I arrived in Dublin two weeks ago, and at first was slightly disappointed. We drove through this construction area that was totally tragic and awful looking, and I wasn't really talking to anyone yet. Then I saw the bridges and the river and it totally changed; it became somehow lovely.
The hostel wasn't too bad. I was in a room with five other girls which was very cramped, but the place was pretty clean and I didn't leave anything there (knock on wood.). I had a chance to explore Dublin, and I did some. We went to Temple Bar (the neighborhood) quite a bit. The people in the Arcadia group all seemed very nice, and I met Maggie on the tour bus on Monday, which was wonderful to the extreme. Then I met up with Hallie, Ellie, Talia and Katelyn who Maggie'd been hanging with and found my niche, fortunately. We saw a deeply depressing play, The Plough and the Stars.
The ride to Galway was fantastic and gorgeous and deeply green.
I got to Galway and met Bridget, my roommate, who is perfectly lovely. Maggie left for the Burren and Caitlin joined the gang. We went to more orientation, explored Galway some and it is fantastic, utterly fantastic. Linda moved in later in the week and is perfectly nice as well.
Classes seem fine-ish. I'll be glad to be on a regular schedule starting next week.
This weekend was spent on homestay in Tuam (pronounced chume) with a wonderful family--Leigh and John, and their children Paddy and Eilidh (whose name I totally fell in love with). They made me feel so welcome, something I need being so far from my own siblings and parents. They took Liz and me to the ocean and to a mountain. It was my first time at the sea, and I fell in love with it completely; also my first time at a mountain, and it was equally incredible.
That's really the best part of this trip so far. I understand the "homeland" and "roots" thing now--my feet feel comfortable walking here. I don't have a shell-shocked feeling at all: I feel at home. It's as if there was some part of me that always knew that I belonged by the sea and the mountains and the grass; it was just an inkling in the States, but here, this past weekend, it burst open. The breeze coming off the Atlantic made me feel fresh and prickly, in the best way; on the mountain today, I just wanted to run and climb and let the mist cling to me--it was extraordinary. The blackberries we picked tasted sweeter than any I've ever had. I get "roots" now, I think.
Excluding the sense of a homeland that feels, logically, too far removed to be real, the other best thing here has been the quick and amazing friendships. I've really bonded with this group of girls--Caitlin, Ellie, Katelyn, Talia and Hallie--and it's just really nice to have a group again, something I've been missing since high school, when my formerly large group condensed basically to just me, Austin and Des.
I miss everyone at home, and will try to update this as much as I can think of (within reason) so that both home and I can feel connected.
No comments:
Post a Comment