First Impressions of the First Week of Class

Class, for me, started at 4 pm on Tuesday the 28th. With my schedule I have no Monday or Friday classes so it's four day weekends for me all the way (that includes next semester). The way my schedule is set up, I'm basically taking three classes. My core course is the general course for the M. Phil of Popular Literature. It includes discussion on two novels every week and all 20 of us in the program attend it. All of us also have an option course, having chosen from one of four over the summer. I chose a class called "The Victorian Child," which I'll talk about later... Finally, on Wednesday afternoons, all M. Phil students of the English Department (other programs are Irish Writing and Literature of the Americas I think) are required to attend and pass a research methods class. So the schedule goes like this: Tuesday, core course; Wednesday, Research course; Thursday, Victorian Child, long break, then core course. All classes are in the late afternoon except the Victorian one, which isn't until 10 in the morning. It's a wonderful schedule.

At the start of the first class we immediately jumped into the theory of the popular. Is it art if it produces enjoyment? Are we elitist for subscribing to views that one piece of literature is better than the other? What are our standards for governing the separation of literature, and who wrote those standards? In that class, I definitely got a sense of who were the talkers and who were the thinkers. I spoke my part about the book we were supposed to read, but didn't talk nearly as much as others, which is just as well--I wasn't a big fan of this author, who wrote in the first chapter that he hated the show Seinfeld... (well I like it so there)

Research methods is basically a class to instruct us on how to construct a thesis and make it look pretty. I wrote two just this past year so I'm not intimidated by the word count or the work that has to go into it--Thank you, Honors College--but I was curious to find out if the standards or the format was going to be different in Ireland and if I would be expected to conform to those standards. Turns out, they are, but I'm not. Our professor basically said, "If you've been doing MLA format your whole life, stick to that. Make it second nature. Really get a feel for it." What they use in Ireland looks completely different, but thankfully I don't have to fret about using a whole new system of citation and research documentation. He also addressed spelling. The British spelling of things like "theatre" when we write "theater" throws me off sometimes. I see posters with these words and I think "typo!" The professor acknowledged that Trinity does get a lot of American students and that the University doesn't specialize in reteaching people how to spell, so I'm off the hook on that one too.

The Victorian Child has been, so far, my most interesting and engaging class. Our reading list is very exciting, running through some of the most popular Victorian childrens' stories--Oliver Twist, Alice in Wonderland, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Princess and the Goblin--so I'm really looking forward to this one anyway, and today's discussion just confirmed that it will be wonderful! We started off talking about what childhood is, anyway. Do you lose your childhood when a horrible experience happens to you, like abuse? Do you become an adult through an experience or set of experiences, or when you reach a certain age when you can be legally tried as one, or when you gain independence and freedoms like turning 16 and driving away in your car...? Our professor did mention at one point that, as he taught childrens' lit. mostly, he had a knack for taking someone's favorite childhood story and turning it on its head and "ruining it" for most people. He attempted to do this to me on the first day of class!

We went around the room introducing ourselves and saying what our favorite books to read as children were and why. It was a really insightful introduction to my five classmates, and I found myself thinking "hey I want to read that!" When it got to me I said that I loved Little House in the Big Woods and the rest of the series (except I didn't read Happy Golden Years, I think it was called, because that was all about her getting married and I didn't care about that when I was little). I said I loved them because they were about a little girl named Laura who had brown hair and who was in the middle of two other sisters, Mary and baby Carrie. When I was reading them, I could see myself as Laura because her family looked so much like my family: I have an older sister named Mary and a little sister (named Jackie, not Carrie, but oh well!). I would picture my family living in a cabin in the big woods or on the prairie or by a lake and where ever else they lived. Laura was mischievous, she always got in trouble, and she was always less well-behaved than Mary was. That was pretty much me as a child too. My professor then told me that those books probably weren't written by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I was sad for a minute. But I've heard the same about Shakespeare, that it was really a conglomeration of people that wrote his plays, and that Harper Lee didn't really write To Kill a Mockingbird (mostly because everyone thinks that Scout is a boy in the beginning, it sounds so much like a male voice.) I still value those books and not any less now that Mrs. Wilder may not have been the only brain behind them... but it's kind of sad just the same! I used to picture little old Laura, all wrinkly and hunched over at a writing desk, scribbling out the long story of her life as she looks out the window and contemplates how much the world has changed since her childhood. It's much better to picture that as the author than a group of people saying, "oh yes, and then in the next chapter, Laura and Mary should make maple sugar candy on the snow! And then Pa will butcher the pig. And later, let's have him encounter a bear. We are in the 'Big Woods,' you know."

So now that I'm done with my first class on Thursday evening, what will I do with my long weekend? Hmmmm... the answer is homework! There is an incredible amount of reading to do for all these classes, and a quiz for research methods coming up already!

I'm so excited about school. I love school, I love class, I love literature!! This is going to be an excellent year.

Gettin' In the Groove

Hey, all! Aaron here.

So the last few weeks, our blog posts have been about the BIG things--apartment updates, first impressions, museum trips, etc. While that's all fine and good, I thought our blog could use a more "day-to-day" touch. I just had a pretty cool moment over here, and while it isn't anything significantly important, I thought I'd share it with you.

Lauren is in city centre right now attending her first class. Pretty cool, right? No, don't ask me how it's going because 1) She's still in class, silly! and 2) It's her story to tell. I'm sure she'll blog about it sometime very soon. Anyway, I'm sitting at our apartment by myself working on some articles for Demand Studios. I didn't get to write many this morning because we left before lunch to get our brand new, shiny, joint Irish bank account. I'm working on the computer with the blinds thrown open and listening to energetic music on my enormous headphones (Hammerfall, Dragonforce, and Pearl Jam's lighter stuff), just tapping away while a light sprinkle of rain patters on the window. I feel productive, safe, and at ease. For those of you that are visually inclined...

And in the midst of it all, I had a moment. You know, one of those rare occasions when you stop what you're doing and just savor where you are. One of those few times in your life that you finally arrive at a destination you've been reaching toward for months. You see, all we've wanted for such a long time is to get to Ireland, get Lauren in class, get me working, and settle down. Tonight, it all came together. While it is admittedly Lauren's first day, and I'm only working for Demand Studios, it's still a job. One that I am increasingly thankful for with each passing day.

Here's a thought--Despite the warm feelings that come with "getting there," I'm reminded that reaching for these destinations shouldn't prevent us from living in the present--to truly revel in each season, even if we're looking forward to next one. We all know that our tendency is to create a new goal once we achieve the previous, locking ourselves in a vicious cycle of impatient waiting punctuated by momentary, fleeting bliss. Who wants to live like that? Yuck.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Just know that things are great over here and we're finally getting our feet and settling into a routine. Can you tell I'm excited? We've had our routine now for...let's see...an hour and 15 minutes, and I'm already on the blog posting about it.

Oh, and my favorite available article title today: "How to Build Rocket Propelled Grenades"

Pro Tip: Did you know that you can click on our uncaptioned pictures to view bigger versions? Try it!

A Visit to the Country

Hi everyone! This is Lauren writing here. Aaron has been doing such a wonderful job writing the blog entries, and has received so much praise for his writing, I was hesitant to take the duty away from him when it came to describing our latest venture. However, he convinced me that people might want to hear from me too, so here I am!

Last week, when Aaron and I checked our mail, we saw a sign up sheet for a trip to a place called Glendalough. We were the first to sign up and checked our email regularly to see if the trip was really going to happen, and we're so thankful it did! We have both been aching to get out of the city lately. Dublin is wonderful, but it's also crowded, busy, and doesn't look at all like the Ireland you usually see in pictures. We were ready to see more of the country. As Aaron aptly quoted, "I need to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains!"

And mountains we did see! We met at reception this morning at ten and starting milling around with the students that were already there. I'm not sure that a single Irish person (besides the ones that arranged it) actually attended the trip. We heard that most of them had gone home for the weekend, even though they had just arrived last Friday for Fresher's Week...classes haven't even started! It was a very international group, and we were so excited to get to meet and talk to students from Germany, France, Spain, Holland, Britain, and a country we've never heard of before... Guernsey. It's an island located in the English Channel, and it's technically a part of England but not really. It acts as it's own country, but the Queen is its Duchess.

You learn something new every day I guess!

Once everyone was all accounted for, we piled into a bus and took off, passing all the roads with which we were familiar, and finally embarking on some new and exciting territory. We passed our mountains that we see from our windows, and headed even further south to Glendalough (pronounced by the native Irish group leader as more like Glendala).Glendalough was a monastic settlement, its church being built around 1120, but a round tower that stands in the middle of it having been built around 800. The tower looks like it's in perfect condition, I can't really imagine it looking much better in 800 to be honest with you. More on that later. For the first part of our trip, we were more interested in the trails that went up and down, all around the beautiful scenery of the park.

We hiked around the mountain, about three hours in total and got some really wonderful pictures.

Heather was everywhere!

The Kopfs at the top of an Irish mountain!

It's so nice to have people around to take pictures of us. It feels like we're on our honeymoon all over again, saying "hi will you take a picture of us in front of this cool thing?"

Fun fact: Glendalough is actually a glacial valley.

We also had many great conversations with our fellow international students, mostly about the differences between countries and customs. People are typically shocked to find out that we're married at such young ages, but one fellow from Belgium was completely floored. We asked how old people typically are when they get married in Belgium and he said, very matter of factly, "well, 30, 32... You don't get married in your 20s unless you knocked the girl up!" We assured everyone there was no baby in the picture! And that it wasn't that unusual to get married at our age, and younger, where we were from. We talked accents with the guy from Britain, who confessed that the Southern accent was his favorite of the American variety.

The boy from Holland actually studied at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, so we were very excited to get his impression of our home state. We talked mosquitos, hundred degree weather, famous people from Arkansas (Bill Clinton and Johnny Cash is really all we came up with) and when we came to accents, he graced us with an "Ah reckin. You all," for his impression. It was hilarious!

Halfway down the mountain we turned into this secret trail...

...that led to the ruins of an old church!

We thoughtfully considered the ruins.

Once we were at the bottom of the mountain, we had an hour to wander around the "Monastic city." The ruins of the monastery at Glendalough (placed here for their isolated location--all around it would have been forest at the time) and the old 1120 church were surrounded by tombstones where ever you looked. The round tower stood off to the side.

The door of the tower is about ten feet off the ground, and its sole purpose was to protect the community from Viking raids. Whenever they could hear the Vikings coming, they would put a ladder up to the door and it was everyone into the tower, and all the relics from the monastery too! Then once everyone was safe, they pulled the ladder into the building and waited until the Vikings were done pillaging their houses.

Aaron loved the tower.

Both of us loved the trip. It was a great opportunity to socialize with other residents of Trinity Hall, as well as see more of Ireland. It was really great for us because it was on a budget! 5 euro each, and we packed our own lunches. We dropped our not-so-subtle hints about Trinity Hall putting on more of these trips (especially since Aaron, as a non-student, isn't allowed to go on any of the weekend trips for the international student society that I recently joined) and they announced upon our return that they'd like future trips to be student-planned and organized.

Needless to say, Aaron and I are already scheming...

Picnic in the Park

Good morning!


Aaron here. First, I want to thank everyone that posted in response to my request. Lauren and I really got a kick out of seeing that people really do read our posts, so please keep them coming. Your comments are appreciated more than you know. While you know a lot about what we're up to, we also like to hear from you!

Anyhoo, on to the main event. Lauren and I packed up lunches today and made the 45-minute walk St. Stephen's Green in the center of town. After about 20 minutes of loitering near the gate, it became clear that the group picnic was going to be a couple's picnic. We certainly didn't mind and took advantage of the opportunity to spend some time together in the park.

(I apologize for the image quality. We forgot our camera, so we used our iPhones.) We found a nice sunny patch near a large pond teeming with swans, seagulls, ducks and pigeons, which was definitely the strangest group of fowl I've ever seen. Once I saw the huge flocks of pigeons nearby, I did what every little boy with a piece of bread would do...

Suddenly, I had about 40 friends. You can't really tell in this picture, but the flock was quite large. They came from all over the clearing once they saw the peanut buttery bread. I felt very special until they flew away later when another visitor brought a bready gift. They flew away and took my shattered heart with them. Okay, not really, because...

 

...they came back! Such fickle lovers. This shot is almost a bit Hitchcockian, don't you think? We noticed that many of the birds seemed a little war-torn. Feathers were missing and we saw several scratches, but the feet were horrible. I don't know if they were diseased or what, but many of the pigeons were missing toes and has large, bulbous growths between their claws. Several pigeons could barely walk on them and would just stand on one foot with the other tucked under their bodies, just like flamingos. 

This little guy was our favorite. One of his feet was a stub and the other was quite "goitery" as well. We liked him because he would walk right up to our blanket and stand there, making this little "Hooo hooo hooo" sounds that reminded me of a kitten purring. He clearly couldn't get around very well and was a little thinner than the other birds, probably due to his crippled feet. We felt bad for him, so we rose our fists against "survival of the fittest" and fed him lots of bread. Maybe "survival of the cutest" is more apt. 

Oh, and we did, indeed name him. "Tiny Tim, the Peg-legged Pigeon."

On the way out, we saw this guy. He brought an entire loaf of bread to feed the birds, and he looked to be homeless. I thought there was something interesting in someone sharing his meager wealth with birds. I suppose we all want to feel needed, or at least well-liked. It was also interesting to note the different personalities of the birds. The pigeons were pretty excitable, but didn't fight much. They were eager eaters but didn't step on many toes (because there aren't any left! HA!). The sea gulls, however, were huge jerks. They showed up late to the party and cleared a path through any pigeons to the bread. The swans, however, were my favorite. Unlike the other birds flapping furiously toward any sight of bread, the swans floated slowly, serenely, over to the man and ate quietly at their leisure. They were the true masters of the pond.

We ended up going to the museum, but we didn't stay long. It will take us several visits to see everything, and Lauren and I were getting tired. We realized today that we've walked to the city center and back every day the past three days. That's over 20 miles of walking. We didn't take pictures inside, because it's not allowed, and I took one of the exterior, but it wasn't a decent shot. We'll take more pictures of the outside next time we go.

Well, we hope your Saturdays are going well. We're going to nap and take it easy tonight. It will be nice to rest our feet and enjoy the weekend. We might be leaving the city for a few hours tomorrow morning to visit Glendalough with other Trinity Hall residents. Glendalough is a huge nature reserve 30 miles sound of Dublin (in the Mountains!). The trip is being organized by the hall staff, and would include transportation for only 5 Euro apiece, but we're not sure if we missed the deadline for payment. Regardless, we're sure it will be a wonderful day.

Thanks again for posting your comments! Don't be shy!

T.G.I.F.

Hello, all!

Aaron here. Not much has happened the last few days, but I thought I would fill you in on the few things that have. I put in five days of work this week for Demand Studios and another freelance writing company I was hired for this week called "Writer Access." It's pretty much like Demand Studios, but much more laid back about format and content. As awesome as that sounds, they have far fewer titles. Still, its nice to diversify. It felt really, really good to work, as you might expect. There's something about "toiling" all week that makes the weekend so much sweeter. It's also made me feel like I'm doing my part to keep everything going smoothly, and that's always an excellent feeling.

Lauren and I will be traveling to the national art museum tomorrow in city center for our Saturday. The museum is free and we've invited all of our Dublin friends to join us for a picnic in the park before heading over to the museum. Even if no one shows up, it will still be nice to get out of the apartment and see more touristy things. It's great to be able to take our time and not feel like we need to see everything Dublin has to offer in two weeks. I really doubt cameras are allowed in the museum, but we'll at least take some pictures of the exterior. And of the park.

Oh, and one last thing. I have a favor to ask. If you read our blog regularly, would you mind posting a comment below? Just click the "See Comments" button and you'll be able to write one yourself. Nothing too long... just "I read your blog" or "You guys are the best" or "I just sent you a million dollars." Seeing that people really are reading our blog, other than our parents (and Becca and Eddie), will make us feel good. Speaking for myself, it would also make me post more often. Nothing against our parents/Becca/Eddie, but if they're the only ones reading it, we might as well just email them.

Anyhoo, we'll let you know how the museum goes. We hope all of you are having an excellent Friday and that your weekends are full of relaxation and fun times. We're usually pretty free during the weekends, so if you would like to Skype with us, just send us an email or voice mail through Skype.

The Long Awaited Photos!

After looking through the photos that we've taken during our time in Ireland, it's definitely nothing like what I normally would have captured if I were a tourist. That's one of the perks of living here, I guess, that we get to see all this beautiful architecture and greenery all the time! But I will be sure to take better pictures of the college and our neighborhood for a future post--even though they're becoming completely normal and everyday to us, we still think they're exceptional enough to show you! Here are just a few snapshots from the past few weeks. We'll start off in Arkansas, then give you the apartment tour, and then show you some very Irish things we've noticed during our wanderings around Dublin.

All of our possessions for an entire year fit into these suitcases! (The red one was actually not brought with us)

Our wonderful friend Stephen dropping us off at the airport.

The view from our apartment. See those beautiful mountains? Sometimes they're covered in fog and mist, sometimes they shine like emeralds. In the evening (when this photo was taken) they take on a brilliant shade of blue.

Our living room! Notice the large desk, the tiny television, the bookshelf, and 2 out of three pieces of art that I brought with me! (Norman Rockwell prints from my mom)

In our old apartment, we had what we called the "Book Nook." I have affectionately named this spot the "Quilting Corner."

While walking around campus, we stumbled upon this Soccer (or Football) match. They played through some very Irish weather: cold, misty rain (also known as: spittin')

Check out this building covered in ivy! We've seen several of these.

Nothing says you're in Europe now like that thing! This is part of a Cathedral in Dublin.

One of the louder pubs in the famous Temple Bar, a pedestrian friendly area of restaurants, shops, and pubs.

Here is O'Connell St, one of the main roads in Dublin. This intersection comes just as you cross over the River Liffey. In this photo you can see one of the many statues they have along O'Connell, as well as the Spire in the background. The Millennium Tower, as I think it was supposed to be called, was put up to honor the Millennium, and has a light on top of it to be a literal and figurative beacon.

Here's the River Liffey now! We're not sure what those things are on the river, or what they're doing with them, but my suspicion is that it's the most awesome game of Monopoly ever played.

Here's a statue of Oscar Wilde in Marion Park, looking across the street to his childhood home.

Here is beautiful Marion Park! Right in the middle of the city, an oasis of greenery.

Aaron looking regal next to his favorite tree in the park.

"Hey check this out! This would make some really great tinder!"

A very fancy government building.

This is a pretty good example of what a lot of the buildings in Dublin look like. Old, brick, lots of skinny windows.

Aaron and I at the center of St. Stephen's Green, another large park in the center of Dublin. See that umbrella? We carry it with us everywhere!

Well, there you have it: photofest #1, with many more to come. Tomorrow I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of my classmates and starting class officially on next Tuesday. I won't start Monday, because guess what... I got my schedule and it says four day weekends for me every week!! Aaron and I are ecstatic. That's just more time to spend together, to travel around Ireland, and when we can afford it, to see the rest of Europe!

Doctor, What Do You Recommend?

Aaron here.

I'm sick. Homesick, that is.

It's taken almost three weeks, but I'm finally starting to feel the pangs of displacement. I talked with Lauren today, and I realized that it's much more than just missing home or friends. It has much more to do with helplessness and futility. Let me explain...

When Lauren and I were still in the States, we would see most friends and family every few weeks. There were admittedly a few exceptions. For instance, we would see both sets of parents every four weeks or so. On the other hand, we saw other friends on a weekly basis (Eddie and the Rooneys), but for the most part, it was a two week gap between visits with most everyone else. Around the two week mark, I would start to miss people, but not in the emotional "I sure miss my friends" sort of way. It was more psychological. Humans like order, and therefore we love routine. Routine is order over time. We like being able to count on certain things happening at certain times. It probably goes back to the early days of farming when people could finally start depending on food to show up at specific times of the year, as opposed to the random and wandering lifestyle of the hunter/gatherers. This is why we had traditions, holidays, and other reliably timed celebrations.

I digress. The point is this: every two weeks, it became routine to make appointment with my friends because I was psychologically, subconciously, aware that they were absent, or "missing," from my routine. I hope this doesn't sound heartless, because it's not. Here's what I'm saying--you all are missing from my life. You are missed. I miss you in my routine. It makes me feel off-kilter, unsteady and a bit lost. You know that feeling when you get up to do something and then you forget what it was? This feeling is a lot like that. My routine-loving brain knows that something is amiss but it doesn't know what to do about it.

And therein lies the feelings of helplessness and futility. I instinctively want to remedy the fact that you're missing from my life, but I can't, which leaves me feeling helpless. My brain automatically tries to find a way around the problem, to reinsert you all into my routine, but it's impossible. Futile.

It's not so much that you aren't here. It's that I can't do anything about it.

*sighs* Well, I suppose that in times such as these, it makes sense to look at the big picture. Trying to micromanage my emotions and identify everything that I'm feeling can swallow me whole. So what is the big picture? Lauren and I left. But we didn't leave behind friendships, just friends. Families. The relationships are still with us, still existent, still developing. The context is different, but things are (in their own way) as they have always been--Lauren and I are still trying to develop relationships with those we love, even if the way we do it has changed. We still have Skype, and that certainly helps. We'll gradually grow accustomed to this new setup, and we'll develop new routines. Everything's going to be okay.

But that doesn't make me miss you guys any less. :-)

Aaron's First Impressions

Hello, all! I wanted to let a few weeks go by before writing my "First Impressions" post. I didn't want them to be shallow and simple, like "People talk different" or "It's colder"--I wanted them to be a bit more profound. A bit more digested, if you will. Without further ado...

• Irish drivers are magic - Seriously, before you earn a driver's license in Ireland, I'm pretty sure you have set fire to a wardrobe or pull a rabbit out a hat. The drivers here have seemingly inhuman reflexes and senses of three-dimensional space. Our first day here we hired a cabbie to drive our luggage (and ourselves) to Trinity Hall. Other than the slightly jarring feeling of driving on the wrong side of the road, things seemed fairly normal on the highways leading away from the airport. And then we got into the city... No joke, the roads here are narrow. We zipped past halted lanes of traffic at speeds in excess of 40 mph and the cab's side mirror was perhaps four inches from other vehicles. I could have rolled down my window and easily touched other cars without leaning forward or really stretching. I was blown away at how calm the driver seemed. He didn't seem to be concentrating on this breathtaking derby of death at all. He seemed bored. And that's how everyone drives here. Yup, magical powers. 

• The first time I embarrassed myself in another country  - Let's back up a bit. So just before we climbed into the aforementioned cab at the airport, the cab driver asked me to put a suitcase in the front passenger seat. I jumped to it, grabbing the suitcase and walked around to the front right door. He said, "Oy! Odder soyd." I looked down... yeah, I was about to put my suitcase behind the steering wheel. I'm in the country twenty minutes and I already broadcasting to the world that I'm a very touristy tourist. That's probably why he gave us an unasked-for scenic tour of the city on the way to our apartment. Lesson learned. Oh, and I'm still not used to people driving on the right side of the car. I'll see a car pass and look in the front left seat to get a look at the driver, only to see a kid peering out the window. Oh look, I wet myself again.

• Good Irish water is good - I was wondering how the water here would taste. Don't ask me why, but as I was lying in bed the night before we left, going over luggage weights and passport details in my head, I suddenly thought, "And what if the water tastes horrible?! All I drink is water! I'd shrivel up like a prune!" I had no reason to be frightened whatsoever. The water tastes great.

• Irish food is scrumptious - I had heard that European food is horrible. That it's remarkably akin to bland, dry sawdust. I was interested to see what the vittles would be like, and once again, I was pleasantly surprised. The food here is really, really good. The Irish don't seem to be huge fans of preservatives or artificial flavorings. The nutrition information (and list of ingredients) on products is visibly displayed, and I usually recognize every ingredient as something natural. Lauren and I walked by a convenience store one morning on the way to City Centre (that's how they spell "center" here... aren't I just so cultured?) and decided to grab some cheap breakfast. We bought two fresh muffins and a bottle of apple juice that was a strange opaque color. The muffins were incredible, with bits of fruit scattered throughout and a moist center. I took a swig of apple juice to wash it all down and immediately stopped walking. I looked at the label--"Not from concentrate" it said. Why did I stop? Only because it was the best apple juice I've ever tasted. Ever. If you took an apple and introduced it to a sledgehammer, the resultant juice would taste like the contents of that bottle. Oh, and the meat here is a bit more expensive, but it's because the animals are grain-fed and live within miles of the city. After eating the food for a few weeks, I can honestly say that I will miss it when we go home.

• Adventure ain't cheap - Ireland is expensive. No, scratch that. Dublin is expensive. How expensive? Well, a six-pack of Heineken in the States is $8.50 or so. Over here (bear in mind that Germany is much closer to Dublin than Arkansas), the same six-pack is 11 Euro. The exchange rate of the Euro right now is around 1.3 USD to 1 Euro. What does that mean? A six-pack of Heineken in Dublin costs the equivalent of $14. That's just one example. I assumed that we would find that everything seemed cheap to us, but once we figured in the exchange rate, it would even out. Nope. Stuff is expensive, and that's without figuring in the exchange rate. We cashed out $500 at the airport and got around 350 Euros for it. Fortunately, minimum wage here is more than 8.5 Euros, which is almost $11 per hour. While Dublin is one of the most expensive cities in the world, it also has one of the highest minimum wages.

• Dublin is a lot like America...kinda - This one of the biggest impressions I've had, and it's taken me the longest to really understand. You see, I've never left the country before. My ideas of Ireland, and really any other country, came from books, the news, movies and folk music. Ireland seemed so exotic, so different, so fantastical. For all I knew, it didn't really exist and was only the creation of the assorted media I mentioned. And then we arrived, and all of my preconceptions were tested. Strangely, Dublin isn't much different. The people don't dress much different, checkout ladies at the grocery store are still friendly, clouds look the same, rain smells the same, the moon looks the same... Even so, there are moments when I am undeniably and certifiably NOT in America anymore. Like when I hear anyone talk. Or when I watch television and hear Irish people providing voice-overs for American programming (Mike Rowe does a much better job at narrating "Deadliest Catch"). Or when I walk past folk performers on Grafton Street. Or when I open my wallet. I go back and forth between walking around almost forgetting that I'm in a totally new place, and walking around in wide-eyed wonder at the newness of it all. The first few weeks, I was looking at the different types of architecture, all of the tweed jackets, the strange advertisements I didn't recognize... and then Lauren and I walked past a Subway restaurant. I said, "Hey! It's Subway! It has the same body-odor smell here!!!" This intrusion on my sense of "otherness" is often jarring, but also comforting. For some reason, its reassuring to know that no matter where you go, Subway always smells like armpits. Gradually, I've learned to assign Dublin its own identity apart from my preconceptions (as much as that is possible). It's almost like the city is a Plinko chip in my mind that is slowly studied and catagorized, bouncing from pin to pin, preconception to preconception, inevitably settling into its own identity within my brain. 

• Dublin isn't really Ireland - Lauren told me this before we arrived, and now I know it to be true. Let's do a little word exercise. What adjectives do you think of when you read the word "Ireland?" How about the word "Celtic?" "Emerald Isle?" Probably things like green, verdant, lush, foggy, natural, rustic and fresh. Dublin isn't really any of those things. Like any city, Dublin is made up of lots of buildings with the typical city traffic, smells, and personality. Dublin is pretty Western, and is easily the most industrialized region of the country. But it's not the "Ireland" you and I think of when we first hear the word. It's a city. Just like Little Rock certainly doesn't represent all of Arkansas (think of the rivers, forests, bluffs, hollows, fields, fresh air and quiet that you don't experience on at the base of the TCBY building), Dublin doesn't represent all that is Ireland. Fortunately, Lauren and I wake up every morning and roll up the blinds to look to the South. Resting quietly beyond the edges of the city are massive rolling hills covered in innumerable trees and the greenest fields we've ever seen. These silent sentinels remind us that there's more to the Emerald Isle than Grafton Street and graffiti. They call to me louder than any car horn or late-night reveler. They draw my restless, adventurous spirit like murky Guinness into a chilled glass. When we get a chance, we're going to leave the city and head South along the coast, and finally flesh out our perception of this new place.

And you'll certainly be able to read our new perceptions right here at our blog.

I hope you enjoyed my first batch of impressions. I'm sure I'll have more for you all as we settle into our new home. Speaking of which... Last night we ate roasted broccoli with garlic and this morning Lauren watched "Project Runway." I wrote articles for DS and glazed my eyes over in front of the Discovery Channel. Just like old times back in our first apartment on Caldwell Street. We miss it, and the feeling settles like a dull ache in our hearts. But, 4 Dartry Road is finally starting to feel like home.

We miss you all and look forward to reading your comments. Feel free to ask questions about our adventure on here, or download Skype and talk to us face-to-face. Our Skype user name is "TheTravelingKopfs," so hop on and we'll give you a personal tour of our apartment with our webcam. We'll even show you the mountains.

More Internet Intel

Aaron here. (As transcribed by my darling wife)

I know that many of you are interested in the Internet situation here at the apartment, especially in regards to Xbox Live and Playstation Network. Unfortunately, the school network has an extremely rigid security protocol, thereby preventing Trinity students from using either gaming service. What does mean? Well, for the next year, I won't be able to game with anyone back home. There are a few gaming parlors in Rathmines, but I would have to pay each time I brought in my Xbox for some game time. I also wouldn't be able to shout with joy after a particularly epic victory without disturbing nearby gamers.

I returned my copy of "Halo: Reach" to the game store yesterday and put my Xbox up on GumTree (an Irish version of Craigslist). I still have my Playstation 3 for single-player gaming, so all is not lost .To be honest, I'm very disappointed, because online gaming is how I planned on keeping up with my guy friends back in the States, but I also know that Lauren and I should count ourselves lucky for having Internet in our apartment. We still have Skype, email and Facebook.

The only other way that I could use Xbox Live is if Lauren and I purchased Internet Sticks from our mobile phone carrier. You can plug these into your computer, and then share the resultant internet with your Xbox using an Ethernet cable. The downside? They are expensive and only offer limited amounts of game time. These sticks just aren't affordable for us right now.

Anyhow, look for us on Skype. We'll be posting pictures (finally!) of our apartment soon, as well. Oh, and I'm still looking for a job, so please continue praying for that. The nearby GameStops will be hiring some temporary staff members for the Holidays, so I'm hoping for a call soon. If I land a temporary job, I'll do my best to extend my employment past January 1. I've also applied to several other businesses in Rathmines and the City Centre, so those might work out, as well. The Lord is holding us in suspense, but we trust Him and believe that He will provide, as He always has.

Our Second School Function

It occurred to me recently that the people I've met might not want to be included in the blog, or have their names mentioned, so I'm just going to go ahead and change your identities until I ask you. Aaron and I were invited on Sunday to have lunch with a girl who name is (not) Charlotte. Lunch (and our wanderings and visitings afterward) ended up lasting about five hours before we knew it and we all had a great time. We were looking for a pub to sit down in and just happened to wander into the exact same one I went to when I was here two years ago--O'Neill's! It has a really nice atmosphere and there's live music there sometimes, so I'm sure we'll be going back now that we know where it is.

Charlotte reminded us that registration began on Tuesday, not Monday like we thought. With that in mind, we made plans for Tuesday to be an extremely busy day of us finally getting settled in some big ways. I was finally going to be an official student and we were finally going to have internet in our apartment.

Tuesday we left the apartment at 7:20, looking to be in front of the registration location (a very large and beautiful theater right in the front square of campus) at around 8. Registration itself didn't start until 9:15. We were the first ones there, and the only ones there for quite some time. I started feeling pretty silly when a lady walked into the building and just sort of looked at us, asking if we were here to "reg." I said yes, and that I'd heard there were usually long lines so we wanted to get a head start. She laughed and said there were never long lines for post grads and they had dedicated four whole days to us. It's just the "freshers" that have long lines. Awesome. Good thing some other Americans (the same ones we met at our reception) had the same idea and also arrived about an hour ahead of schedule. It was nice to sit around and talk, but we were all pretty tired. By the time we finally were able to go in, I felt vindicated because around the building there *was* a long line, and in our earliness, I ended up being the very first post graduate to register for classes of the 2010-11 school year. Quite an achievement, I know. :)

Registration was a breeze. They checked my information, asked if I wanted to change anything, asked me to write down my religion for the Chaplain (but insisted I didn't *have* to do it if I didn't want to), and asked me to sign a piece of paper before sitting me down and taking my picture. They didn't even tell me when to smile so I just sat there smiling for 5 minutes. I got my student id card and they sent me on my way!

I will now have this student i.d. card with me ALL the time because it will get me significant discounts everywhere (including one sandwich shop called O'Briens where I get 25% off!)

Internet turned out to be a longer process than we thought. We actually had to take my laptop down to I.S. Services yesterday and have them figure the whole thing out, which they did. So I am now typing this blog post in the comfort of our bedroom, which is where our internet port is. It's a long story, but basically Aaron is selling his Xbox at the moment, and once we have the money from that sale, we'll purchase a webcam to skype with people face to face. We could do the chat thing now, very easily though! Our name is thetravelingkopfs, so add us and check periodically in the afternoon to see if we're on. The afternoon for America is our evening, when we'd normally be on the computer.

The camera battery is dead, and once it's charged, photos will go up on facebook! Hooray!

Aaron and I did some more resume-handing-out/job-searching yesterday. We went to all the remaining game stops in the city and he's also applied to a lot of these places online. Keep the job search in your prayers. We are trusting that God's got something for us out there where Aaron can meet people and make us some money :)

Our First School Function

Yesterday morning I had my first official meeting on Trinity's campus--it was the first-ever orientation for post graduate international students. I have another meeting (the orientation for all post grads) on Friday, but it was nice to hear information directed at international students specifically. We got several welcomes to Ireland, jokes about the weather, and a lot of information on safety policies, important phone numbers, the counseling and health centers, and the bank of Ireland. Once the meeting was finished, we all went down to the front to pick up free pens and a raffle ticket for later that evening. Last night they had a tour of the campus scheduled for just us internationals, as well as a reception following. I emailed a few days earlier just to make sure it was okay that Aaron came on the tour and to the reception and they said that would be great. It was wonderful news to me because I would have been pretty nervous going alone.

When we got to the tour, it began to rain on us. We met in the front square of the college and sort of waited as the group gathered around, and people started asking questions. One girl asked about tips (apparently you don't tip in Ireland because everything's overpriced anyway and servers and waitstaff get paid minimum wage) and we immediately recognized her American accent. Once the tour started, we moseyed our way up to meet her. Once we started talking, another guy turned around and said "Oh, staters?" And all the sudden we had an American clique forming! She was from Kentucky, he was from Connecticut, another guy from New York. Later that night we would meet a girl from North Carolina, one from New Jersey, and another from Michigan. We seemed to be magnets for each other. During the reception, we would just walk up and introduce ourselves and two seconds later we would all be freaking out: "Oh my gosh you're American! Where are you from!!"

We also met a really nice guy from Sydney, Australia, whose name is Liam. He talked comic books and history with me for quite a while so he's a stand up guy in my book. :)

The girl from Kentucky that we met at first is actually married, and her husband is with her in Dublin. We were so excited to find another married couple! And better yet... she's in my Popular Literature program! So we'll be seeing a lot of each other I'm sure. The girl from New Jersey is also in my program, so we were all very excited to meet each other and talk about our varying interests in popular literature. All in all, it was a wonderful evening, and we walked away with many names to add to facebook and to see around the city. It's been nice having "us" time for a whole week but we were ready to make friends!

The married couple got off the plane yesterday and are currently staying with a friend while searching for apartments. They had an exhausting day yesterday looking at four and then doing the tour and reception. Please keep them in your prayers if you think about it--it's tough looking for an apartment, especially after you've just arrived. We were reminded many times last night how lucky we are to have the apartment that we have.

Monday, I'll show up on campus super early and register for classes, and then we're over to IT services to see if we can finally get internet in our room. Maybe then we'll finally be able to skype, add photos, and email more regularly.

The New Digs

We're all moved into our new apartment in Trinity Hall! The view is amazing, I can't believe we get to wake up and see those mountains every day! We're going to be going into the city center today to do the tourist thing--we're visiting the National Museum, St. Stephen's Green, and stopping by Trinity to do some international student business. Hopefully after today we'll be able to post some pictures for you. I know everyone's been asking for them, but it's been really nice to be in a foreign country without the pressure to take pictures at every place you go. Last time I was here, we only had so much time at each place so I felt like I was viewing Ireland almost entirely through my camera. It's been nice to slow down and take our time. Hope you're all doing well in the States!


Lauren

The Hunt Begins

Aaron here.

(Lauren's commentary in red bold)

Lauren and I spent the day looking for a job! I got all dressed up and carried my little folder containing curriculum vitae and my visa information to different stores and shops near our apartment while Lauren waited outside to offer moral support once I exited. I asked her to do that for me, and I think everyone should definitely have their favorite person waiting outside when they apply for jobs because it makes a HUGE difference. My morale stayed high all day and I ended up applying to at least ten different places, all of which look fun to work at. It was a lot of fun, getting to spend the day just walking around without any agenda but to stand outside of doors every once in a while. We also found several new stores and some cheap places to eat. We've been walking up and down Rathmines, but ventured out onto Rathgar St. which comes off of it, and it's a really nice part of town with a beautiful cathedral church right in the middle. I've been happy to see the fall colors over here... I was worried I was going to miss fall!!

It was sunny and breezy today, which more than made up for the wet weather yesterday. The perfect weather for walking around in dress shoes.

Lauren and I also bought some much-needed things, such as plates, bowls, a cutlery set and some sturdy umbrellas. Lauren is going to make some stir fry tonight for dinner, and I'm already excited about how it will taste. So far, everything tastes very fresh and tasty here, contrary to the rumors we've heard about the United Kingdom's bland food. Produce is pretty cheap too. We're learning how to save money in the grocery store on a daily basis.

On another note, Lauren and I just found out that we'll get to move into our new apartment tomorrow night! It turns out Anne Marie worked her magic once again and managed to bump up our apartment on the list of those needing cleaning. She's been absolutely incredible and we're lucky to have her around. I'll keep you all updated on the job front, and I would truly appreciate your prayers on the matter. I'm getting antsy and I'm ready to work! I'm so excited to unpack! And once we unpack... we'll take pictures!!

We'll Take Curtain #3, Bob

Hello, all! It's Aaron. Lauren is upstairs getting dry and warm because we spent the last 90 minutes running across town to check out the apartment in city center. Ireland graciously decided to show us its full weather spectrum in our first four days, giving sunny skies on Friday and torrential rain today. Anyway, we stepped approximately five feet into the apartment before we made our decision.

We'll be staying in the handicap-accessible apartment at Trinity Hall. You know, the one with the view.

Why? Well, the apartment in city center stunk. Literally. The smell was the vivid combination of litter box and ash tray. There was a strip of fly paper hanging above the door, which is at the top of three flights of stairs. The bathroom was filthy with cracked tile and peeling paint. The kitchen was tiny with hardly any counter space, and the bedroom barely fit the double bed. Oh, and if we wanted to use hot water, we would need to warm it with an electrical heater 15 minutes before use. Yeah, it was a dump in a bad part of town, one block from the elevated train tracks.

The apartment we've selected, however, is located on the Trinity Hall grounds on the top floor of a four story building (and it has a "lift" or elevator). It has huge windows, an enormous bathroom, sizable kitchen, and it's remarkably clean. We will need to use public transportation to get to school, but the shopping district ten minutes away (walking) is designed for college students and is therefore well-stocked. Lauren would call the neighborhood "cute," if that tells you anything. But seriously, it's nice here. The walk to the tram passes several huge houses behind ivy-covered walls, and a few ambassadors live next door.

So when we arrived in Dublin, only to hear that we wouldn't be staying where we wanted, we were initially disappointed, but excited to see what God had up His sleeve. In the end, we're staying in a much nicer apartment than our previously hoped-for apartment that has more space, a better view, an elevator and cleaner conditions at no extra cost. God is good, is He not?

We're both as happy as fleas in a kennel. I just spoke to Anne Marie about our decision, and she told me that we might not be able to move into our new place until the weekend because the "taps need to run and the heater needs to be cleaned." She said she'll see if she can't get us in there a bit sooner, and we'll talk to her again in the morning.

So there you have it. We're a bit closer to finally settling down, unpacking the suitcases and making our new home a home. If we need to wait a bit longer to get the new digs, that's gravy with us. That being said, I'm off to grab some tea and warm up my freezing feet. Cheers!

The Long Process of Getting Settled

Dear Friends and Family,

(Aaron's commentary in blue-bold)

Welcome to the Kopfs' journal of Irish adventures as we attempt to live abroad for a year. In the midst of composing an extra detailed e-mail to the parents about our current apartment situation and present location, we thought we would go ahead and make this our first blog entry since our housing has been quite an adventure in itself. We'll be posting our initial impressions of Leprechaun Land in a few days.

We arrived Friday morning after a long series of flights and a sleepy cab ride to our home at Number 4 Dartry Road. Traveling on Friday was incredible. No delays, no issues in customs, our cab dropped us off on the doorstep of Trinity Hall, and our planes didn't even crash! While in Orlando, we received an e-mail from a woman in the housing department telling us that there was a man currently living in our apartment who was refusing to move. We would find out later that he had requested to stay an extra few months in the apartment back in May, but never received a definite "no." (He never got a definite "yes" either!) The woman in charge of housing here called him "cheeky." He decided that meant that he could stay, and told his instructor that his thesis wouldn't be finished until November. Once his instructor found out that housing was essentially trying to kick this guy out (since we were on our way) he got onto housing and insisted that the man be able to live in the apartment at least until December, so he could finish his important thesis and have time to pack up.

So that left us homeless, but not really. They gave us a temporary apartment that's actually part of a suite of apartments. They traded out the two twins with a double bed and we have a kitchen across a hallway. Trinity Hall really tried to make things nice for us, considering the circumstances. When we arrived on Friday morning, they told us they wouldn't be able to give us any new information about when we would be able to move into Cunningham House (our intended apartment) until Monday.

In the meantime, we wandered the neighborhood, got to know the street names and the shops. We've figured out where to buy the cheapest bread, potatoes, pasta, etc. and have been using the kitchen to save money. Some shops sitting side-by-side sell the same things for significantly different prices. We walked up to the campus and were in awe of its magnitude! Yeah, it's big. We strolled down Grafton Street and had some good food in a pub. The weather's been rainy and cold and we started wearing our fall gear almost immediately. Hasn't been a degree over 65. I love it.

Saturday night, we ran into a guy named William (actually, I just suddenly introduced myself to him. I think I scared him a bit) who happened to be wandering around the same time we were, and who is also staying in the same building. He was incredibly friendly, and showed us where a rosemary bush grows on the grounds right next to Cunningham House. No, rosemary is not a code-word for marijuana. I will never purchase rosemary again! As we were talking, he suggested we look for cheaper housing elsewhere. So we did! We got on a website called daft.ie that he told us about and during our search, found a very clean looking apartment right across the River Liffey.

Dartry Road is off of a street called Rathmines, and it makes it about a 45 minute walk from the city center, which is where I would be having class. Public transportation (bus and tram) is available, which shortens the trip to 15 - 20 minutes. The apartment from daft.ie, on the other hand, is 15 minutes walking distance from Trinity. Even so, the walk from Rathmines is undoubtedly more pleasant. There are trees that line the street and we're definitely in more of a neighborhood here than a block of apartments like we would be in the city center. Yeah, the apartment in city center is "on the other side of the river" and the walk is a bit more... colorful. It's nothing too bad, just not the posh neighborhood over here on Dartry. There's pros and cons for both.

BUT LO! We were presented with a third option today, when housing lady Anne-Marie stopped by to discuss the situation with us. Yeah, Trinity totally sweetened the deal. This apartment is usually more expensive, but Trinity would let us stay there for the same price! She told us of an assistant warden's apartment in a different part of Trinity Hall. Having been intended for a handicapped warden, it's open floor plan, very spacious, and has a gigantic bathroom (showers in Europe are notoriously small but not this one!) Ever try to wash your back in a broom closet? It's on the top floor, with elevator access and has a nice view of the mountains south of Dublin. I'm a sucker for scenery. The cons on this one are that it's an apartment within an apartment, which means that we have to go through a hallway to get to it, off of which are 5 doors which will house six 18 year old girls.

So there you have it. Our three housing options at the moment. We have an appointment at 3:45 to meet with the agent in charge of the apartment in the city center, and tomorrow hopefully, we'll be able to meet up with Anne-Marie again to see the apartment we should have moved into in Cunningham House. Hopefully we'll be settled soon! I'm ready to make our place feel like home.

Essentially, we have a big choice to make. The apartment in city center is closer to Trinity and a bit cheaper (20 euro per month). The apartments here at Trinity Hall are in a MUCH nicer part of town, and we wouldn't have to deal with landladies or other things that come with adult apartment life. If we decide to stay here at Trinity Hall, we would need to decide between Cunningham House or the handicap-accessible penthouse with the view. I think we'll have a much better idea of what to do once we see the apartment in city center at 3:45 (9:45am Arkansas time). If it's a nasty pit, it will make our decision much easier. If it's clean and doesn't smell like feces, we'll have to decide which is more important: being closer to the school or living in a nicer part of town. 


We'll make another blog post soon to inform you all about our decision. In the meantime, please leave any suggestions or advice in the comments section below. Oh, and we finally have internet at Trinity Hall (no more internet cafes!) but until Lauren registers, we have to use it in the Reception lobby. Still, that means I can type up articles when there's nothing else to do and we can make ridiculously long blog posts. 


Thank you for your prayers! Being grownups is fun!