seventeen – unexpected learning opportunities

This week, I:

• woke up to find my country’s government had, quite literally, shut down over night
• made friends with a lovely woman named Afolake, studying for her BSc in nursing, who needed help figuring out how to get a student bus pass
• plotted out the first draft of an itinerary of sorts for when Becky gets here in less than a week (!!!!)
• been reblogged by Kid President (…!!!!)
• received my first mail since making it to this country over a month ago! I couldn’t stop smiling yesterday. Thank you, Shirley & Clint, for an amazing care package!
• made an unexpected trip to the hospital (Ty broke his ankle; Lis and I brought him a change of clothes & a number of books to stave off boredom)
• almost fainted while in said hospital
• discovered The Head and the Heart’s new song, Another Story; proceeded to listen to it an embarrassing number of times
• decided that rosemary salt is the perfect garnish for chips. No, seriously.

… in that order.

also, Lis & I tried to make Irish friends at a breakfast the Hist held… only to meet more international students. We’re beginning to question the existence of these supposed “Irish” students at this supposedly “Irish” school…

Now, I don’t normally faint (and I still have yet to actually faint). Still, about an hour into our visit with Tyler, I found myself swaying on my feet — and not in the exhausted manner, either. I went to walk towards the nurse’s desk, but, you know… couldn’t walk in a straight line and then, all of a sudden, I started blacking out! A bit scary, that. The room got all fuzzy – not just that I couldn’t see, but I couldn’t hear right, either. Lis sounded like she was at the other side of a large room. The only other time this has really happened to me, I was in a doctor’s office and had just received a grand total of four vaccinations. Ouch. I’m not scared of vaccines or needles, but four is a bit much. Still, no faint-inducing shots that day, though, so I was at a loss. Lis got me to sit down, fetched me some water, and gave me her tootsie pop.

Good news: I’m fine! I think! Bad news: No idea why I almost fainted! I’m putting it down to unconsciously locking my knees while we stood by Tyler’s bed & a lack of iron in my diet over the past few weeks. Now that I’ve realized this, Lis & I decided to self-medicate with a trip to Bobo’s for burgers. I solemnly promise to take better care of myself! I forget things like that sometimes. 

Moving right along — Tyler is fine! Well, I mean, we now consider him part cyborg, but you know. That’s what happens when you’ve got friends who like sci-fi (we told him to make sure not to be upgraded to a cyberman.  Her promised he had stopped at Darth Vader, so we aren’t too concerned). It’s been rather an unexpected learning opportunity with respect to the Irish healthcare/hospital system.

The rosemary salt comes from the… medicinal trip Lis and I took to Bobo’s to take advantage of the student deal: two burgers, two sides, €15. Can you say delicious? Because it was. Very hard to make a decision, too.

I think I made the right call, though. Meet The Cashel.

Talk about amazing blue cheese. Yum. Also, did I mention the rosemary salted chips? Definitely taking that idea home with me.

I could not stop smiling when I realized the “parcel notice” slip I got in my mail referred to this box of goodies! Shirley, you’re the best.

And yes, Lis and I really are beginning to question the “Irish” school that we’re attending. For example: yesterday morning, the guy that sat next to me and Lis at the Hist tea & toast event was an Erasmus student from Germany. That night, while I was talking with a few of the Irish students (lies! one is from northern England) I know at the CU, I met three new people… who were all American exchange students. Last week, I had lunch with one of the girls I met in my Irish Studies class on the Troubles… and she’s from France.

I’m not overly worried about it, though — I do have some Irish friends, I promise, and it’s fun to meet people from all over the world!

… oh, and yup — I really was reblogged by Kid President. Some of you may know that my friend Basia and I run a few fashion blogs (the original and the expansion, as it were). They started as a nice, occasional-procrastination (and, really, like a scavenger hunt for fun clothes at affordable prices) technique and kinda spiraled out from there. Well, with the government shut down, we decided to make light of the situation and channel some of the class and inspiration that is Kid President — and then got reblogged for it!

and with that, I’m off. Time for class… and a weekend trip to Belfast!