So, that’s one of the first things I was told while sitting at orientation. Mind you, by the “Garda,” a local police officer. When I finally arrived in Dublin, it was nearly 7 AM here and I still had a long day ahead of me. I had to meet my program advisors, catch a taxi (I’m pretty sure the guy drove in circles for a bit to raise the price!) drag my suitcase to the apartment, meet my new housemates and finally organize everything. I only slept for about an hour total on the plane, and another 45 minute nap later that day. I woke up in the middle of my nap and couldn’t feel my arms, that’s how tired my body was! Two of my flatmates, Kara and Jess, and I went shopping for groceries and whatnot. They’re pretty chill so far which is a plus! Our apartment is great as well (it’s almost as if it’s an American apartment in Europe) which is awesome if you have any sort of European living experiences. We have water pressure…hot water…a washer WITH a dryer, a dish washer, a TV, internet, a printer. It’s AMAZING. Shhh, don’t tell the others on the program. They won’t be happy. Their kitchens and showers are tiny, they have no dishwashers or dryers, internet doesn’t work for some…I am counting my blessings! 🙂 There have, however, been a few mishaps, if you will. Today I was wearing sandals on the way to Grafton Street/St. Steven’s Green where I stepped on a broken Heineken bottle and cut my foot! I had to limp all the way back to the apartment with a bloody foot. It was pretty terrible. Of course, I always have some sort of, not to be too personal, but, feminine product on me. That came in handy between my sandal and the cut. Good thing I’m ingenious like that! And humble, too! Not only did this happen today, but it was really rainy too, for the first time since we’ve been here (it’s been 4 days). I expected it to be rainy all the time, but it’s not. Thankfully. Another fun little thing that happened today was the power shortage that we brought upon ourselves. As soon as I know it, my housemate accidentally ended up making all the power go out upstairs, including the fridge! So we had to call our RA (againnnn), Eammon, to help us figure out what to do. With a few pushes of some buttons, we were back up and running, thank God.
We did have a little “family dinner” tonight, a wonderful way to wrap up the day. Spaghetti and vino, cooked by the housemate! How cute, ate by candle light. Classy at worst. Anyways, I have to go to sleep now, I am starting my internship tomorrow at Trinity College. I’ll be working with psychologists, a lawyer, an OT and some other professionals and interns at the Anti-Bullying Centre doing psychological research! I’m very excited, but nervous too. I bought some nice clothes at H&M for it today, so that makes me feel more prepared. I may also get to take part in, and at the very least, observe some psychological assessments and hopefully counseling. I’ll update about all that for sure.