Straight updates

Ireland is great. I'm having such an incredible time and I'm very thankful to be here. Today is father's day, and I just can't stop thinking today about how I'm so incredibly thankful to have a family that will send me another place in the world to learn and experience new people.


My internship starts tomorrow.  I'll be working at a place called adfaces.  It's a company that sells space for advertising.  The company is BRAND new, only about one month in Ireland so far.  However, they've been successful other places in the world.  There are only three people who work in the company, and they need help advertising themselves and branding themselves so that people will use their service.  When I pictured my internship, this isn't exactly what I had in mind, but I'm really, really looking forward to getting started tomorrow.  Because the company is so small, I think I will be doing a little of everything, and I'll really get to see what it's like and be a part of essentially developing and starting a company!


We've been doing a lot of cool stuff.  The stuff that I thought was going to be not so cool, like class, is actually turning out to be pretty fun too. I'm taking a class called international human rights law.  It's really interesting.  Ireland actually got a better grade than the US in their human rights, but there are some major differences, for example, it's impossible to get an abortion in Ireland.  Women travel to the UK by the hundreds every year to get them.  It seems so behind and that's one thing that makes human rights totally different in Ireland.

I think one of my favorite things we've done so far was go to Howth, which is a great place in Dublin for hiking.  We basically climbed a rocky mountain that was surrounded by an incredibly blue body of water and green grasses.  It was a cool place for exploring, and it was also surrounded by an awesome neighborhoods with incredible houses.  There were some houses with helicopter pads because they could only be accessed that way because they were so secluded.  Afterward we went down to the peer and had some incredible seafood chowder and all just chatted and had a good time.  I really loved it there, and when my dad and Alisha come down at the end of the summer, I think we'll definitely have to take a trip.




We've been lucky enough to be here at a great time for futball!  Going to the pubs when Ireland is playing is the best.  Like I talked about in my last post, everyone here has so much pride, and orange and green flood the streets.  It's really cool to pretend you have any part in it.  But I did happen to bring an orange... and a green shirt, so I'm good to go.  The next game is tomorrow, so everyone's meeting up after work for some bar food and futball.  This is a video I took right before the last game.  Even though Ireland was CRUSHED by Spain, this atmosphere remained upbeat and enthusiastic the whole time.

We went on a fieldtrip to a jail, that was famous for it's cruel punishments.  We had someone pretend to be the warden and took us around and talked about how poor the conditions were.  It actually got really creepy in some parts.  It's wasn't anything spectacular, but it was cool to learn about how minor some of the charges used to be and how major the punishments were.

Next we went to Powerscourt Gardens, which was a beautiful country club sort of thing.  We had lunch there in a beautiful room made of windows.  We were supposed to pay for the gardens but somehow walked out there with no one noticing... whoops!  But they were beautiful and so well kept, everyone took a lot of pictures.  It wasn't the nicest of days, but it ended up that all the times we needed it to stop raining, it pretty much did.  I guess we've got pretty good luck!

Yesterday was great, we went on a 20 euro tour of the city and pub crawl!  A tiny red headed man in a sweater and a hat took us around downtown Dublin and told us about the history and what was going on currently in Dublin as well.  He took us to some really beautiful places, and he was very informative.  Not only was he informative, but we learned later that he was a great story teller and an awesome singer!  We all went to a place called Stagshead which is one of the most historic bars in Dublin and we went to a private room upstairs and he told us 3 really funny, really dramatic stories.  Apparently Dublin, and Ireland in general, is famous for its story tellers.  I had a great time listening to him.  In between each story he would sing a native Irish drinking song, which he says we'll start to recognize as we go out in Dublin more and more.  So we all sat around the fire drinking Guinness and singing along, slightly mesmerized by this funny little guy.  Next we had a great, great dinner, stopped at a fantastic Gelato shop and then headed to the pub crawl.

The pub crawl was led by a great young company, but we heard about it through our program.  We all got wristbands and got discounted drinks at each bar.  We went to 5 bars and ended at a night club.  We had tons of different kinds of drinks, we just took every suggestion we were given.  We had strawberry beer and butterscotch shots at one bar.  The last bar was everyone's favorite.  They had a great live band, and everyone loved that we were American.  We all got in the circle one at a time and showed off our riverdancing skills.  Then the tourguide from earlier that day showed up and he danced with all of us, and it was so much fun.  The night club that we went to was owned by NONE OTHER THAN Bono. Hahaha.  It was actually really fun.  Strobe lights can make a girl feel sick after a while though, so we didn't stay too long.  It was totally worth the 20 euro and we met a lot of other people who came on the crawl with us who were both Dubliners and travelers themselves!


I'm having a great time.  I love the people I'm traveling with and I can't wait to get to work tomorrow and see how it goes.  It's gonna start getting less like a vacation and more like real life starting tomorrow, but I think we're all ready.  Our class has quite a bit of work and we have to do some work for our internship section of the trip too, so that's not the most exciting thing I've ever heard, but we'll all manage.


Overall, I'm thankful to be here, and it's starting to feel like home!

Ireland Pride

A few key differences so far in Ireland

• You have to look right when crossing the road and not left... that'll getcha
• Coins are really important, so don't throw them all in the tip jar, you'll need'm later!
• Waiters will not bring you anything you don't ask for... including refills on water
• No one carries guns, not even the police
• If you look lost, someone will always try to help you
• There's a lot of national pride

I just got back from an incredibly crazy and crowded pup in downtown Ireland called "The Living Room."  There were tons of cheers that everyone knew, and everyone was decked out in green and orange.  It reminded me a little of some situations I face at UNC, but people with me from other colleges had never experienced anything even remotely similar to it.  I have a lot of pride in UNC, but as far as American pride... I guess that's a little different.

I had never really thought much about it until the head internship coordinator said that Americans were the only people in the world that were embarrassed or ashamed to say where they're from.  When he asked us what words we would use to describe americans, we all said things like, "fat, lazy, entitled, uneducated, etc." No one said things like hardworking, curious, ambitious or anything along those lines.

When you ride the bus around Ireland, poor places, rich places, businesses, churches, offices, everywhere has the country's flag hanging from one of the windows.  It's really cool, and it makes you feel really good about being in a country like this.  But when you think about the reputation you pin to a person who has an American flag hanging in the united states, it's totally different.  

A guy in a pub last night told me that the Irish are notoriously bad at soccer, but that they consistently win best fans every year.  That, to me, is awesome.  It's funny, because we have more freedoms in America, it's almost like we have a lot more to be proud of, but we like to focus on the problems we have in America and we let them define us.  Ever since this realization, I've tried to hold up my head when I say that I'm an American, because I've decided it's something that I am proud of.

Finally, I'll leave you with a funny story.

In a pub a few nights ago, a guy asked me where I was from.  When I said America, he laughed and said, well could'ja be just a li'le more specific? I said North Carolina and he responded with a nod and an, ahhhh yes, of course.  I asked him if he knew where that was and he replied that of course he knew where North Carolina was!  Well... where? I asked.  

Everyone knows North Carolina is in California, he said.  To which I replied, well... just as much as Ireland is in Germany!

Slàinte! (Cheers!)

Sophie

First day in Dublin

Well, I'm here.  This blog now has actual meaning.  My flight was last night at 9:45 pm and I landed this morning at 9am (Dublin time).  Everything was fine, luggage arrived and the bus to take us to our housing was on time.


Dublin is a really cool city, it's a mix between beautiful scenery and really cool industrial buildings.


My roommate, Sarah, is cute, and in addition to her, I've met a ton of fun girls (there's only one boy), that are great.  I'm always afraid that people won't match up or like my sense of humor.  Everyone here, though, is funny, and loves to laugh.  I can tell it's going to be a great group.


I had a moment of home sickness, and the realization that I'll be here for 2 whole months, but everyone spoke up and felt kind of the same way, so it was a nice little bonding moment to be there for each other.


We had an orientation meeting which I dozed in and out of because of my severe jet lag.  We came home and napped for a few hours, then got up, got dressed and headed out.


Me and about 10 girls went out to a restaurant called "Bad Ass."  We ordered our first beers in Ireland.  The waitress found out this was our first Ireland experience, and was really sweet and fun.  I got some soup, some people got wings, some people got pizza.  We all picked off each other's plates and laughed and had an awesome time.


After dinner we all went into a cool alley that led to a big square of pubs.  They had a live band in one that was singing really classic american songs, like Tom Petty, ACDC and Rolling stones.  It was really fun and everyone was singing and dancing and hugging.  We got to know a few Irish people who were really friendly, along with some people from Australia and Germany as well.  At one point we all looked at each other and said, "we're at a pub in Ireland." It's hard to believe how lucky we all are.


Finally we walked into a disco, which they ID'd us to make sure we were 18...(insuuuuultiiiing)... and we were THE ONLY ones in there.  They gave us free drinks and we danced like crazy for a while before heading home.


Both out and back we took the bus which is 2 euros each way.  Still getting the hang of Euros, but I'm sure I'll get it eventually.  Those coins are important, totally not like American money.


Don't have my internship yet, but the woman who's looking for me says she's working on mine, and mine alone for the next three days.  Really, really hoping I'll get a good one that I enjoy a lot.


Tomorrow we're having a scavenger hunt in the city, and y'all know I'll win that.


Bad news: Hulu does not work outside of America.  It's okay though, I'm finding ways to cope.


Sophie