelty and because I told him I would).
So there you go--that's a story about Ireland for you. Guinness and singing in a pub, and extending your hospitality to complete strangers.
No comments:
Post a Comment