When it rains, it pours. And here in Ireland, it rains... ALOT! For example, yesterday it rained like six times! It was in small, drizzly amounts, but it still rained! Anyway, the point of that metaphor was that I did not have as great of a day as I was hoping for yesterday. But, lets start with the good stuff!
DAY ONE (Tuesday):
Heading to the airport was a bit tedious for me. I was feeling a lot of things, ranging from nervous to excited. I wanted to bring my home with me, but I knew that I couldn't. In addition, it was my boyfriends birthday and I was leaving him before he even technically turned 21! But, this is a journey I have to make more or less on my own. The first flight I had to take was a small puddlejumper plane with a big green Canadian leaf on it because it was a flight through Air Canada. Upon boarding, I felt a bit uneasy. I have never flown or even been to an airport before that day!! Once the flight began, I was excited to see Pittsburgh disappearing below me and Toronto appearing once we got there. Honestly, if you have never experienced a sunset over a city from an airplane, you should. Especially when the plane is tilted because it is turning. The feeling of being slightly off balanced mixed with the beauty of the scene is amazing.
The second plane was much bigger and much smoother. It actually may be smoother than a car ride! On this flight, I even got to meet a lovely couple from Ireland! Imagine that! The woman I met welcomed me to Ireland and told me I was bound to have a grand time.
Upon arrival, I had mixed emotions. I was eager to get to Carlow and begin my journey, yet apprehensive and nervous. We took a bus (which most of us accidentally fell asleep on due to the tremendous jet lag!) and made it to the town in no time. I had a lot of fun exploring the town with friends and buying a phone, which by the way is a smart phone. Chalk up another first for me!
Once I was shown where I would be living, things were already exceeding my expectations. The flat we will be living in is MUCH nicer than I imagined. Andrea (my room mate from home) and I share a nice sized room and a small bathroom. There is a lovely kitchen and living room area with super comfortable couches. And it turns out I was given Irish room mates! Their names are Lisa and Ashley (although I know she does not spell it that way... I need to find out the proper spelling). However, as the night went on and day turned to night here in Carlow, I found myself homesick and lonely. I wanted to share my adventure with someone, but the internet was very unreliable. But, I managed to relax and get some sleep.
DAY TWO (Wednesday):
On this day, we had our orientation at Saint Patrick's College, aka Carlow College. It was somewhat long and to me seemed very similar to the orientation I had already experienced at home. We had a break for lunch and then had to finish up orientation with a couple short presentations. After this was done, it was another great day in town. However, once again the night managed to get the best of me. My Irish room mates were having a party, and I am simply not the parting type. So, I found myself even more homesick and actually wanted to catch the next plane home!
DAY THREE (Thursday):
Things began to look up on this day. We visited the convent where Catherine McAuley used to live. There were so many interesting stories and things to see and the sisters who live there now are so kind! We signed a guestbook that was pages upon pages long with all of the visitors who we followed here. Afterwards, we saw each room of the convent and listened to interesting facts about each. In one room, Sister Mary was showing us her collection of items she collected from her visit to Pakistan. She even let us try on her various colored headscarves! I fell in love with the color of the one I picked up and she actually cut a piece off for me! I can't imagine ANYONE in Pittsburgh doing something like that!!
(I think we pull this look off quite well, haha.)
Before leaving the convent, we enjoyed some tea and snacks with the sisters. The tea was definitely one of the best I have ever had and all of the goodies were hand made! Also, Andrea is not a big tea drinker, so Sister Mary even made her a cup of hot chocolate!
(Look how cute the tea cups were!)
This was also the first day I cooked my own food in the kitchen. I made pasta because it was late and I wanted something simple to make, and we invited two other American students over (although they brought along their own food). During the short time we were cooking, we managed to set off the smoke alarm, TWICE! And we didn't even burn anything... badly.
By this night, I was very glad I decided to come to Carlow. I was settling in and beginning to feel right at home, although still a bit lonely at times.
Yours Truly,
Alicia
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