I was the first to leave home on Thursday afternoon and arrived in Dublin on Friday, May 18th around 2 pm. I was beyond excited to begin my summer adventure and cannot wait to see what the next 10 weeks have in store.
Dublin City
Countryside on the way to Cork
I took the bus from Dublin to Cork and got into my accommodation around 6 pm. I was immediately introduced to a chatty nice Irish woman by the name of Brig who is in charge of the student living here. I felt like I had been dropped into a movie scene as she appeared out of this tiny little doorway, having to duck to climb out and immediately saying, "Well hullo der, I'm Brig, nice to finly meet yee". By the way, the Irish accent is probably one of my favorites, even over the British. She showed me to my little, but pleasant room. In just 15 minutes, the lady in charge of my internship program, Mrs. O'Regan, came rushing through the door and greeted me with a warm hug, welcoming me to the country. She brought me back to her house to eat dinner with a few of her friends and colleagues. There was a humorous Italian physicist and two other Irish physicists. Ironically, my first night in Ireland I have none other than authentic Italian food! The Italian brought homemade Tiramisu, a tray of cheeses, biscotti, and dessert wine. It was out of this world! I can already tell I won't be able to fit in my clothes when I return to America after eating my way across Europe. They were such pleasant people though and it was a tiring, but extremely exciting first day in Ireland.
The next day, I'm sitting in the community kitchen eating lunch and I get into a conversation with a German exchange student and a set of Irish twin students at UCC about the different pubs. So the German tells me about the big futbol (soccer) game between Chelsea and Munich that night and all of his friends were going to the pub to watch it. He was nice to invite me along to meet them and to point out some of the Cork City highlights on the way. I ordered my first ever Irish beer which was something like "Smitwick" or our version of Coors Light, sat down at a table with the German kids, and watched a riveting futbol game. It felt very Irish! Yet, once again ironic that it was a German experience in an Irish pub. The Germans were great "craic" as they say here, which just means a lot of fun. I could tell my Southern accent was strong when Nina asked me where I was from and then repeated back "Louisianer" in the most country voice you can imagine thinking that was how it was pronounced. And I don't believe I have an accent at all! Anyways, Jonas (Yonas) also showed me around the city today so I have a better idea of the street names and how to get to the UCC campus. They finish with exams in a week though and will be leaving soon unfortunately.
Cork City
Grand Parade Street
Finnbarre Cathedral
An Loch Park
One more fantastic experience was going to the English Market where I finally had the chance to speak with some of the locals. I tried different types of cheese, including a delicious slice of Irish gouda fresh from the farm. I got a loaf of bread from the local bread makers and a few tomatoes. I made a grilled tomato and cheese out of that today, which was "go hiontach!" or "wonderful"! When I sat down to eat a sandwich, a local woman sat down across from me at my table. As an American, my "this is strange, there must be something wrong with her" radar went off. The next thing I know two Irish men hear me say New Orleans and also sit down to talk because they are jazz fans and visited the city two years ago. Since that first encounter and being observant around town, I realized that the Irish are quite possibly the friendliest group of people you will ever meet. They talk to anyone and eavesdropping is fair game. If you hear a conversation and want to add to it, they sit down like you've been friends for eternity, which is extremely nice as a single traveler. I don't think the Irish have an "awkward" situation no matter what and they are very accepting of Americans as well as knowledgeable about all of the affairs back at home such as politics and whatnot.
At the end of my market experience, I kept eyeing the homemade chocolate truffles and coffee booth but decided I should leave something for another day. I'll probably not be able to resist too much longer.
Oh and the Queen visited the English Market this time last year...NBD. But seriously, enjoying going to get groceries is not too shabby of a discovery.
Tomorrow I meet my mentor in the Electrical Engineering building to begin researching Seizure Prediction in Neonates. I'm beyond excited but a little nervous. Pictures of UCC to come as well. Until then, Slan!!
