One major thing about leaving the comforts of home is the food. You don't realize until your gone how attached to your food and food sources you are. I didn't think I'd ever find myself missing Shaws, but here I am lost in food departments located in the basement of clothing stores wondering where the heck the tofu is, mind you I'm almost positive that tofu does not exist in Ireland. I find myself craving dark chocolate, mostly because that's the only thing that is exactly the same and... well it's chocolate, enough said.

When I get back I am VERY excited for my mother's kitchen where there is a snack cabinet and plenty of ingredients. This comes with the territory of living in apartment anywhere, though, because you never want to splurge the extra 5 dollars for brown sugar or spices. I am also ready for some Panera, Wings over Burlington, Boloco, City Market sandwiches, and GOOD vegetarian food. I don't think they believe in vegetarians here.. they must just not exist.

After being abroad in Montreal, though, I know that when I get back I will be craving foods from here. There is an AMAZING vegetarian Thai food place right near the Academic Center in Montreal that I just couldn't get enough of. I'm sure I'll be craving the best cod fish and chips when I get back, but wont be able to satisfy that craving fully because it's just SO good here. Also, the best bean burger of my life is from Burger King, although I haven't had fast food in years, I find myself wandering in there once in a while. It is just that good and probably the only vegetarian sandwich in town.

Other comforts are the ability to do laundry without wondering if your clothes will dry fully, being able to use a cell phone to call home and friends at home, and my own bed. No matter where you go, you will always miss something, but eventually you get used to it all and you find yourself calling another place home.

Posted by Caitlin Patey at 9:25 AM | Permalink

The weather in Dublin is the most unpredictable thing I have ever encountered. This morning, as I was walking to class, I found myself fairly warm in a thick sweater and boots with no gloves of hat or anything. I must have been sleepy this morning and forgotten the rules of the roads of Dublin, though, because after my first class I went outside and found myself freezing. I could see my breath in our small private courtyard behind the school as we looked at the rocks on the surrounding walls to find sedimentary rocks.

For some reason, it felt like it was going to snow. The wind was so frigid but the sun was out and it felt like it should have been warm. So far I have found that it is cold when it looks warm and warm when it looks cold. Also, your best bet is always to pack a raincoat, forget the umbrella because when it rains it is always windy, dress in layers, throw some gloves and a hat in your bag, and just because it is cold during the day does not mean it will be cold at night.

I went back to my apartment to bundle up before Seminar in Contemporary World Issues because we were to meet at St Stephen's Green for a walking tour around the park, up Grafton Street, and around Trinity College. I put on gloves, a hat, and a long coat over my thick sweater. I was still cold. The walking tour was still great, though, and we got a chance to see parts of the park that we hadn't seen and learned a bit about the history of our surrounding area.

The rain, however, has only caught me a few times as it is usually the temperature that catches me off guard. Two days ago a group of us went to Malahide to see Malahide Castle. We got two for one tickets for the castle tour and took the train for about 5 euro round trip, which made for the perfect day trip. The weather was beautiful all morning as we toured the castle with a somewhat odd voice system to guide us along and give us the history and information about it. It almost felt like someone was watching us as the doors would open by themselves to allow us into the next rooms.

Once the tour was over we visited the gift shop and then headed back through the park with beautiful trees lined with vines and perfect green fields; I later found out that the mysterious brilliance of the green was most likely due to the random bits of rain that we were to encounter that afternoon. We made it into town by direction of a couple, who were very friendly locals, and to the restaurant we planned to eat lunch at, which had the BEST fish and chips so far, is actually owned by U2 and is recommended by the locals.

When we left the restaurant, it started to rain. It wasn't pouring out, but the wind whipped the rain into your face and made it very difficult to walk back to the train station. When we got back the rain and wind was worse and we made our way home in hopes that our heat was on high and our sweatpants would be in the clean pile.

I'm learning to deal with the weather, though, and it's typically between 40 and 50 Fahrenheit. For all of those in New England right now and to my friends and family deep in the snow, stay warm or head to the slopes, but to Grandma and Grandpa, Nana and Papa, the Kuells, and anyone else down in the warmth of the south... I am still jealous of your weather!

Posted by Caitlin Patey at 12:19 PM | Permalink

I've made it through my first week of classes and I'm glad to say that I'm still excited about classes this semester. In most, if not all, of my classes we'll be doing field trips throughout Dublin and surrounding areas, which not only allow me to learn about where I'm living, but also allow me to explore with personal tour guides!

Last night was karaoke at a local spot on Grafton Street and a group of us headed over there and ended up presenting a great rendition of 'I Will Survive' to a clapping audience. Everyone loved the "American's" and were very friendly to us. This has been a common theme thus far as everyone has been very friendly, kind, and welcoming to us.

As for the rest of Europe, we'll find out how friendly everyone is soon! Two other girls and I have booked our flights and hostels for two weekends. The first weekend we are headed to Nice, France for a weekend get away to see some of France that is not the typical tourist central of Paris, although we may be visiting there later. The second weekend we are headed to Barcelona, Spain to explore the area and see a bit of Spain.

We're also planning on exploring Ireland while we are here. This saturday I think we are going castle hunting via bus and we all are planning to head to cork at some point to see the Blarney stone. Next thursday, the Champlain staff has planned a trip to a dog racing place, which is a major part of the culture here. The dogs here are much healthier and they have more strict regulations as to the health of the racing dogs.

I'm so excited to be able to spend the next 4 months exploring and traveling Europe and the UK and can't wait to bring that all back with me.

Posted by Caitlin Patey at 7:32 PM | Permalink

We started our classes on Monday and I attended my first science and my first history class. I am taking an environmental lab science where we will be exploring Dublin and its outskirts for field work. Our first class went very well with a lecture on the history of the earth and an explanation of expectations and trips that we will be taking.

I am really excited for the field trips that will allow us to get hands on and learn more about our surroundings here in Ireland. This is something that we rarely do in Burlington because most classes are classroom based. This is one of the major differences of traveling to foreign places and studying in foreign places. When I leave I will have learned a large amount of new information as opposed to re-learning the history of America and world civilizations that we have been taught about for years or the practices. My history class will also be doing trips and our first one will be on Monday to walk around St Stephen's green as well as Baggot Street to get a closer look at each place and the ways they fit into Dublin's social history.

Last night a few of us went out to find notebooks and go grocery shopping. I filled my bag with canned goods, frozen vegetables, and more sustainable food and ended up not spending too much. The more I walk around the city, the more I feel comfortable here in getting around, although I never walk alone at night. This isn't something I just do in Dublin, though, this is something I do in Burlington, I did in Montreal, and am now doing in Dublin. You never know what could happen and it's always better to be safe even in seemingly safe places.

Posted by Caitlin Patey at 9:38 AM | Permalink

This past weekend we had orientation for the Dublin program and it was a success! We had a weekend full of exploring, good food, and good fun. After recovering from jet lag a group of us wandered the city to get more acquainted to where we are and get some groceries. We cut through St Stephen's Green and came across the beautiful glass St Stephen's Green Mall, located right off of Baggot Street. My friend tried to coerce me into going into a store, which clearly had clothing and not food. Little did I know that there was a grocery store in the basement of the store. Luckily the others had already wandered there and had informed us that they charge 27 cents for plastic bags. We were prepared with our own bags and got the basics just to start with.

After a good nights sleep we took another walk around the streets to see what we happend upon. We walked around until some of us were lost but made our way back in time to meet in the lobby for a walk to the academic center. The academic center is about a five to ten minute walk from the apartments. We were greeted by Lilly and Stephen and followed by Tom who introduced themselves and gave us the basics of the campus and Dublin.

That night we headed down to Porter House in the Temple Bar district where we all enjoyed delicious food including the fish and chips that I chose for my meal. Our group of 30 or so took over the top floor of the restaurant and the room was filled with excitement and conversation. Dinner was a good time to talk to people that we knew of, but hadn't really ever gotten to know and bond as a group. After dinner we went to a place that had live traditional Irish music. The music was awesome and it gave us a chance to all hang out and get a bit of culture under our belts.

After a good nights sleep, we met at the academic center for breakfast and some useful information. A Garda, or police officer, came to talk to us about safety in Dublin and gave us some advice about how to act at ATMs, how skimming works, pick pockets, general safety in numbers, and so on. After the Garda, we dicussed classes, professors, and policies.

Later that day we went on a historic tour of Dublin. This was a good chance to get a background for personal use or even for the history courses. The tour guide brought us to the old parliament, which is now the Bank of Ireland, where we got to see the House of Lords a well as the old cannons that were used to ward off mobs. The tour continued through Trinity College and then to the Temple Bar district. Underneath our very feet were the ruins of the medieval era and all around us was evidence of old buildings. We ended at what I believe was City Hall which was beautiful.

We broke up from there and explored a bit of the north end of the city and then met back up at the spire which is a large pointed pole type of statue that extends high into the sky. Stephen, Lilly and Tom then led us on a tour of the north end to give us a good idea of the resources there. We ended at a great little Chinese place called Asian noodles. The food was delicious and after we ate we all broke up to find our way back home. Slowly but surely they brought us farther away from our apartments and left us to find our way home. This was one of the most helpful things because it helped us all get a general idea of the city and how to get around.

The last day of orientation we spent the morning talking about the best ways to travel along with some good hints on where to go. After this info session we headed to Howth, a small fishing town north of Dublin. We spent the day walking up to the cliffs, looking at incredible views, and taking many many pictures. Most of us allowed ourselves to get lost on the back roads of this small town and find our way back as to see the most that we could. We spent the majority of the day there and were left to find our way back via train when we pleased. I finished up my day there with two friends and some fish and chips.

This orientation weekend was incredible and I feel very 'orientated' now. We've been given Sunday to chill out, explore, and prepare for our classes. Classes start tomorrow and I'm very excited to get started.

Posted by Caitlin Patey at 2:51 PM | Permalink

Yesterday I packed up the rest of my things and headed to the airport. After saying my goodbyes I headed through security and with a last wave to my Mom and boyfriend I headed off on my journey. They quickly boarded the plane, which had been an earlier plane than the one I had intended to take, and we set off to Newark with less than a half an hour delay. My journey had certainly begun, but not as I expected it to.

When we finally boarded after my three hour layover, we taxied the runway for another hour. Eventually, I was off to Dublin between two travelers, one I believed to be Irish and the other English.

My first sign that I wasn't in the US anymore was as they served dinner on the flight and I ripped apart my bread with my hands, after all what good is a knife when you have fingers, and then watched the English girl next to me sit up straight and cut her roll with a butter knife. Then I watched the burly Irish man cut his the same way. I was a little embarrassed with crumbs sprinkled on me but I quickly swept them off.

After a long, long, 6 hour unsleeping flight I found myself in Dublin. I didn't get much sleep on the plane because of the child crying in the next seat, but I got a good 20 minutes in. I was met at the airport by Stephen, the head of Champlain College Dublin, and a driver.

After gathering everyone together, grabbing some euros from the ATM, the five of us who had been on that flight loaded up into two cars. After my bags were in the trunk I watched Stephen walk to what I believed to be the driver's side door and wondered why he would be driving when we had a driver. Shortly after getting into the car I remembered the driving switch in Ireland and the UK which was also a little odd driving down the road.

After a drive through Dublin we pulled up to my new home. I was met by the head resident who helped me get to my room and make sure I was all set and knew how to use the heat.

I unpacked my bags and have found myself fighting sleep for the past few hours. The jet lag is getting to me but eventually we've got to seek out toilet paper and some food so hopefully I will make it until at least 7 before falling asleep.

Posted by Caitlin Patey at 8:30 AM | Permalink