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!