That Was Actually In the Handbook.

If you're reading this, I'm going to assume that a) you already know me or b) you were intrigued by the title of my blog. If you picked Option B, let me introduce myself. I'm a junior at Emory University, where I've been expanding my brain capacity in the subjects of English and Art History. In my spare time, I write poetry, ride opinionated horses, make interesting facial expressions, and create my own original dance moves (which are currently catching on across the Atlantic). This semester, I'm studying at University College Dublin, where sunshine seems to be a rare occurrence--but I'm learning to love rain, and of course, William Butler Yeats.

If you're in Category A, I miss you all and I'm thinking of you over here across the water. I promise to keep in touch and update you on life-changing events. So far, I have learned three things:

1. Water pressure is beautiful
2. Driving in your lane is optional
3. The grass really is greener

I'm not sure where to start exactly, since I've only been in Dublin for four days. Despite the rain, wind, and cold temperatures, I'm really looking forward to living in this city. UCD's campus is only a 1.80 euro bus ride away from the city center, so hopefully I'll be able to report on many future explorations, in Dublin as well as throughout Ireland. So far, I have walked down Grafton Street, had a Guinness in Temple Bar, and overpaid for my groceries (as well as tripping down the bus steps and generally making a clumsy fool of myself).

The weather was incredibly bad today, so I spent most of it inside, drinking tea, but hopefully tomorrow I can get out of my room and walk around a bit. St. Stephen's Green, which is a park near the main shopping area, has been calling to me. I really can't get over how green the grass is here; I thought that it was an exaggeration, but the grass is really a different shade entirely. It's hard to tell when the rain is pouring down and the wind is making small tidal waves across the lawn, but the grass is almost unearthly green, as though the chlorophyll has been distilled. The view from the plane, of neatly geometric green fields, is really stuck in my mind. I came to Dublin for the city, its literature and history, but I want to go south, north, and west as well. I can't know enough about this country. (expect a lot of poems about the color green)