we made it!

Pippin, already feeling quite at home

Soooo... Jason and I are now living in Ireland! It doesn't quite feel real yet - especially since our super-temporary housing situation (as in, until tomorrow afternoon) is a hotel, and we're not working or in school yet. The next stage of our housing is the apartment we'll be staying in for about a month, which isn't very long, but will at least be enough time to warrant unpacking our suitcases. Jason will start work on Monday, and I have orientation events and a meeting with my advisor next week! (I also get to attend the Memory and Trauma conference and graduate student workshop hosted by UCD the week after that... so excited!!) I am, of course, slightly worried about being / appearing stupid, but I think I've been so worried over the past week that I no longer have the energy for it. :P I'll review some of my research before going to meet with my advisor, and I think I'll be fine.

The travel process was actually much easier than anticipated, for several reasons: (1) Pippin is an excellent traveler. Jason and I already knew this - Pippin often gets into his crate voluntarily, and typically enjoys car trips - but we weren't sure how he'd handle the airports, the strange people at security, Pet Express (the company that handles international pet flights), and customs. Apparently, he's just the best cat in the world. When we picked him up almost 24 hours after we began our journey, he didn't even whine on the cab ride back to our hotel. (2) Our super-long layover in Boston was made more enjoyable by the fact that we took a taxi to our friends George and Rachel's apartment! Rachel was nice enough to make us lasagna (which was delicious!), and we played a couple games of Dominion. (3) The rest of our layover was spent at the airport Starbucks, playing games. I normally hate airports, but I actually enjoyed myself. (4) Immigration, while it took forever, was hassle-free. Jason and I both had our paperwork in order, but even so, it was nerve-wracking just in case something went wrong. (I worry about everything, yeah?) But my worry was, as per usual, without cause. We're here, and legally so! :)

Since we've gotten here, we actually haven't been very busy. Jason's work is taking care of so much for us, so we really don't have much to do until he starts on Monday. We've basically just been enjoying ourselves (which means lots of good food, to be honest), and catching up on sleep. So far, we've eaten at Neon (Asian street food), the Mespil Street Lunch Market (I got lamb fajitas!), Paulie's Pizza, and our favorite - the Queen of Tarts! Jason and I became obsessed with this café during our last visit to Dublin back in May. We met my friend Ashley there for breakfast (she was in Dublin for a few days following a study abroad trip to Belfast), and we went every subsequent day of our week-long trip. It was just as good as we remembered. I had an entire apple crumble tart for lunch, and I have no regrets. :P Other than going out to eat, we've been grocery shopping and to several bookstores - so, you know, the essentials. :)

So, how's that for an update? Haha, I haven't actually done anything remotely interesting yet. Next week should be full of little adventures, though - I get to meet people at UCD, explore the campus, and get my student travel card so I can actually go somewhere that's not within walking distance! Jason, however, is already venturing out a little more than I am - he's out right now playing Friday Night Magic at our local game store. I'm staying at the hotel watching Come Dine With Me (basically, a dinner party competition for people who [mostly] have no clue what they're doing - hilarious!), reading, and skyping my parents. What, you didn't think I would suddenly become interesting, did you? ;)