The Trip Here

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Some of the stuff that will be included in these entries will probably not interest you. Sorry. Feel free to skip anything you don't care about! This is going to be like my travel journal, so some of the stuff that is included is more for me to remember and not because I necessarily think everyone cares about everything I'm going to be doing.


And now, on with the trip here!
I was nervous, I'll admit it. I always am before I go on an adventure - whether it be to camp Oxford, IU, Israel, BCI or anywhere where I don't really know what I'm getting myself into, I will always spend anywhere between a week ahead of my departure to a day before totally and completely freaking out. This is my normal process and I'm used to it, but it means that I always make a point to start off as positively as possible. Great idea in theory, but this doesn't take into account Murphy's Law which was in full effect after my dad dropped me off at the airport shortly after 5am Sunday morning.

After asking whether I should be in the domestic or international line for check-in at United, I was directed to the international line, where, upon trying to use the machine, I was electronically informed that I had to go to Aer Lingus at the Bradley terminal on the other side of LAX. I hopped on the shuttle bus, frustrated and got to Bradley, where I asked someone who worked there where I could find the Aer Lingus section. He told me they didn't open until 2pm, which made catching a 6.50am flight rather difficult. He sent me back to United so I got back on the shuttle bus to return to Terminal 7 and United Airlines. By now, I'll admit I was utterly frustrated, trying not to cry hysterically and totally afraid of missing my flight. By the time I got back to United, it was a quarter to 6. I asked the first person I saw where exactly I should go, since I was running out of time and I didn't know which line to get in. They sent me to the paper ticket line, even though I had an e-ticket, so I asked someone else. She didn't work for United, but she found a man who did, who took me to a free check-in machine, got the same message I got and then directed me to a woman who quickly checked me in. I finally had my boarding ticket, and I could only hope that my suitcase got on the right plane.

From then on, everything went smoothly. I arrived in Chicago after sleeping the whole flight, got in a cab and was off to meet Cayle! The cabdriver's name was Beck. I learned that he and his wife had gone on their honeymoon to Hawaii, that they were expecting a baby girl in December, and that he was studying to be a CPA. Beck was from Kyrgyzstan, although he had been going to university in Turkey before moving to the US. He was very friendly and so nice - a lovely experience after my miserable airport mess. I got to Cayle's house, where I met her roommate Sam and Sam's parents. We hung out for a while (and watched a bunch of YouTube videos - highlights includinging the John Mayer/Ellen DeGeneres duet and Eddie Izzard's Learning French) and then I had to go back to the airport - but the Midwest gave me a lovely thunderstorm as a send-off present. :)

Back at O'Hare, I checked in and called a bunch of people. I was full of nervous energy and I'm sure I annoyed everyone sitting near me, but I couldn't help it. I was too excited to sit still. The plane ended up being fairly empty - I was in a two-seat row with no one sitting next to me, so I curled up and stole the extra pillow. The flight to Ireland was maybe the smoothest flight I've ever been on. There was absolutely no turbulence. I slept on and off, finding time to finish the book I was reading, start reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and eat the banana bread Cayle sent with me. I tried to figure out how to work the little tv on the back of the seat in front of me but the remote controller didn't seem to be working so I gave up on that.

Once we landed, I went through customs, got my luggage and met a girl named Bridget, who's on the same program as me, though she's doing the Irish music program and I'm doing Irish literature. We got our bus tickets and got on the shuttle bus without a problem, although we did almost get off at the wrong stop. The hotel we're staying at 'til Thursday is called the Bewley's Hotel and it's far nicer than I expected - definitely not your typical college student accommodations!! It's right across the street from the Dublin Four Seasons, actually, which made me laugh. Not much more to say yet, but I'm sure I'll have more to talk about later!