HELLO FROM IRELAND!

an irish hello to you, from me, as i have MADE IT and survived a whole 24 hours.  a successful 24 hours at that, but boy, has it been a whirlwind of a day.

my red-eye flight landed in dublin at 11:00 am dublin time - about 40 minutes or so later than schedule, as we were delayed taking off for "maintenance issues" (file that one under "things you don't want to hear as you're sitting on a plane, waiting for it to take off on a 7 hour, cross-continental journey") which left me a comfortable two hours to change and find the bus station.  i'd pre-booked a bus from dublin to dublin center - luas red cow where i transferred to another bus that took me from dublin to limerick.  my first bus was an impressive double decker, so i enjoyed the scenic views from the second story (of course) and the second was a comfortable coach that i climbed on and promptly fell asleep in.

at 4:30 or so my internship supervisor picked me up at one of the bus stops in limerick upon my arrival and kindly drove me to my housing via a mini tour of the city as well as part of campus.  it was such a sweet gesture and made me feel immediately cared for and at home.  she is the perfect representation of the irish people - cheerful, outgoing, hospitable.  i feel so well taken care of, which helps ease the nerves a bit.

after she dropped me off at my residence building, i got checked in and acquainted with the area and quickly unpacked my things, settling in.  by this time it was about 6:00 pm and i sat down on the edge of my bed while i decided on making my next move.  i was hungry - really hungry - because my body was adjusting to the time change as well as the time travel as well as i just plum forgot to eat lunch in the mix of things yesterday, but i was also worn out.  i took my mom's advice to "rest a bit, and then get all giddy and happy!" and decided to lay back on the bed for juuuuust a second.

and the next thing i knew it was midnight, pitch black outside (even though in a bit of mid-sleep tossing and turning i noticed the sun was just setting at 10:00 pm), i was deep under the covers, and my stomach was growling.  loud.

i dug around for the snack bag i packed up for the airplane and laid back in bed while i snacked on chex mix and contemplated life.

in this quiet, late, groggy moment, it all just kind of hit me.  my "oh crap, what am i doing here?" moment, if you will.  in a teary-eyed, sleep-deprived message, i contacted home.  in complete transparency, i shared with my loved ones what i was feeling and each one in their own way comforted me and reassured me that everything would be okay.  and i knew that.  my loved ones are always right.  and tired, hungry rachel is a catastrophizer.  this i also knew.

i quickly fell back asleep and was out for a solid nine hours.  i woke up feeling like a zombie rockstar, ready to conquer my first irish day.

and conquer my first irish day i did, my friends.

i was welcomed into the international office with open arms.  i got my phone all set up, did a little city exploring, met so many funny, kind people, prepared for a jam-packed, awesome week ahead filled with visiting international students, enjoyed first meal along with my first irish tea (stay tuned for my irish firsts!), befriended four adorably sweet german girls staying in my building, went for a run, did some homework, got "groceries" (if bread, peanut butter, cheese, and noodles count) from a nearby supermarket that another woman in the office so generously gave me a "lift" to, and video chatted my beautiful mama.

which brings me to here, 1:00 am, i'm wide awake #jetlagprobz and i have to be up in 6 hours.

i think this is my cue to read some of the pride and prejudice and hope it puts me to sleep as per usual.