GOOD EVENING,

i am rounding out day four here on the proverbial road. i haven’t actually hit the pavement yet, but monday will bring either a train ticket or a hitching thumb. either or, i’m ready for it.

i arrived in dublin int’l early wednesday morning (losing six hour from the states to europe). the plane ride was top notch: nowhere near full. in fact, most people took hold of the four seats in the middle, laying down and stretching out. i, being of short height, gave mine up to those who needed it. a short dinner and a shorter sleep period, and we were in dublin at 8:00am.

ireland is 6 hours ahead of the US. when i usually go to bed (midnight), is bright and shiny morning in the land o’ the green. so, needles to say, things took a bit of time to adjust. four days in, i think i’m successfully living in the right time zone. i’ll still take some sleeping pills each night just to make sure.

after arriving in dublin city centre from the airport, i had time to kill (roughly eight hours) until i could go and see what my host, ed, to offer in terms of a spare bedroom. the jet lag made it a particularly rough day, in addition to the 40lb pack which was meant to be carried over landscape, not cityscape. the tent i’m carrying stuck out the sides, i hadn’t found a good place for my books, and my waterbottles kept hitting me in the elbow. near 1:00pm, i boarded a bus out to a dublin suburb, blanchardtown.

people there were nice enough, pointing me in the right direction to get to my ed’s address. the surroundings were pleasant: a charming little township, it’s roots stuck in the past, updated storefronts and technology here and there. walking down roselawn drive, the houses were tightly packed, as is common here. so you can forgive me if i didn’t notice the black sheep of the neighborhood, tucked away in a filth hole so far from endearing i thought the place was abandoned. yet, sure enough, the key was left under the rug just as ed had said it would be. inside, the carpet smelled of mold and a myriad of shoes littered the entryway. no art or prints of any kind were on the wall. the living room was full of throw away couches and a broken television. the kitchen populated by fully molded over pots and pans and a knee-high stack of garbage in the corner. i followed the stairs up and went into the right-most room. my room. though, i should state that it was a room only in definition: four walls and a bed.

the entire house was of questionable nature. i wasn’t sure if they owned the place or were squating. for an hour, i debated if i should stay the night or bolt. i decided the former. that was the night i went to get the sleeping pills. i took three at 9:00pm. 14 hours of medicated sleep later, i awoke. 11:00am. much too late.

just outside the house after not taking a shower (due to their lack of one), i heard my name from the upstairs window. ed, my host. he rushed down (having just woken up himself), and checked in with me. he was a kind guy, worried if i had gotten accomidated, and he couldn’t have been more willing to serve. his house was just a shit hole. he told me that we would see me the next day, and we could cook or something. knowing i wouldn’t be around and having seen what this household called ‘cooking,’ i still agreed.

that day was the true start of my vacation. i wandered the streets of city centre with a simply daypack with my lunch and enough euro to last me. i got off the bus early, purposefully throwing myself into unknown territory. i walked, bought a phone, found a decent watch, and saw some irish malls. from there i wandered up grafton street and caught a glimpse at some buskers in their element. hitting st stephans green, i sat down, ate lunch, and read from a book ms. kessler loaned me. from there, i b-lined it to the archeology and history museum, met up with a random group of locals and enjoyed a dinner before a movie. all in all – enjoyable. another night was helped by sleeping pills, and i said goodbye to ed in the morning.

the bus ride into city center plus the ride to my next host on the other side of the city took nearly two hours. but trust me when i say it was worth it.

pictures to come.