Monday, May 5th – Tuesday, May 6th, 2025
When I woke up this morning, at 5:30 AM, I couldn’t imagine myself getting little to no sleep for another 24+ hours, but that’s exactly what happened. This morning brought me a mix of excitement and anxiety. I got a shower, got dressed, triple-checked my list, and then I was on my way.
As someone who has had very limited experience with airports and flying, this experience was a very big step for me. We started with a small flight from Pittsburgh to Charlotte, had a five hour layover, then boarded our flight to Dublin.
I think one of the biggest things that stood out to me was how I watched the sun set and rise all while on the same flight. It was a very discombobulating experience. Add that to my struggle to get any comfortable rest on the plane, it felt like a day that never seemed to end.
When the plane landed at Dublin Airport, it was around 6:00 AM on Tuesday, May 6th. We experienced a 7 hour flight with a 5 hour ahead time-change, making our arrival (technically) one day after we left. We waited about two more hours at the airport for our CEA representative, Dr. Sean Harrington, to arrive. From there, we rode a bus to our new home for the next 17 days, dropped our bags, and then went to the “Centre” for orientation.
Orientation, although an immense struggle to stay awake for (to no fault of Sean’s, it was just a result of intense jet lag) was interesting and informative. Sean and Dublin’s Centre Director, Alessandra, were both very welcoming and understanding. Coffee, snacks, and sandwiches were provided to help keep us awake as they gave us valuable tips and other important bits of information.
Some things that were discussed include:
- A brief history of Dublin and Ireland
- How to contact the CEA CAPA team
- What to do in the case of an emergency
- The different public transportation systems within Dublin
- Supplying us with our public transit cards, or Leap Cards, etc.
After orientation, we had a few hours to ourselves to organize our apartments, rest, and get some shopping done. This marked my first experience at Lidl, which I think is most comparable to an “Irish Aldi”. For my first experience with grocery shopping in a foreign country, I was pleasantly surprised at how similar and different it was. Some of the things that stood out to me include: the labeling on foods (provided very thorough nutrition and allergen information), the fresh baked breads and pastries in the front of the store, the prices (feels much cheaper here!), and the higher security for self-checkout that required you to scan receipts to leave the store.
We ended the evening with an included dinner as a group at a pub called The Brazen Head, which is rumored to be one of the oldest pubs in Ireland. I ordered Bangers and Mash, which is a mashed potato and sausage meal, and for dessert I ordered an apple crumble. Even though I wasn’t completely sure what to expect from “Bangers”, I was pleasantly surprised and found the food to be delicious. I was also just happy to have eaten a real meal that wasn’t airport food.
After dinner, I promptly went to bed, making it to 9:30 PM before crashing for about 12 hours. Although the day felt never ending, it was a great day because now I’M IN IRELAND!!!