getting oriented

I think every update for the foreseeable future is going to begin this way, but: quite a lot has happened in the past week! Last Saturday, we moved out of the hotel and into the apartment, where we’ll spend about 1 month total. Now begins the fun part of finding our own housing! Looking for houses = fun; looking for apartments = stressful and usually depressing. Stressful because the listings change so quickly (when a good place comes onto the market, it’s gone in hours), and depressing because prices are [understandably] so much higher than they were in Kentucky. I mean, obviously they are, and we knew that way before we got here, but the pictures are just so sad and cramped, haha. I’m sure we’ll find something we like, though - the apartment we have now isn’t spectacular, but it’s totally acceptable. I’m pretty easy to please. 

Sunday, Jason and I had a nice lazy day before he started work on Monday. We walked around in Iveagh Gardens, a gorgeous park just a block or so from our apartment, and much less crowded than good old St. Stephens Green. Here are some pictures:

While Jason went to work on Monday, I spent the day running errands: grocery shopping, going to the wine store (I’ve already found *my place* - Jason and I waste no time building a routine), buying a bus pass for getting to campus, walking around St. Stephens Green listening to a recorded lecture on Irish memory studies (in all honesty, that was the moment I felt like I’d really made it, like something I’d imagined doing when I daydreamed about “living in Ireland” - like I said, easily pleased :P), and of course, reading. Jason said his work day went well - lots of introductions and new information to take in, and loads of paperwork, but the work environment seems great.

The next day was considerably less exciting: mostly, it involved doing laundry. We have a combination washer/dryer - all in one machine! It blew my mind! Well, the dryer function is subpar, to put it nicely, so I also spent a good chunk of time trying to find places to hang damp clothing (we have a shortage of both wardrobe space and clothes hangers). I also reviewed my research notes and was pleasantly surprised to recall that I do actually have a few good ideas. :P Jason came home early and we walked over to the place he has to go to get a PPS number (basically, social security number; he needs one in order to get paid), and the line was ridiculous. After we got the application, we left (he went back the next morning and was out in only about an hour). We also properly cooked a meal for the first time since our arrival - potatoes, cured ham, and eggs. I can’t tell you how good it felt to cook something, not just repurpose leftovers!

Wednesday was my first day on campus at UCD! I didn’t have any kind of orientation event until later in the evening, so I spent the morning at the giant used bookstore in the city centre (dangerous, I know. Shelves upon shelves of fabulous Irish fiction at discount prices…), and then went to campus earlier than I really needed to in order to pick up my student ID and student travel card, and to find all the buildings I’d need in the upcoming days. I’m really glad Jason and I used the buses so often during our last trip to Dublin - now I know what I’m doing and don’t even have to think (aka worry) about it. I had so much time to kill on campus (and no library access yet - it takes 24 hours once you pick up your student ID, boo) that I basically just walked the entire time in between picking up those cards (around… 2pm?) and the international welcome reception at 7:30. (I can’t tell you how many miles I’ve walked since we got here! Having no car and being too cheap to use public transport for anything under a 30 minute walk… it’s a great way to get exercise without really thinking about it, but I’m spending so much more money on food! haha). I didn’t take too many pictures of campus because it was just so crowded - first years and international students in orientation this week (nothing makes me feel as old as being around large groups of college freshman, oh my goodness) - but I did get a couple shots: one of the woodland walkways on the edge of campus, and one of the lake in the centre of campus.

The welcome reception for international students was nice; it was mostly personal, social, and cultural advice - ask for help if you need it; don’t forget to explore the country while you’re here - which, while it was nothing new, was good to hear. They also gave out UCD scarves and backpacks, and they even had wine at the reception (for probably a thousand people). Classy!

Today was the big one: meeting my advisor. She’s been unbelievably nice and helpful via email, so I didn't have anything to worry about other than me being awkward, but I needn't have worried about that, either. She gave me so much helpful info and advice about the English department, the UCD library (and how, as an Irish postgraduate student, I can get access to other Irish university libraries, including Trinity… sweet!), a research methodology class I’m being signed up for this semester, and even the possibility of teaching next year! That was a wonderful surprise. Obviously I don’t have any details yet, but it would be amazing if that worked out! In terms of my doctoral thesis, I’m going to spend the next two months or so reading and expanding my bibliography, then enhancing and revising my thesis proposal, and then we’ll discuss where to start writing (btw, having been used to the American academic system, I’m still in awe that I’m actually writing my dissertation / thesis already!). 

So now, I imagine, things will start feeling even more like normal, as I begin frantically researching. At least it's mostly just reading for the moment, and I can do that anywhere... I'll have to take advantage of the gorgeous weather while it lasts (sunny and right around 70F)!