When I first arrived at Victoria Lodge I wanted to cry like a freshman who realizes the full implications of what she’s done, just as her parents pull away. I still had Mike with me, and I wasn’t going for 4 years but 4 weeks, but my disappointment was huge. When we got a bit […]
Our first night in Dublin we were so disoriented (we didn’t sleep on the plane the night before) that we didn’t realize that it stayed light until 11:00 p.m. The next morning we checked the weather on Mike’s phone, while still lying in bed. We saw, “Cloudy a.m./Sun at night,” and laughed our asses off. […]
I did a synchronous session with my Drexel class directly after my class in Cork. Here’s the main thing I learned—I rely on my “audience,” so much. The thing I hadn’t thought about at all was that I wasn’t going to get affirming head nods and eye contact and smiles. I got a huge vacuum […]
Irish women love their white pants. The other day in the University restaurant, I was asked if I would like chips (French fries) with my taco. On Sundays, drapes are closed over the liquor shelves, even though during the week you can buy a bottle of Jameson (and anything else you want) at the 24-hour […]
When living my normal life at home, I have a fair amount of time alone. Probably more than a lot of “normal” Americans—I work from home 2 days a week; I have a good amount of time each evening after the family has gone to bed. But, that alone time is interspersed with interaction. Most […]