On Thursday we went to the Guinness Brewery here in Dublin. It was such a great experience. I expected it to be more of a display of the actual brewery but instead it was more like a museum. I enjoyed learning about all the things that went into making Guinness the popular "stout" that it is today. We learned about how to brew, what is in the beer, the advertising and about Arthur Guinness himself. My favorite thing I learned about Guinness was the saying "Guinness is good for you" and also that doctors used to prescribe it for sickness.
Later that evening we decided to go to the Temple Bar District which is an extremely tourist bar joint. I liked being able to experience it but it was SO EXPENSIVE. I met some Norwegian cops though, they were fun to get to know.
Yesterday, Friday, we had more of a chill day and just slept, went to orientation and grocery shopped. But let me tell you about this grocery shopping experience! I think it was the first time I have experience culture shock thus far. First off, we wanted to go to Aldi because it is supposedly the cheapest here. So we were kind of lost getting their, missed our bus stop, had to walk further than we expected. Totally screwed that up. Then when we were there we realized that Irish people do not have the same space bubbles as we do. People were all up in our business whenever we were looking at different groceries but they weren't rude or anything. It is just completely different from what we expect in the United States. I would not expect others to be five centimeters away at almost all times in the grocery store. Then when we were checking out we could only pay with cash because they do not accept cards that "swipe." So, good thing I had some cash on me. And lastly, THEY DON'T BAG. Which I tried to be ready for and brought my backpack but noooooooo, I had to carry half my groceries in my hand on the walk/bus back. It was very flustering and I couldn't wait to get out of there. I hopefully will be more adapted by the next time I go to the store.
Then today we took a tour around Dublin and stopped at the Dublin Castle and St. Patricks Cathedral. Both of these places were beautiful.
I love the buildings and the monuments in Dublin and Ireland in general because they are so old. Compared to the United States, they are hundreds of years older but still just as tall and just as strong. I loved learning about these building on the tour today. It's crazy to think about how they built these beautiful structures back in the day. Like, we think construction takes a long time now? Imagine how long it took back then.
After today I realized that I just want to engulf myself in this culture and this environment. It's completely different from the United States but also the same, if that makes any sense. I've learned so much about myself already and it's only been a week. I can't wait to see who I become at the end of all of this.
Here is a picture of me in front of the Dublin Castle and below is a picture of St. Patricks Cathedral:
Happy Saturday y'all!
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