Appreciating and Adjusting

Remember what I said in my last post about trying not to have expectations? Well, if I had any, Dublin has blown them out of the water. I’m having a wonderful time. There’s a lot to talk about and this might be a fragmented, rambling post, but it’s how life is going for me so far, so here we go.

Aesthetics: Dublin is gorgeous. It’s an absolutely stunning city. I’ll include pictures so you don’t have to take my word for it, but I can’t stress enough how pretty this place is. Every turn reveals something else that I want to share with friends and family back home.

Locals: The people here are impossibly nice. I’ve had a number of lovely experiences with Dublin locals in the few days that I’ve been here. People want to help. They want to stop and chat, and they genuinely like hearing about where you’re from. They want to recommend things to do and places to go eat. And if you stop and ask people for directions and they don’t know the place you’re looking for, they’ll take out the GPS on their phones and look it up. There’s no way that everyone in Dublin is fabulously kind, but I haven’t had a bad experience yet.

Roommates: It’s amazing how quickly you get to know people when you’re thrown together in a program like this. I feel like I’ve known many of my study abroad classmates for years, when in fact it’s just been days. We’re already friends, genuinely, and it’s a pleasure to share an experience like this with friends.

Adjustments: While I honestly have no big problems with Dublin so far, there are a number of differences that I’ve had a harder time adjusting to.

The showers situation is… not great. – I’ve taken more than one cold shower. The hot water in many apartments is limited. In others, the showers are electric and heat water as needed, but they’re incredibly finicky.

You have to flag buses like you would flag taxis. – Buses won’t stop unless you alert them. As someone who’s already pretty afraid of any bus system, this has been a real struggle.

Everything is slower here. – It’s a cultural thing, I’m told. The Irish aren’t in the hurry that Americans seem to be in. So food service, conversations, being on time to things… it’s all a bit behind. As someone who’s chronically early and always rushing from one place to another, this hasn’t been easy either.

Chips vs. crisps. – Chips = fries. Crisps = chips. I keep forgetting this and making a fool of myself in restaurants. Luckily, no one cares too much.

In closing, 500 words aren’t nearly enough to tell you everything, but trust me when I say that Dublin is a dream so far. A complete and utter dream.

Until next time,

Schyler