June 17

First day of work today. It was sort of an orientation day, just to get used to what I'll be doing, so It was supposed to just be from 10am-11:30am. So since I assumed I wouldn't take many pictures while working...I decided to document my journey there for you many, many readers out there. By the way... I got all the way there without taking the directions out of my pocket! (PS- That's freaking impressive.)

(Step 1: Leave Shanowen Square.)

(Step 2: Walk to Swords Road.)

(Step 3: Take bus 16 into City Centre.)

(Step 4: Walk from O'Connell Street to Lower Abbey Street.)

(Step 5: Hop on the Luas.)

(Step 6: Ride the Luas until the stop before Black Horse, with the street name in Gaelic I can't pronounce.)

(Step 7: Leave the Luas; cross the bridge.)

(Step 8: Walk by Common Ground's installation at St Michael's Estate.)

(Step 9: I'm 15 minutes early American time, which is about 30 minutes early Irish time, so I stop by Spar and grab some water and read the free paper I got earlier.)

(Yeah.. these are the kind of things the Irish paper talks about...)

(The Irish paper always has this short "and finally" section..and it's always something funny and super bizarre.)


Now I'm at work. The first part of the day I spent taking these giant sheets of brainstorming sheets they had scribbled from a previous meeting, and trying to make them into typed documents. The people I work with are really nice and funny, but they have a TON of big events coming up next week, so we have our work cut out for us. I've met sooo many clients and associates etc already. They already gave me a key, taught me how to work their security system, and gave me a company email. I'm overwhelmed...or as my boss Sihoban says "Rachel's undergoing a baptism of fire."

(To be typed.)

(That's Irma in the corner.)

(That's my desk, and my computer they have for me.)

So I was supposed to get off at 11:30 (half-eleven the Irish say) but with Irish timekeeping that turned into quarter to twelve. Then I left and grabbed the Luas in a hurry to meet the girls back in City Centre. (None of them had to work till Monday.)

(The Luas back to town.)

Finally got back and met the girls at Eddy Rockets. As you can probably tell, we try to find the most American places to eat. I know we are in Ireland and should try the foreign food... but really... no.

(Lunchtime.)


After lunch, we were STILL in search of the bus passes we need for the next six weeks. So we needed to first go and get the "Student Travel Cards" which in theory allow discounts on things like the bus, the luas, the train, some restaurants, movies, clubs, etc. So we went off to Trinity College to get them. Trinity College is like this really old really famous REALLY beautiful college in Dublin.



(We're here.)

(Absolutely beautiful. And we didn't even take the real tour, we just walked around. Every single building on campus was amazing.)

(Oh hey Kim. How's your head?)

(Happy Birthday!!)

(It's really rare that we can get group pictures, since we are skeptical to trust people with our cameras. This picture is wonderful to me for that reason.)

(Wouldn't it be amazing to go to college on this campus everyday?)

(Think we're tourists?)

(Think we're tourists now?)

(That's Megan.)

(Just incredible.)

(David Thompson: I took this picture for you.)


So we got our student travel cards and toured Trinity a little bit. The famous library was closed early that day, so we'll have to go back another day. So I told the group that I really wanted to go see the graduate art show at the National College of Art and Design, and I knew not everyone would want to make that trek, but turns out they were interested! So we went on another adventure to find the grad art show!

(On the way to the grad show we passed Dublina Castle.)

(This warrants a tour one day, too.)

(Becky's pretty awesome.)

(At one point, only half the group made it across the street before the cars came. So we took a picture while we waited of course... PS- Dublina in the background.)

(In Ireland, these guys give out free newspapers to cars when they are at stoplights.)

(Dublin is gorgeous.)

(We found the grad show!!)

(I really loved the photography.)

(Ceramics department.)

(Sculpture show.)

(Amber: This picture from the fashion show was taken just for you.)

(This was my favorite exhibit! All based on Lewis Carroll poetry and all these insane tableaux images with speakers in the frames saying the poem.)

(Hanging around NCAD.)

(Just so you know.. it wasn't raining. Like..not at all.)

Leaving NCAD, we ran into this woman. She started talking to Mandy because she said she looked Irish. Mandy said, no she was Danish. This sparked a huge, like 15 minute long conversation about the Vikings that we couldn't get away from.


(Yeaahhh...)

(Ken this photo was for you... this is the closest I've gotten to a golf course.)


Alright, to wrap up the busy day, we had our "gift" dinner from EUSA. Taking place at the Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Ireland, we had a magical night :). We were served three courses of traditional Irish food and between each course, a professional storyteller came in to tell us tales about the Irish's past...and current...belief in fairies, about folklore and storytelling in Irish history, and about potatoes and the famines. We were nervous about the food, and planning on eating again, but it actually wasn't bad.

(The pub from across the street.)

(Brazen Head.)

:)

(By the way...this is how the Irish make you flush toilets...)

(Hanging in the outdoor bar while we wait. Maggie and Kim.)

(Julie and Becky.)

(John, Jenny, and myself.)

(Yeah.. they're playing the Simpsons...)

(Typical Dublin.)

(This whole room is one third of the EUSA interns.)

(Course 1: Minestrone.)

(The storyteller.)

(Course 2: Guinness Beef Stew.)

(Course 3: The most amazing chocolate cake ever. Seriously.)

(All done.)

(John on the bus home.)