I can see your rolling fields of green
And fences made of stone
I am reaching out - won't you take my hand
I'm coming home Ireland
This old Garth Brooks song was going through my head as the plane was descending into the Dublin Airport. I was so overcome with emotion as I looked down and saw miles of green in every direction, spotted white with sheep and goats and horses. It was incredible. I had dreamed and waited so long for this day...and it was finally here! The journey was tiring, but well worth it. I got up at 3:30am on Saturday morning, and was at the airport by 4:30. My flight left from KCI at 6:30am, and was set to arrive in Newark, NJ by 10. Following this, I had a 9 hour layover until my flight left for Dublin at 7pm, to arrive in Ireland at 7am their time. The flights and layover were not bad at all, I starting reading the book "The Pursuit of God", explored the airport, people-watched :) and met some others in the airport who were traveling to Dublin also. Many asked me if I was traveling alone, and were shocked when I told them I was. At first, I was a little nervous about going all the way by myself, mainly for the connecting bus and taxi I was to take when I arrived in Dublin, to get to my host family's home in Dun Laoghaire (pronounced "Dun Leary"). However, I actually really enjoyed being independent and making my own decisions and getting where I needed to go by myself. Everything went smoothly (besides the fact that I hope I brought enough warm clothes!) and I arrived at the Reynolds' home around 8:30am. The neighborhood where I am living is neat, located right on the coast... it is incredible.
My host mother, Mrs. Reynolds is actually in Spain for the next 10 days, as is her daughter Emma. David, who is 19, and his girlfriend Kim were at the house to meet me and show me around. The house is adorable, one of many consecutive cottage-like homes that all resemble each other on Glenageary Avenue. I have my own room, very quaint and overlooking the backyard that is surrounded by stone walls. Are you picturing this? Well, it's exactly the way I pictured it would be :) Also living with the Reynolds family are other students/interns: Jimmy is from Washington DC, but is flying back to the States tomorrow. Luca and Filipo are Italian interns in their late 20's, I have only met Filipo so far, he is a lawyer working downtown and is here to improve his English. He is very polite and kind, and I agreed to help him with his English if he teaches me some French!
After I arrived, I sent some emails home to let everyone know I arrived safely, then tried to start unpacking. That didn't work out so well, being that I was completely exhausted, and I laid down for "45 minutes"...that turned into 5 hours...ooops :) When I woke up, I unpacked a bit more, then David asked if I wanted to walk down to downtown Dun Laoghaire (I am living in Glenageary, which is kind of like a region of Dun Laoghaire), and buy a SIM card for the mobile phone I am using while I am here. It was about 1.5 kilometers there, so it was a good walk. My internship is going to be at Crunch Fitness (check it out, you won't even believe your eyes: http://www.crunchfitness.ie/dunlaoghaire.html), and I was going to take the train there everyday, but I think I will just walk instead. I begin my internship tomorrow...I am so excited!
When David and I returned, his grandparents, Tony and Carmel were at the house cooking dinner. They are really nice, Tony was asking me all about the Wizard of Oz while he was smoking his pipe :) We had a delicious dinner of broccoli and chicken, with lima beans and carrots and some potatoes of course. I am now sitting in my room, trying to organize it, just Skyped with Renee and Kristin (yay!), and just thinking of how blessed and thankful I am for this opportunity. The upcoming month is going to be incredible :)
I'm going to try to keep this blog up as best as possible...hopefully I can do that between working, traveling, and just experiencing the culture on this Emerald Isle! Until next time...
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