Finally here.

After traveling 34 hours (not including the 9 time zones I went through) since leaving Igiugig, I finally arrived in Dublin, Ireland at 7:24 Wednesday morning. The customs officer approved my stay until October 14th, and I will need to meet with the Immigration Beareau at the Garda (police) station with appropriate paperwork by that time to stay the full year. My baggage also made the journey (whew!). The university has started a meet-and-greet program for students new to Dublin, so a girl (whose name I don't think I can spell correctly) from the university met me on my way out and helped me grab the bus to Trinity. She showed me a couple of key places around the university, and I got a taxi to my hotel. I was able to drop my luggage off, but like most hotels check-in wasn't until 2 pm. So I found a coffee shop, explored the city by foot, and tried to figure out which stores would have the things I will need to buy shortly (sheets, towels, a hairdryer, food, etc.). Other than Burger King and McDonalds, I don't really recognize any store names, and the concept of a store like Target has not arrived in the city yet. The shower I took once my room was ready was one of the best of my life. And I slept really well that night.

This morning I had a large breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs, rashers (bacon), cheese, yogurt, tomato, and coffee. I definitely wasn't hungry for lunch after that. I am now a fully registered, student ID-carrying member of Trinity College. I am halfway through opening a bank account with the Bank of Ireland, though that process takes a little while. And now I am off to see a guy about my apartment. Tomorrow is the postgraduate orientation, so I should get to meet a few more people then. So far, so good.