Arrival in Publin

This past Wednesday evening, I arrived at Chicago O’Hare in the late evening for my Aer Lingus flight. Irish and Americans alike crowded the terminal, identifiable by their familiar accent. Even something as banal as listening to the typical corporate banter of two businessmen was made more exciting simply because they were Irish and it reminded me that in a few short months I would be a part of the Irish corporate world!

The airplane itself was yet another welcoming aspect, given its not-too-crowded, Kelly green interior. After a few questionable Movie-OnDemand choices (Public Enemies, The Ugly Truth – shh, I don’t want to talk about it.), we were over Ireland. A blanket of fog had descended upon the island, obscuring the green landscape, but eventually we broke through it and landed. Stepping off the airplane onto the tarmac (old-school style) a burst of cool but refreshing air found me.

After walking through what was an impressively and excessively long terminal (glorified hallway, more or less, since there weren’t any gates), I arrived at Ireland’s version of customs which was surprisingly low key. Forty-five euro later, my cab dropped me off at University College of Dublin’s Blackrock campus where I met most of the other BU kids.

Blackrock is a quant coastal town that’s like a nicer version of Brookline (the cab driver was pointing out gated houses in excess of several million euro), and conveniently has a little town center with plenty of pubs and eateries.

Prior to our first orientation session, myself and two of the guys had lunch (a pint of Guinness, naturally) and warily made our way to the Belfield UCD campus (a few kilometers away, where our classes are held). After the rather intoxicating wine reception, the first night a few of us went to the highly-recommended “Wicked Wolf” of Blackrock and happened upon Karaoke Thursday.

After a bit of exploring on Friday, I took my first trip on the Dart (the train – very reminiscent of the above ground section of the T, except not shitty) to Dún Laoghaire (pronounced Dun-Leary) with another guy from the program. On the way back, we picked up a few club recommendations from a Trinity College first year, leading to my ridiculous first club experience in Dublin.

To be continued… until then, here are a few more pictures!