The 28th hour

Hello from Dublin! I've finally made it and currently going on my 28th hour without sleep. Go adrenaline!

The international flight was great, I had a window with an empty seat next to me! The woman the seat over from that did have a bit of a foot odor issue, but it's a small price to pay for getting the elbow rests all to myself. Each person had their own television, too, so I was able to catch up on some movies and shows I had been meaning to see, and not catch up on sleep. I might have fallen asleep for all of 45 minutes, I was so anxious to get to Ireland.

We landed at Dublin in the dark of the morning, around 7 a.m. Just like any other city, you could see the tiny lights from the plane. We got closer and closer and they just seemed off. I finally realized it was because they were all the same height. Dublin's highest points are streetlights!

The anxiety was palpable as I waited for the inevitable loss of my luggage on an international flight once again, but the luck of the Irish must have been with me as both of my bags arrived on time.

Then we took a coach bus to campus, where the bus driver put on the radio so we could hear the Irish music and culture. The song that came next: Kanye West's "Stronger." Fail.

The next part of today was orientation, tours of the campus, figuring out the impossible internet connection, all while functioning with no sleep. The couple hours we got to unpack consisted of just that as everyone assumed we'd be fed at the noontime orientation. Wrong. The poor woman felt terrible.

"Well certainly you've found milk and tea, maybe a loaf of bread by now."

"No, we haven't had a chance."

"You mean you haven't eaten since the flight?!"

[Delirious laughter] "Haha, guess not."

"Oh, Lord."

I honestly can't think right now of how long this part of the day took. A few hours? My brain is a mess with jet lag, but I'm strangely not tired. I just finished a fresh baguette with turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and about half my weight in mayo from a campus convenience store. I even said to go light, I'd hate to see what they usually put on.

I'm off now with some friends to do a little grocery shopping. My goal is to stay up until bedtime tonight. It's currently 3:30, so I've got a ways to go. Wish me luck. Tomorrow is a scavenger hunt through the city, so I've got to be well rested.

I can't wait to write all about it. Until then, here's the view from my room.