Quirk Alert

Last night, I finally went grocery shopping and hung out at the apartment talking on Skype to my girlfriend and her family back in the U.S.

After doing that, it just goes to show that relationships have really evolved in the past decade. 

In the temporary apartment that I resided in, all three girls were in long-distance relationships and I have met a few others here and back home that are in the same thing as well.

In such a competitive and fast-changing world, it is looking like this occurrence will occur more frequently and, at times, is necessary although we will be faced with the following set of questions:

"Is the pursuit of the advancement of a career more important than the security of the relationship?"

"Can the decision that initially hurts you the most be the decision that actually helps you the most?"

A few years ago, I was always scared to take a leap of faith and try something new because I was satisfied enough with the comfort of my past life. Therefore, there were many challenges that I brushed off because I was worried about the impact it would have on my family, friends, my current life, etc.

Looking at it now, I see that I can honestly take the risks that I need to take to make things work for my career but, at the same time, I also strive to make the best effort to stay connected as best as I can as evident in this blog.

None of us knows what the future holds for any of us but I hope to have as little regrets as I can when the time comes to past.

I say this because this morning, I was embarrassed to ask the following question to my roommate:

"How do you use the shower?" 

I was so determined to figure it out on my own that I didn't even shower yesterday as a result because I was more satisfied with failing than having to admit to asking such a simple question. 

Anyway, this morning, I tried for 20 min to turn on the shower and... it did not work! It was driving me crazy so I decided to wait until my roommate woke up and would ask for him to show me.

Apparently, there was a quirk in order to get it to work. After turning it on, you had to take off the shower head and pull it down to about your waist. After you do that, the shower turns on. 

**For those that have no idea why that happened, it goes back to that physics and, for others, thermodynamics courses. The pressure near the faucet was not initially large enough to overcome the force presented by gravity. In order to correct it, height needed to be decrease in order for the system to work overall.**

Another quirk that is in the restroom is that the toilet only flushes if you do a full pull-down on the handle quickly followed by a half pull-down. It is the most bizarre thing but that is the only way that it will work. 

The first time, I tried to flush it 15 times before getting help from my roommate. Now, I usually do it in two attempts. Woohoo!! Progress!

Today was a really busy and productive day. I made it to my Spanish class and that leads to quirk #3 that I noticed.

For about 1-2 months before I left Purdue, one of my roommates would joke around and practice speaking to me with the Catalan lisp. Unfortunately, I did not get enough practice on getting adjusting to it.

My Spanish teacher didn't tell us where he was from but my guess is that he is from Spain. There were times when he would pronounce c with a 'th' and other letters that I haven't heard before and I was caught in my mind trying to figure when to use the 'th', especially because I got corrected on it a couple of times. 

After awhile, I just went with what was comfortable and did perfectly fine but I am really curious of when to use the 'th' sound because I couldn't establish the proper pattern of it. 

Staying true to my word, I looked it up and found out that it is usually used on the 'c' and 'z'. Yeah, if you can, try to pronounce Barcelona as Barthelona with th being emphasized and soft. I'm confident that it won't be too hard to adjust to but I thought that was an interesting twist to the course.

Also, I finally set up a bank account, which will let me avoid international transaction fees, and a student leap card, which will let me travel around Ireland at discount prices. 

Finally, I almost have all the classes set up for my schedule but I just have to confirm them by next week so it looks like school is finally progressing here. 

Before I depart, I do want to give credit to my temporary apartment family for showing me a simple and delicious breakfast that can be made in 1-2 minutes and eating within 5 minutes.

It is cheese with tomatoes and bread! Trust me... cut up some tomatoes and cheese. Toast the bread and melt the cheese if you want to and try it. Simple, cheap, delicious, and a joy to look at, too.

As promised, I will have photos in another post later tonight but I have to go to class now. Cheers!

Errands to do, Classes to Attend

Last night seemed like a very long evening with one of my Irish roommates talk a good 4 hours straight about health, life, morality, and various topics. 

I honestly tried to keep track of all the topics discussed but I lost track after awhile and became a nodding listener as the night wore on. In fact, I didn't depart to bed until close to 4 AM!? 

That wouldn't be such a problem if I didn't have to get up and meet up with a couple of people at 8 AM to go to the immigration services and extend our stay until June.

 

We heard horror stories of waiting in there anywhere from 2 - 6 hours so it was extremely pivotal to get there as early as possible to avoid having to wait too long. 

Fortunately, one of my friends woke me up numerous times this morning so that we could leave around 8 AM and print off some documents. 

After doing so, we had a tough time actually finding the place. The map looked straightforward but ended up being a pain to deal with in terms of locating the facility.

Upon entering, we met up with another one of our friends that is working here from the United States for 6 months and proceeded to take a number in line. Unlike the United States, it was also a challenge to figure out where to get a number. There were no signs saying 'Take a number here' so we ended up navigating around the entire waiting room before standing in a brief line that apparently was for taking tickers from a person.

Long story short, the process went really quickly and we were out there within an hour and then we went to this place called Munchies. 

I ordered this sandwich called the 'Munchie Brunchie' and it's really delicious. I really like the Irish relish that they put on sandwiches here.. it gives sandwiches a slightly sweeter and fruitier taste.

While at brunch, we compared passports and I soon realized that I was significantly the least traveled one of the bunch. Both of them had been all over Europe and had their passports nearly stamped completely.

As for me, I didn't have much in this one because my travels to Panama, Colombia, and other places were included in the previous passport. I have a lot of ground to cover here in Europe and I hope to be able to travel a bit before I head back to the States this summer.

It was also grand to listen to what really goes on inside the head of a Resident Director at a dorm. I couldn't imagine being in charge of 750 students, 16-20 resident assistants, the random events that occur on a weekly basis, and, somehow, finding a way to focus on my school work too. 

The most disgusting bit though was definitely listening to stories about the bathrooms and the remarkable (or terrible) things kids would do when they are wasted or under the influence of drugs.

For the rest of today, I have finally decided to attack my suitcases and unpack everything! It took a couple of hours but it felt great unpacking and organizing things around the room. A couple of things that I found were: an LED flashlight, my survival kit, and this magicJack phone.

My mom thought it would be essential to have a survival kit because I would never know where I would be at any time. Maybe one day they will come in handy but, for now, I will look at it as a gag gift from my mom.

MagicJack is a phone service that allows me to call anywhere in the world for FREE simply by plugging the USB device into the computer, connecting it to a phone, and paying a yearly fee of $20-30. 

After registering and playing around with it for a bit, I found a way to call my mom, grandma, and my grandma's patient, who has adopted me as one of her grandchildren too. No matter how far around the world I travel, I still see that it is important to at least attempt to remain in touch with the ones that you love you the most. 

Hopefully, I will remember to plug this thing in more often so I can make calls to others but, knowing how terrible I am with keeping tabs on my cell phone, I find it doubtful at the moment. 

Before I leave for my evening class, a couple of interesting Irish facts streamed through my head about the lecture yesterday.

Ireland is a place that was ruled for over 900 years by other countries with 800 of those years by Great Britain. 

Also, the native language of Ireland, Gaelic, was the most prominent language used here until the early 1800s when jobs required Irish countrymen to speak English on the job. 

In fact, the professor discussed about a scenario he was in and a movie that displayed a similar scenario where some fellow countrymen are quick to call people that speak Gaelic 'foreigners' now because of its ancient roots and little use in everyday life. 

To imagine that in America, it would be like Spanish becoming the official language and us being told that English is no longer allowed to be spoken in general.

Finally, my professor told us that a lot of people would be surprised about how racist Irish people could truly be at others. As of now, I haven't encountered anything to that extent (or at least I haven't noticed it), but I will enjoy my experience here until such a thing occurs.

Alright then, I'm off to class and to relax some more this evening. Have a great day back in the States and to others that I met around the world. Now that I have everything set up, I plan on uploading pictures and posting them here so that there is more visualization to this blog. Cheers!

I have a home!!

So yesterday, I discussed about how I was homeless and how weird it was to not have a place to call my own.

A couple of hours after my post, I had another interview with another place and it went well enough that they asked me to be their roommate an hour later.

.......what a relief to finally come to a place to store my stuff, lay out, and now let myself to do other important things here in Dublin.

For example, I could not open a bank account nor extend my stay here through the Garda until I got a permanent address here.

My roommates are going to be three Irish guys and a French girl and I'm happy to live with thus far. The location is near the center of Dublin and the cost is low compared to most of the other apartments on the apartment search site.

Also, in my brief time in the apartment thus far, I have learned quite a bit about unique places in Dublin that are not highly publicized by tourist sites.

Hopefully, I can go to some of these places and take some pictures and post them on here.

Also, today was the FIRST DAY of classes!!! Yay!!

I had only one class today called Irish Cultural Studies II and the professor was very animated and passionate about Irish Culture and the topics that will be discussed about this semester.

One thing that was interesting was that the minority in the class were students from the United States.
There were a good bit of students from Germany and France, which prompted the professor to talk in French at random times during the class.

For example, Daniel Day-Lewis, the starring actor for the movie Lincoln, is from Ireland. Also, as noted in an early blog post, Jonathan Swift, creator of Gulliver's Travels, is from Dublin too.

Also, the professor was so fascinating with knowing every person in the room and where he is from. That just goes to show how much you can remember if you simply attempt to identify one particular fact or event with a person.

I really enjoyed the class and, despite being later in the day, I liked the class structure and openness of it as well.

After that, I went out to dinner at this Asian restaurant called Neon. My dish was a combination of yellow curry and noodles and it was delicious. The curry had an unexpectedly sweet taste to it and, by adding to the noodles, created a soup that was pleasant to drink afterwards.

On the way to pick up my stuff from my temporary housing to my new apartment room, my friend and I stopped by the Temple Bar area and relaxed and listened to the live music and banter by the bartender on the sound system during breaks.

Also, there is this map in the back of the place that shows how Dublin looked from the 9th century to about the 16th century. It was fun trying to identify streets and names of places that existed back then and remain to this day.

For those interested in historical places, Dublin Castle, St. Stephen's Green, and a couple of roads were listed on the map and there was considerably less shown on the map in comparison to the one now.

The most fascinating part was being able to picture how Dublin went from the wee little town it was in this town to expanding east, west, north, and south around noticeable landmarks over the years, decades, and centuries.

Finally, my friend and I picked up my stuff from the apartment by my friends from Germany and Mexico. It was a bittersweet moment because this truly meant the end of the 'hostel life' and the beginning of focusing on what I need to do. I told them that we will keep in touch and then my friend and I began to depart.

Initially, taking the taxi was the original plan but I decided to see how we feel about walking to O'Connell's Street and decide then if to take a taxi since that road has enough taxis for the entire population of Indianapolis haha. Somehow, we fought through and walked the entire trip to my new place. I measured it on Google Maps after doing it and found that it was about a mile walk between the places. By doing the walk, we saved about 10 euros in cost and got a tremendous workout and chat. Also, I saved myself a potential headache with dealing with another stressed-out taxi driver. Do I recommend doing it? Probably not. However, it was a great time and challenge to do to navigate through Dublin.

Since I have not discussed it yet, the story behind the taxi driver is really brief but pretty remarkable in my eyes.

So my friends from Germany and Mexico and myself were being taken to their flat with our suitcases because.. well.. I packed too much and needed a taxi.

Anyway, the taxi driver never engaged us in conversation and seemed to be a really upset fellow. Nevertheless, we arrived at the place and I was so relieved of all the help that I decided to pay the entire fare, which was 9 euros. Also, I was going to ask them if they could give a tip for his help but they were pre-occupied with getting the stuff out of the cab.

So I go up to the driver and I was just making sure that I got the fare correct while I waited on them to take the stuff out of the car and then he absolutely blew up on me in disgust saying 'Oh so no tip for all those bags.' My reply was 'Huh? Sir, I was going to get the ladies to give the tip but they are getting the bags out.'
His reply was simply 'Don't bother' and, as I attempted to give him something in remorse, he stormed to the car and nearly drove off before they got everything out.

I felt bad about the entire situation and looking back, I should have had the tip with it. However, the way he carried on was so sad and disrespectful. Oh well.. like the old saying 'You can't please them all.'

I have yet to unpack my stuff but I am tired and feeling lazy about doing it tonight. Until then, I hope you all have a great night!

And So It Begins…

Finally, I have arrived at my blog post for today. It is unreal… my first day of school is tomorrow! I remember going to registration this past Wednesday and being faced with the most unusual title: I’m an international student. No longer is it a title reserved for Chinese, Indians, Koreans, etc. but it is a title that also reflects Americans as well when we go abroad.

Being an international student, that means that I have students from even more countries such as Holland, Germany, Italy, and others.

The only class that I’m officially registered for right now is Irish Cultural Studies from 4p-6p on Mondays. I have to set up the rest of my schedule tonight but, fortunately, we do not have to formally register until two weeks into the semester so I have time but I want it done tonight so I can get an idea about all of the courses I am taking this semester.

The apartment situation may be taken care of in the near future or as a prolonged process but all I can do now is just take it with stride and fight on with the upcoming challenges of school, which includes developing my thesis.

Also, as shown in one of my photos on Facebook, my group and I got stopped in the middle of Dublin to do an interview for a video they are creating for energy sustainability. It was basically based around a video called ’50 People 1 Question’ on YouTube. It was really interesting and it was cool to be a part of the video at such an opportune time.

Hopefully, it will be something interesting to watch in the final product haha.

I’m Homeless!!

… I do not think I would have ever uttered those words but I am currently homeless. It is a very weird and surreal feeling to know what it feels like to not have a home. For starters, it is a sad and unwelcoming feeling to not have a place that you can truly say that is where you live.

Since Friday, 18/1/2013, I have searched feverishly on DAFT and set up countless appointments and visits to places around Dublin. The first couple of days went great and I had one place that was ready to accept me. However, I did not accept it because I was waiting to hear back from the responses of other places in better locations and at much cheaper prices.

Unfortunately, after the joy of having that initial opportunity, the process has been devastating and exhausting to say the least. Instead of searching for what class I am doing throughout the week, it has been filled with searching endlessly for another flat to rent or a room to share for 4-5 months.

None of it pales in comparison  to the disappointment that is felt to set up an appointment, clear the rest of the day around that appointment, get ready for it, head over there, and text to ensure that you are there to find out that they just gave away the apartment.

To date, it has happened five times and is painful to bear with every time. However, I remain optimistic and ecstatic to be able to get to live here for the next few months. Unfortunately, by not being able to set up shop anywhere, I am essentially living out of my suitcases for the time being.

I had the fortunate opportunity to be able to stay on the couch of a flat that is owned by two girls that I met in my hostel family. I really do not know how to respond by the sheer support and encouragement that I received from them and others but it is definitely encouraging.

To anyone worrying back home, I am doing great and am not in a bad situation at all. However, it is just grand to think about how, without them or meeting others here, I could have potentially been in a tough situation of going hostel to hostel or hotel to hotel trying to find a room since the hostel I had was booked for the weekend. My hope is to remain here for a maximum of 2 weeks and, if still unable to find a place, I will bounce between places that have other students in my programs until I secure a place.

Therefore, be patient and courteous to those around you because you never know what may happen that may place you in a situation that relies on others to help you out.

Hostel Life & Cultural Infusion

I have NEVER heard of a hostel until I had to look up cheap ways to travel in November before this trip. A hostel can definitely be a wonderful experience or the worst experience of your travels. Either way, hostel living gives you an indication of your patience with others and how important personal space is to you.

I ENJOYED living in a hostel… I really said it… living in a hostel was a wonderful experience. I stayed in one from Wednesday, 16/1/2013 until Saturday, 26/1/2013 and thought it was going to be complete &*%*$*%&*$*$*%*&…. Yeah every expletive in the book based on the price. However, there is something special about bringing people with a similar ideal together for a brief time period.

Off the top of my head, I recall meeting and hanging out with people from Ireland, England, Finland, France, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, California, Washington, Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Belgium.

I never imagined meeting all of these different types of people during my stay, let alone in about a week’s time. One of my French roommates, for example, is married, has two daughters, and is here looking for work as well as to learn English. For most of my duration here so far, he has been like a father figure for me, even coming with me to a couple of my apartment visits, which I will discuss about later.

In fact, I had a wonderful hostel family that really came together within one day. Try to imagine this if you can.. a group of people comprising from New Zealand, Australia, Germany, France, Mexico, Italy and Canada as well as myself all working together for one another and hanging out around the city.

One of my fondest memories was when we went out one night as a group of about 13 people. That was a lot of fun and it was interesting speaking and helping others discuss with my ‘mother tongue’ (English).

Also, it really shows the immense interest that many people have in speaking English and the lengths they are willing to go to learn it. One Italian told me recently that, for you, learning other languages is something that you want to do.. English is a language that we MUST learn.

I try to take advantage of any opportunity that I can invest in and I really want to learn the basics of other languages. Therefore, I have started setting up deals with a friend that speaks German, another that speaks French, and another that speaks Italian to hopefully learn the basics of these languages over the duration that I am here in exchange for me speaking and helping them with English and, in one case, Spanish. There is a small chance of it working out but I do want to help them out by speaking in English as much as I can for them. Either way, I think by doing that, we both are invested in helping out each other and are more motivated to making it work out.

Another fond memory was one night when we had a family dinner. The Italian in our group cooked pasta and the French man cooked up steaks and we added our own touchings to the meal after it was done. In that moment, it really made me think… we were together for about one week but we really became a family that looked out for each other, cooked for one another, hung out with each other, and, most importantly, appreciated one another.

I miss the ones that have already left Dublin dearly but am excited for the future opportunities to meet them as well as the ones that I will still have with the ones that still remain here for the next 6 months-1 year.

One interesting topic that we brought up were stereotypes about each other’s cultures and what Europeans typically wanted to visit in the U.S. and what Americans typically wanted to visit in Europe.

For example, even though it’s a small sample size, Europeans typically want to visit New York, Chicago, California, Miami, and Orlando. When you think about it, those are the main cities that typically get broadcasted on an international scale about Americans.

From my perspective, I said places such as Barcelona and Madrid in Spain, Berlin and Munich in Germany, Paris in France, Budapest, Vienna, Dublin, London, Scotland, etc.

From there, we then broke down interesting places to go within some of these countries.

For example, Budapest is a very cheap and amazing place to visit for a great time. Also, in France, I was recommended to see a place called Carcersonne, which has a beautiful castle in the countryside.

Honestly, I probably could sit here all day naming interesting places in each of the European countries but I will leave that for other times in this blog.

Also, I learned about new ways to eat such as toast with tomato, cream cheese , and Swiss cheese for breakfast, and a meal based around gnocchi for dinner. 

Touring around Dublin/Weather

Dublin is a beautiful city and I really like the old-feel architecture of the city. Thus far, I have been able to take a free walking tour that I described in an earlier post and I also took a free bus tour as well. I looked up the prices for those combined and it would have costed around 30 euros, or about $40.

In my brief time here, I can honestly say that Dublin is not the place to come to in order to see countless attractions such as a city such as Orlando, New York, Chicago, etc. The main attractions that I have identified so far are: the ancient look of the pubs, Trinity College’s ‘Book of Kells’, Natural History Museum, Archaeology Museum, History Museum, Dublin Castle, Guiness Factory, St. Stephen’s Green, The Spire, Temple Bar area, and maybe the tours around the city.

Realistically, I think, in a weekend, you could soak in most of the attractions of the city and feel that you have seen all that you needed to see in Dublin.

However, the biggest reason why I think it would take much longer than a weekend is due to the weather. One  stereotypical view of Ireland is that it is similar to Seattle where it rains A LOT. Well.. it is  very true. If you are not a fan of many cloudy days filled with rain and wind, you will be annoyed of Dublin very quickly. I personally have grown to enjoy the pleasant feeling of walking in the rain. Most of the time, it is more similar to the rain in Indiana where the rain is a gentle mist. In contrast, rain in Florida is not generally viewed the same because the typical rain is an extreme downpour that leaves you drenched from head to toe.

I do miss the sun sometimes and wish for it to come out because there is something enriching about just laying out in the sun and feeling the warmth trickle through the skin. I have to say though that I really appreciate the days when it is sunny because, thus far, they are few and far in between haha.

As for the people here, I realized quickly to just not make eye contact nor talk to people on the streets unless it is absolutely necessary. The mentality is very similar to other cities such as New York and Chicago where people are in a hurry to get somewhere and hate to be bothered along the way.

I learned how to keep a straight, neutral face while roaming the streets in the city before and it hasn’t bugged me that much. Just like with different cultures, different environments yield different approaches and responses and, after adjusting, I too find myself just wanting to get where I need to go and not wanting to be bothered along the way. Also, with the number of beggars and soliciting people in the city, there are ample reasons to keep yourself moving but also be aware of traffic and everything around you to avoid being pickpocketed or hit by a car.

Also, Dublin is a safe city in my opinion but has its rough patches that need to be avoided at all costs at night. The typical notion is that the north part of the city is more rough the further north that you go and should be avoided, especially at night.

However, I find this misleading because this appears true in all directions from the city centre. For example, a couple of Spaniards were robbed a couple of times in a housing dwelling in Rialto, which is a bit southwest of the city centre and I know there are some areas east such as Irish town that should be avoided, too.

For the most part, I have heard of ladies walking alone at night and not having a bother around the city centre so it’s a matter of knowing where to go and how to get there.

For example, do not try to invent shortcuts without having time to spare… it does not work out too well haha. I have gotten lost a few times by trying to take a different street and not realizing that it leads in a completely different direction than I intended. Therefore, a 15-20 minute walk turns into 30,40, and, at its worst, 70 minutes. The streets are not organized by a grid but rather the main roads. Therefore, if you try to abide by navigating based on smaller streets, you will find that they tend not to be located as you imagined.

Also, I have used Google Maps a few times and had a couple of times where the GPS had me going far away from a place. Therefore, I had to turn it off, walk, and hope for the best. It sounds troubling but the adrenaline rush of trying to find a place you have never been to is incredible.

Furthermore, I think it is much easier to remember a place that you stumbled and struggled to get to rather than a place found for you by Google Maps. (Note: I am not disregarding the use of Google Maps but beware that, sometimes, it may lead you to the wrong place like other GPS programs and be prepared to enjoy the experience.)

If there is one place in the city, besides the pubs, that I can recommend to anyone, it will be St. Stephen’s Green. This park is absolutely gorgeous and is right in the middle of the city similar to Central Park in New York. The set-up is a comforting sight and has animals such as pidgeons (typical city bird), ducks, and swans. As long as it is not downpouring, I want to try to go to that park as much as I can because it is, in my opinion, the eye(park) of the storm (city).

Also, for those that feel they can’t live without American establishments, there are clothing stores such as American Apparel and Timberland as well as food stores such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Chipotle (good luck trying to figure out the name over here), and Starbucks.

The music in some of the pubs are remarkably refreshing. I heard from a couple of people here that is great talent in Dublin to be shown on the international stage and.. some of these musicians are tremendous. If you are looking for street show performances, I recommend going to Grafton Street to listen to some of them. 

Also, I heard that Galway is a great place to go to for its street performances and breath-taking scenic 
views. All I know is that the pubs with musical performances were insanely packed from 7pm – 2 am on the weekend. If you are very interested in going out in this place, DO NOT GO OUT ON SATURDAYS!! If you do not want to listen to me, then at least try to aim for a lesser-known place because the people are really obnoxious and different than any other time of the week.

As for drinking here, the stereotype about Irish drinking A LOT is very true but I feel from, an outsider’s perspective, it is drinking than in America.

Mixed drinks are OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive ($10 and higher) for small amounts in comparison to the States where a large one could be about $5 or less on special nights. In contrast, a pint of Guinness is about 5 euros and Irish cider is about 4 euros (it’s getting hard going back and forth between currency).

So, typically, you will rarely see American beer drank here and for good reason. I have tried Guinness a few times and… I honestly do not know why I ever tried American beer. On top of that, Bailey’s and Irish cider such as Bulmer’s are really good too.

The world talks so much about how much the Irish drink beer here but the quality of taste here is absolutely amazing and makes me wonder about how they do it.

In my opinion, American beer is very carbonated similar to sodas and is drank with the intention to get rid of it as soon as you can. Meanwhile, I find myself sipping on a Guinness for about an hour or so without being in too much of a hurry to get another drink. In fact, it’s really smooth and nice to drink with in a meal.

Also, it is not surprisingly to see Irish head to the pubs around 7-8 pm and not get home until about 1 am or earlier.

Ohh.. and about the food, there are some really nice Irish foods such as Irish Stew and Shepherd’s Pie but I really like just the wonderful taste of foods in general here. I do not know how to really describe it but the food just tastes less processed and more fresh.

Finally, anyone that desires to come to Dublin to see how Irish people live will be dissapointed for the most part except in the nightlife because Dublin is an international city. Therefore, you will find people from all over the world working in the city centre for various reasons and this leads into my next blog post.

Irish Words

I was talking on Facebook to a couple of people back in the United States and I realized that a couple of words that I have learned here have already been integrated into my vocabulary.

Before I left, I joked with my girlfriend that I need to find new words to replace ‘interesting’ because I abuse that word so much that, at times, things don’t appear interesting anymore.

Therefore, I was fortunate to come here and realize that there are a couple of words that I have learned that I can’t fathom not using anymore.

So many people use the word ‘grand’ and it’s a wonderful word to use. For example, instead of saying ‘I’m doing fine’, the typical response is ‘I’m doing grand’. Honestly, just saying that sounds more pleasant than the American response and I love using it from time to time.

Another word is ‘brilliant’. In America, we typically ‘That sounds great.’,’That’s great’,’Great’, etc. Here, you just replace great with brilliant and I feel it adds some excitement to any conversation.

One expression that I learned that I probably will never use in the United States is ‘what the crack?’. This typically means ‘What’s going on?’, ‘How’s everything?’. The problem with this expression is that I even find myself having to backtrack when I hear it because I think someone is openly asking about where the drug ‘crack’ is located. However, it was a grand experience last week when an Irish man asked me ‘What the crack?’ and I instinctively said ‘Nothing much man’ and left him smiling because I knew what he said.

Finally, the last expressions that I have enjoyed learning is ‘Thanks a million’ or ‘Thanks a mil’ and ‘Cheers’.

I have talked to other Americans and people from other European countries on how to respond to ‘Thanks a million’ and it has befuddled us because my response would be ‘Your welcome… a mil’ haha. Anyway, I talked to an Irish woman in our program the other day and she said that the response is typically ‘No worries’ or you could say ‘No problem’.

As for cheers, I have found it is used to toast for drinks and to wish people to have a great day before departing.

Therefore, I hope that you had a grand time reading through the Irish words that I heave learned thus far. It’s brilliant that words in different places are used more beautifully than in other parts of the world. Thanks a million for reading this update and I hope you have a brilliant time today. Cheers!

Week Summary Blog

Usually, I will tend to focus on doing a daily blog or do posts every couple of days but, due to constantly searching for apartments and not being able to just sit down and focus for a bit, it has gotten all jumbled up this week.

Instead of highlighting individual days, I will summarize key events from this past week or so in a couple of blog posts to describe what I have gone through and what I am going to be doing soon. Cheers and I apologize about the late posts. 

The Eye in the Storm

The previous two days were insane with the amount of things that I encountered and God knows that I deserve a day that went according to my plans. 

This is why today was the "Eye in the Storm". 

Yesterday, I became really quick friends with my roommates and, fortunately, I requested for one of them to help wake me up by 8:30 am because I had a meeting with my professor at 9:30 am and I wanted to eat breakfast as well as not be late. 

On the dot, he woke me up at 8:30 and he told me it was the third time that he woke me up but I guess the third time's the charm. 

After that, we all got ready and went down to breakfast and met a couple more people from Italy and Australia. 

Being in the hostel has been an unbelievable experience and I have had a joy so far. The most difficult part has been the language barrier at times. I understood it a little bit when speaking with Spanish people in Florida but seeing this can't really be expressed in words. 

Instead of getting frustrated with them, I try to applaud them with the simplest of words and, when I respond,  I try to use my hands to express the action that I'm trying to say. For example, I would tell someone fluent in English that I went around Dublin to talk with my professor, eat, and hang out at a local museum. In a mixed cultural group like this, I speak broken English and find myself saying 'I walked around *simultaneously show running motion with hands* Dublin today and went to natural history museum *point to it on the visitor map*'

It's been really sweet because, although I aspire to be an engineer, I have also had a love to teach others, which is why I was a math tutor at Purdue for the past three years. The three characteristics that I developed and applied were: patience, creativity, and dedication.

As for today, I made it to my meeting with my professor on-time and found out that he hadn't started his previous meeting yet but I was more than welcome to sit in on the meeting. To sum it up, I am very grateful to have had that opportunity. There were a few interesting twists in the discussion such as him using an example of Usain Bolt focused in the 100 meters to the scope of a project. Also, I imagined when he discussed about a 3D model that resembled knowledge, competence, and skill and how, in comparison, those three will be higher or lower based on the project that you are trying to attempt. However, recognize your limitations and strengths and adapt to it.

Afterwards, he had his discussion with me and my wonderful adventures around Dublin thus far. Also, we discussed about what was coming up in the next couple of weeks, what classes that I planned on taking, and different things to start taking care of before school begins.

After the meeting, I hung out with a fellow Irish friend in the program and he showed me around Dublin (and some shortcuts to get around). Also, we ate at an Irish fast food restaurant called Super Mac (not a McDonald's restaurant haha). Per suggestion, I ordered the loaded fries with mayonnaise and another sauce and it was delicious and filling. 

Then, he helped me finally get a phone at a decent price and pay rate so that I can finally communicate to others around Ireland. Yay!!

Also, we went to the Natural History Museum and it was a gorgeous sight. The first room consisted of so much jewelry from as early as 750 B.C. From then on, the different rooms continued to be remarkable.

There was a row boat that looked like a tree trunk and was MASSIVE. I really wish that I could take photographs but it was not allowed in the museum. Considering that it was free, I guess I didn't have much room to complain haha. Furthermore, we saw a man that was died in a bog hundreds of years ago that still had his hair preserved and his facial features too.

It was a little creepy but I started to imagine a horror flick based on the details depicted on how he was killed. Apparently, he was killed by an axe in some way and his remains were left in the bog. In case you do not know what a bog is, a possible similarity could be the Florida Everglades. Apparently, it is an area where precipitation is very high and evaporation is very low.

All in all, I had a blast and, for the rest of the day, I have just been relaxing in the hostel and enjoying not being lost all around the town. 

Next up is to hang out with other people tonight and start searching for an apartment tomorrow. 

Lost in Dublin

After getting off the airplane, my list of blunders continued to mount.

I got through customs smoothly and headed to the bus station. Upon arriving, I forgot to take out euros from the ATM. I looked for a way to cross the street but there was no way to cross the street due to fences and signs saying DO NOT CROSS.

For awhile, I sat bewildered about what I could do next in order to get euros from the ATM. I finally asked the tenant at the bus station and he directed me to take the lift and then walk to the airport through the same bridge that I walked across to get over.

In case you didn't know, a lift is what they call an elevator.

I finally find the ATM in the airport and then tried to withdraw euros from it. Unfortunately, after three tries, the ATM kept saying that it was unable to read my card. I even tried my credit card and had no success. At this point, I was ready to panic because those were the only two cards that I have and, without being able to retrieve money from them, I will be in a lot of trouble traveling around Dublin.

In a last ditch effort, I went to another ATM and tried my card once again. Lo and behold, the card worked and I was able to retrieve some euros from it to pay for my bus ticket.

The bus ride gave a wonderful perspective of what Dublin looked like as a city. There are no skyscrapers that you would find in cities such as Chicago, Miami, and New York. However, the traffic was a joy and terror to watch. Bicycles and motorcycles weave in and out of traffic and pedestrians walk with a purpose in the street, sometimes not caring if they don't have the right of way.

After getting off the bus, I estimated that it should take me about 15-20 minutes to walk and find the hostel. Well... that didn't go to plan. I even tried asking someone for directions to the place and he said that he did not know, which did not help matters. I ended up turning on every street and corner around the hostel before finally finding it an hour later.

I checked in at the hostel at around 10:00 (about 5:00 AM EST) but they said that I couldn't get the key to my room until check-in at 2:30. Fortunately, they stored my luggage away until that time period but I was unsure of what to do for the next 4.5 hours.

I went to the common room and met people from Seattle, California, and Idaho. We each talked about how we ended up here and two of the girls said that there was a free tour of Ireland occurring at 11:00 if any of us were interested.

I decided to go on the tour and found out that it would be a 3 hour tour of Dublin and it was remarkable how much information the tour guide knew about Dublin.

He told us about the history of Dublin Castle and how the original spot of it used to be a castle but the modern arrangement only has the prison part of the castle remaining from a kitchen fire that burned down most of the castle. The area consisted of architecture from the castle, modern times, and Georgian architecture. In fact, some travelers come to the Castle simply to look at  the architecture of the doors there.

After that, we walked out to this large courtyard and we were told that this courtyard was actually a very intricate and well-designed helicopter pad based on Celts' designs.

Next, he introduced us to Veronica Guerin, whom was an Irish journalist who did amazing journalism on the heroine drug scene in Ireland. Unfortunately, like he said, she did such an amazing job that she was assassinated by a countryman in the 1990s but has a statue bust commemorating her efforts in cleaning up Ireland unlike anyone else before her.

After that, he discussed about Jonathan Swift. I had no idea that Swift was an Irish man and neither did I know that he was a wealthy Protestant that created these satires about Ireland and Britain policies.

His most famous satire is Gulliver's Travels. Although I did not see the movie, he said that the movie was a disgrace to the beauty of the book and that the actors such as Jack Black were piss poor choices for the movie.

About Irish stereotypes, here were the ones that the tour guide claimed were true: the Irish do indeed drink a bit, the weather is cold, cloudy, and rainy for most of the year, and that some have the 'irish accent'.

Unfortunately, most Irish people do not have the stereotypical Irish accent and are offended when people are in disbelief that they do not speak exactly like that.

The Spire, or the "Prick with the Stick", is Ireland's largest statue. It looks exactly like a large toothpick hence the mockery of a nickname. It was created to proclaim Ireland's resurgence entering the new millennium and to have a structure that 'cleansed itself'. Unfortunately, neither occurred and it is not viewed popularly among the locals.

There was so many stories that he shared along the tour, including one concerning the two famous pages shown in the Book of Kells in Trinity College. Apparently, it is an extremely old religious manuscript that is extremely popular among tourists.

However, the most fascinating fact was that Martin Luther King Jr. and Ghandi were influenced by an Irish man named Daniel O'Connell and his pacifist efforts in Ireland. I find that fascinating because history always says that Ghandi influenced Martin Luther King Jr. but it rarely discusses about other influences on their efforts such as O'Connell. Therefore, this is why O'Connell is highly revered in Dublin and has a street and a statue in his remembrance.

After the tour, I checked into my room and hung out for a little bit before trying to find my professor at DIT. Well.. long story short, a 20 minute walk turned into a 2-hour adventure where I gave up halfway looking for the building and tried looking for stuff that I needed at local stores. One in particular was a three-prong power converter. I got passed to four different stores before the last one told me that I didn't need it because the laptop's charger is sufficient with European standards.

Also, I got lost trying to re-locate my steps now that it was nighttime and I was walking around the city differently than before. Fortunately, I found a couple of familiar landmarks and eventually stitched my way back to the hostel.

All I can say is what a day, what a day but thank God Almighty that I am safe.

The final thing that I did before posting this blog is what I should have did the first time: get a visitor map guide of Dublin haha.

The Journey to Ireland

Let's just say that, although I'm in a different country, I still can't avoid having wonderful traveling stories. 

First, I arrived at Fort Lauderdale Airport yesterday 90 minutes before my flight to Newark, NJ. Somehow, my mom, my cousin, and I got lost in the parking garage looking for the entrance to the airport. I personally think it was a combination of exhaustion and stress because I was on only 2.5 hours of sleep and played about 3 hours of basketball before getting ready to head to the airport. 

After finding the entrance and checking in, I soon realized that if we would have gotten there two minutes later, there was a chance that I wouldn't have been able to check my bags in since you have to be there at least 60 minutes before the departure flight. 

After that, I had to go through security twice because I forgot to put my toothpaste from my carry-on to my check-in baggage. Fortunately, I got to the gate with plenty of time but, before boarding, I got checked again via a random check on passengers by TSA before boarding the flight. 

All in all, the rest of the flight to Newark, NJ was smooth and I didn't talk to my neighbors on the flight because I was so exhausted. 

In Newark, NJ, I found out the issues of when you rush too much. Before boarding my flight to Dublin, I realized that I had to go to the bathroom really bad. Not wanting to have to wait any longer, I rushed to the nearest restroom. After turning the corner, I soon realized that I have added my name to the list of guys that accidentally walked into the girls' restroom. 

To make matters more fitting, I bumped into two cleaning personnel upon exiting the restroom. The lady couldn't stop laughing and the guy called me a 'paca'. I assumed that it was Spanish and meant to say stupid or something like that but I hadn't heard it before so I wasn't too sure. After looking it up, it is Portuguese for a 'fool, idiot'. After going to the restroom, I talked to them briefly before heading to the line to board my flight. 

On the flight, I realized that I was not tired and, thankfully, we all had TVs for the flight. Therefore, I decided to spend some time watching a movie. The first movie that I watched was 'Pitch Perfect', which is about acapella singing groups that enter a competition. I could go into more details but, in case you were interested in watching the movie, I rather not ruin it for you. 

My take-away from the movie is that I REALLY want to see an acapella group perform live, especially if they have a similar take like in the movie. Honestly, it is a movie like this that shows how music can be so entertaining in so many different art forms. 

The second movie that I saw was Men in Black III. The beginning was a little bland but I really liked how the movie built up through the rest of it. My personal take-away from this movie is that, sometimes, we just can't handle the answers to the persistent questions in our lives. 

It begins...

Sometimes, it just does not seem real. I have been awarded the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to Ireland and Spain in the next year as a part of Purdue's Atlantis program through the College of Technology. Today, I begin the journey to travel to Ireland from January 16th until late May-early June. During this time, I will be working and constructing my thesis proposal in Energy Sustainability, Technology & Innovation.

I have always wanted to do study abroad while I was an undergraduate at Purdue but I never seized the opportunity until I got accepted into this program.

I have 10 hours of traveling to deal with today but I can't wait to see what this trip will bring overall in my life and my studies.

I already have temporary housing at a local hostel for 5 nights but I hope to find an apartment to move into before the end of the weekend.

Also, I plan to meet up with my major professor once I arrive to discuss about my living arrangements and what I expect to do in the following semester.

Hopefully, I can keep this blog updated frequently with my experiences abroad and my progress with my project.

As for everyone back home, I hope everything is going well and I love all of you guys and hope to keep in touch with you guys.