I am in a hallway, a sitting duck on the floor at 11:00 p.m listening to Jeff Buckley (thanks Alan!).
My college period is turning out to be a huge circle, everything coming around to the way it was at the very beginning of it.
I feel like I’m a freshman again with everything so new, not knowing anyone, and being on an actual campus. The only thing different about this time was that I was picked up by someone I actually knew and looked forward to seeing again. My first time in Logan, I was sick and confused, anxious, more like. So I guess that’s a plus for this year.
Actually, before I go any further, here’s a list of the major things that happened today, in brief:
1) Nice breakfast with Alan in the Grand Hotel’s Coast Restaurant, where we saw the sun rising at 8:30 a.m. Kinda cool, huh?
2) Head down to Dublin City University to move in and pack, meet my roommate, Laura
3) Have a last lunch and some walks before Alan left
4) Unpack and settle
5) Late to the orientation, which started at 2:00 p.m., but which the lady at reception told me 3:30 a.m. repeatedly. She also told me people were meeting at the reception area at 3:30 a.m. Also untrue.
6) After trying to set up the internet for a while in vain, gave up, as my power was being sucked dry without really being able to be replenished since our flat’s outlet electricity was blown.
7) Went to Euro SPAR to get some toiletries, realizing afterwards that wherever people with friends went was farther but a lot cheaper.
8) Read, scheduled, and wrote in journal. Oh yes, somewhere in between I think I fell asleep.
9) Out in the hallway to charge before attempting the Internet/connecting to civilization again.
I can’t fairly give a verdict because today was so strange, with all the events playing out as they did, and me just feeling tired and shy. The people I talked to are fine. They’re all nice, to be sure, but only time can really reveal which ones will be buddies. It just feels a bit intimidating to walk into a big group that has already divided itself among smaller groups.
Add to that the fact that I’m probably the oldest person there, at 22 now. It would be nice to make one or two good friends to explore the city and the continent for a bit, but at the same time, I don’t know how much time I can devote to being social and fun, as I have more serious matters to tackle after I leave. I have yet to decide whether it’s a good thing that I just feel quiet now.
You see, not feeling the pressure to go with people to different places is really helping me to read more of Hocus Pocus, journal, and look through the Ireland guide book. If I got the Internet to work, I’d definitely be looking up jobs and internships.
Still, I’d like to know that I can approach someone comfortably in the near future to go on
some spontaneous excursion.
We shall see, we shall see.
And hopefully by tomorrow or at least by the weekend, my jet lag will have caught up with me.
Ooh, look! A book that needs to be finished!
