Goodbye America, Hello Dublin

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

Chicago, IL, to London, England, to Dublin, Ireland

As I'm sure you all know, I left in January to spend my spring semester in Ireland at Trinity College Dublin. In my travel-induced haze, I didn't take many pictures in transit or during the two brief days I spent with Robbie and his family in London on my extended layover before continuing to Dublin. Rather than bore you all with the details of my to and fro through the airports, security, customs, and snack lines, here's a little something that pretty much sums up my thoughts as I boarded my plane from Chicago to London. Somehow, it wasn't until I had one foot in the air stepping onto the plane that I realized-- I really wouldn't be back in America until June.

Goodbye, America

Goodbye peanut butter, goodbye sunny summer,

Goodbye mac n’ cheese, and buying new DVDs,

Goodbye rational currency, and goodbye dear sweet Hershey.

Goodbye internet, and hello being wet--

Goodbye Red, White, and Blue, oh I haven’t a clue,

What new things will be seen when I say hello to the Green!

I stepped off my bus from the airport in completely foreign territory, completely exhausted.

Me: "Is this the stop for Trinity College?"

Bus Driver: "Yes."

Me: nod, walk purposefully in no direction at all

This was the street corner I stepped on to. My thought process? Find the oldest, prettiest looking buildings and hope that they were Trinity. Also, hope that I found them quickly, because I had 2 rolling suitcases and a backpack. Luck was with me, and this strategy led me not only to Front Gate (the place I was supposed to pick up my keys), but also a group of three other lost Americans, two of whom also lived in Goldsmith Hall with me and would be on the Semester Start Up Programme.

And so, with very little trouble (but a LOT of baggage), we were off and running.