Ireland Report #1
ANYWAY, I have now been on the road again for over a week. I have been travelling for, well, far too much time already this summer, but this particular journey has been a busy one.
A brief breakdown of my summer:
June 3 – Carmina Burana performance with the UCD Chorus (with alumni, orchestra and extra pianos). June 9 – Epic Quad Battle 2 (students + last day of class + pool noodles at noon on an empty Quad). June 10-14 – Finals. June 15-18 – Jack and Tiffany’s wedding + trip to Santa Barbara with Allison, Steven, and Greggy. June 30-July 5 – Anime Expo with Alli and her mad gang. July 10-13 – Camping trip up on Hwy 1 near Westport. July 13-16 – Dad’s retirement & Sheila’s birthday, all in Ventura. July 22-23 – moved out of apartment & down to Oak View. July 24-August 8 – working at the Ventura County Fair with my usual conspirators. August 8-13 – UC San Diego with Mom and the entire California 4-H gang for the State Leadership Conference… 550 delegates, one hilly campus, and lots of stuff going on.
There, now you have some idea of my busy-ness level. Add in a few stressy moments, another wedding (I’ve only made it to 2 of 5 this summer — YEESH I feel old-maid-y) and a few late nights out with family and/or friends for a full summer.
Now, on to the good stuff.
I left UCSD at the lovely hour of 7 AM on Sunday, August 13. I’d twisted my ankle earlier in the week o’ madness, so I was favoring it a bit. No big deal, I checked my big baggage (containing ALL my clothing and liquid/gel/toiletries) and took off to reach my connecting flight in Atlanta. I do not reccommend eating anything at the Arby’s in the Atlanta airport. About an hour into the Ireland leg, and after a surprisingly good conversation with my seatmate, I was about as astonished as she when I managed to restore the contents of my stomach to the open air… well, let’s just leave it at “I was very, very, very embarrassed and upset.” All over my clothes.
Patagonia’s Inter-Continental line of women’s pants wash very well in plane lavatories. Alas, my t-shirt and sweatshirt didn’t dry nearly so quickly, so I layered several Delta blankets over myself and said wet clothing to shiver and sleep my way through the rest of the flight. NOT a good way to begin a trip, let me tell you. Naturally, as soon as my poor tired little feet hit ground, I scooted through immigration and on to the baggage claim, then changed in the Dublin Airport bathroom with my reclaimed toiletries. Stupid terrorists, keeping me from my toothpaste and soap!
I checked in at Trinity College around 10 AM Monday (Irish time), and oh! The accomodations are lovely. Fluffy duvets and fresh sheets/towels every morning and continental breakfast and and and … mmm lovely. I love my bed. I think I was happiest to see the shower though.
Sorry, the rest of my week hasn’t been nearly as exciting (ha ha) — lots of field trips to utterly meaningless locations like the James Joyce Museum and Dublin Castle and Book of Kells and seeing Waiting for Godot … right, so I’ll continue with the fascinating stories in the next email.
Suffice it to say that Seamus McElroy (our professor) reminds me of both Uncle Brian and Tim Bunce – naturally he knows everything there is to know about Ireland and its authors, feels free to relate it all to us, and peppers our lives with sly remarks and sarcasm. I love Ireland.
Jackelopette's Blog 