Day 5: Move-in day! and Temple bar?!

Today was rather eventful. We moved out of Ariel House and into the dorms on University College Dublin campus! It's actually like an apartment. There are six people to an apartment, and we each have our own room and bathroom. Our front door opens to a hallway, with 3 rooms on each side and another door to the right leading to the kitchen/living area. Unfortunately, there are no TVs. BUT, it's about time I learn to live without it! ;)

After we got to our rooms, we had a brief orientation and tour of the campus. It is GORGEOUS! It was another beautiful day, so that really impacted it for sure. But there are about 22,000 undergrads at UCD, which is the largest university in all of Ireland. Unfortunately, practically every student goes home for the summer, so we won't get to meet too many local students.

After unpacking and getting situated, we went grocery shopping in the city centre. Then everybody went to William & Searsons for linner (yes, linner! lunch + dinner!) and a pint.

Later this evening, we went to Temple bar! Temple bar is not just one bar. It's actually 2 large squares of pure pubs, which equals about 5 or 6 blocks, maybe more. Tonight, however, we went to the original Temple Bar, which is a single bar located in Temple bar area. I had my first Guinness tonight! And I actually liked it! I also had Bulmers cider, which is also amazingly tasty. Big fan. A local Irish band played and we met people from all over the world. It was definitely fun!

Tomorrow is our first day of class. Eek! We will officially find out our topic that we will be working on with the HSE (Health Services Executive). Class is going to be from 10 a.m. to noon every weekday. So we will have the afternoons and evenings to study, travel, and further explore Dublin.

I realized I didn't take any pictures today about an hour ago. So, I'm sorry for the lack of photographs! But I'll be sure to take some tomorrow! Goodnight!

From Ireland with love,
Hillary