Greetings From The Emerald Isle!

Hello friends,

Greetings from across the pond. I have successfully made it to Ireland and man, has it been a wonderful whirlwind of a week!

A 6 hour flight from Boston and orientation had left me running on empty- yet both have come to a close and I'm as good as new. Classes start for me and my fellow Champlain students tomorrow so I finally have some time to digest all that has happened!

I've been writing in a journal to reflect on what has been happening since landing here, yet I must admit it is much more exciting to share all the great bits and pieces from this experience thus far with you all. 

I don't even know where to begin. Like I said, it's been a whirlwind.

 What I do know though, is that Dublin is absolutely beautiful. It's quite surreal to call it home. While it is very much a city, it is so warm and cozy. The locals are friendly and chatty, making every outing something to look forward to. Most streets are  made of cobble stone and fun, colorful Georgian doors adorn old buildings.

While getting immersed into the ebb and flow of this new and exciting city, I have started to pick up on a few things. (all extremely important of course) Some of those things are...

-  Always look right first when crossing the street

- Start conversations by asking people "What's the craic?" 

-  Never leave the house without an umbrella

- Eggs aren't refrigerated in super markets

- Penneys (aka Primark) is the best store to ever grace this earth

- Guinness is delicious

- That U2 are the only people given permission to heard sheep in St. Stephen's Green

During orientation we walked all over Dublin. Seriously, I've crossed the river Liffey more times than I can count!  We all hopped on a train and visited the seaside town of Bray. Aside from the beautiful views, The Harbour Bar is a noteworthy spot there. It was voted the world's best pub in 2010. The bar tender was one of the nicest and funniest people I have ever met. We told him we were from Vermont and he raved about our Beef Jerky. (Hellooo, doesn't he know we are known for so many other delicious things!?) Regardless, his enthusiasm was a great highlight of our day trip.

 One last thing- I will be writing for my school's blog while here in Dublin so most of my writing will be moving there in the upcoming weeks.  However, as I love writing in general, some musings and adventures will likely be housed here as well.

Just as quickly as I had free time, I have lost it. I am about to head out to watch the gaelic football semi finals today! Croke park will be roaring with excitement... and so will every pub in this city. 

Cheers!

With love,