Audrey and her family had all of us over for dinner today. It was lovely to be in an Irish house with an Irish family.

I think we’ve hit the bottom today… Now everything will get better. I’ m certain. Both moms, don’t worry, we’re fine. We’ll laugh about these first few weeks in Dublin pretty soon.

At least 10 years ago, back in Vancouver, I was friends with Maeve. About 6 years ago she moved to Dublin. Last Sunday we met for lunch and caught up. I enjoyed talking to her, especially because she was excited about living in Dublin and showed me some nice spots in the city.

When I looked around the restaurant after chatting non-stop I realized that the mask on the wall is identical to the one we used to have at home. I never really liked it, but in that moment I had a sudden appreciation for it.

The world is so small.

My new campus at Mountjoy Square. Ainsley would say, that’s not school…

I always think of Harry Potter taking the Hogwarts Express at platform 9 3/4.

We live across the street from a big fitness centre. Last night we tried the pool, the sauna, the steam room, and the jacuzzi beds… It’s a good life.

Back at home, we felt warm for the first time. Thanks to Sauna, our new best friend.

Last week I had a dream about bed bugs. When I woke up I was soooo itchy and couldn’t sleep all night. The next day I took the whole bed apart, found out that it is actually surprisingly clean, and was able to sleep again.

I have also changed my shampoo since then and my head and neck are not itchy anymore. Must have been allergic to the shampoo. I bought the regular stuff and now I’m fine!

Wow, that was scary.

I can’t believe it myself, but I’ve decided to buy a cell phone. I can phone all my friends here for free, because we’re on the same network. Yay.

St. Stephen’s Green

On Thursday we registered for classes, got our student ID card, and took an English test in the afternoon. It turns out that it was for ESL students and not for people who have lived in Canada for over 10 years… Anyways, it was nice to be good at something!