Day One: “Céad Míle Fáilte”
In Gaelic, this phrase translates to “One hundred thousand welcomes” and was some of the first words that I heard upon my arrival in Dublin, Ireland. From what I can tell, this welcoming is distributed generously to foreigners, to reassure them through their travels and embrace their differences. To me, this gracious and warming gesture was confirmation. Confirmation that I had chosen, of anywhere in the world, the most perfect place to spend my time abroad.
One thousand welcomes ? Are you kidding ? How lucky am I ! And I’m only a fraction Irish.
Not to say it effortless to get to Dublin, more so a hop, skip, and a jump through Immigration that barred me entry into the Republic for upwards of a half-hour. But other than that, the Irish have been nothing by smiles from cheek to cheek and charm from head to toe.
I arrived early in the morning. The sky still black. The air was cool, crisp, clean to breathe, reminding me of a Nebraskan morning in late fall. I was a bit disoriented from my travels but oddly enough, not at all tired. Instead, my body pulsed with energy and anticipation. I wanted to see Dublin. I did not want to wait a second longer than I had to to take it all in.
Of course, however, I first had to find my CEA group and transportation from the airport, before I could act on any of my impulses. It was not long before I stumbled into others that were in the same boat as me and corralled off in a taxi to our Swuites Residence.
To my surprise, the accommodations were much nicer than I had anticipated. A room and bathroom to myself, top-notch security, and a cafe that was vegan/vegetarian-friendly all of thirty seconds from my bed. After getting a quick tour of the building, I tried settling into my room, before I plopped down in the living space awaiting to meet someone.
Encouraged to go to a grocery store and purchase a SIM card, I was joined by a handful of my roommates and other students we had met in the lobby, to explore the area of Grangegorman and make our way to the Spire. During the twenty-five minute walk it took us to get there, we discovered a grocery store around the corner of our swuites, various marks of street art, numerous restaurants, and even more pubs. It was a cool evening but I do not think anyone paid much mind to it. We simply sauntered our way up and down the streets, mouths slightly ajar, and eyes opened wide.
Once we collected everything we needed, we made a quick way back. By the time that all of our flatmates had arrived and been introduced, it was late and we were hungry. As five Americans and one German, we made our way to a restaurant called O’Shea’s Merchant (which I was particularly interested in because of my Great Aunt Jean O’Shea), where our German roommate had enjoyed a pint of Guinness, as well as, fish and chips earlier that week. Though I did not indulge in a Guinness myself, of which my father would most likely be ashamed, I did devour some cod, chips (fries), rose, smushed peas (a popular condiment) and sugarless ketchup (of which the difference was quite distinct), as Irish cadences and booming retirement party laughs echoed off the walls.
It was a lovely night.
Another Murphy In Ireland 