"You will go to jail... and then be let out of jail."

Hallllllo. It's definitely been a busy week, but the time is flying by! I can't believe we've been here for (just) a whole week. 

We've had class most of the morning and afternoon the last 4 days. Our foundation course consists of Econ/Politics, Society, History, and Peace/Conflict. We had society for the first time yesterday, and our teacher is great. At first I was worried it would be more of a social studies/history-ish class, rather than a culture class (which was what I wanted), but I was wrong. All we talked about was Irish culture, with bits of history thrown in to explain the origins of traditions and practices. We talked about everything from the religiosity of Ireland, to pregnancy. And our professor is really sarcastic, opinionated, and just keeps us laughing the whole class. I think I'm definitely going to like that class the best. Today we just had history, and then in a little while we're going to the Kilmainham Gaol (Jail), where I think they kept a lot of the nationalist revolutionary leaders in Ireland (those that rebelled for Ireland's freedom from English rule), before they were executed. 

Apart from class, the last few days have been about trying to settle in. We've done more food shopping (I feel like I have to run out and get something almost every day... probably because I do). But also buying food is much different here than in the States. At home, I was used to my Mom going out and getting a huge load of groceries to last us a week or two (enough groceries that multiple trips had to be made from the trunk of her Expedition to our kitchen in order to unload). But here, people tend to shop for just a few days at a time. Which is also noticeable from the expiration dates on food. I'm used to buying the fresh soup from Harris Teeter, and knowing that it won't expire for at least a week. All of the fresh items I've bought here have expired within just a few days of when I buy them. It's just a little bit of a different practice than I'm used to (that, and grocery shopping for myself in general... especially since I'm not on a meal plan), but it hasn't been that hard to adjust.

Another aspect of Ireland that has definitely taken some getting used to is using money here. For a while (and still sometimes) I felt like the dumbest American tourist every time I approached a cashier and paid with cash. The money was like monopoly money-- I couldn't tell a one euro coin from a penny, or a 2 euro coin from a 10 cent coin. I honestly usually have to open my change pocket and count out any change I might use, before I attempt to buy something like a coffee. I'm starting to get better with it now, but going to London my first few days here definitely didn't help me differentiate any better.

A couple other more political/social observations:

1- Dubliners, and Europeans in general (I've heard), know a lot more about politics than Americans. We were shown a slide with a bunch of Ireland's head political figures on it, and though I knew two by name (Mary McAleese, the President, and Brian Cowan, the Prime Minister), I couldn't pick out their photos. But people in Europe (it seems like) all know Barack Obama is the President of the United States. Certainly a shock for a person from a country where supposedly 20% of Americans can't even find our nation on a map.

2- Garda (police officers) do not carry guns. Coming from a country of tasers, guns, and bomb squads, it just seems like proper precautions aren't being taken when law enforcement officials lack guns. Then again, Ireland has a lower murder rate than the US, so can I really question it?

3- Dubs' sense of humor is different than Americans'. While I feel like most American humor relies on potty humor and other stupid humor, Ireland is definitely a lot more sarcastic. And because I'm fluent in sarcasm, I appreciate this. 

Well we're off to the gaol now to be tourists (and learn a history lesson in the process).

Cheers!