"You must be Americans if you beleive some bullocks like that!"

Well, after about 9-11 hours of flight time and approximately 8 hours of layover waiting total, I've made it! Never have I experienced that amount of traveling...and by myself. It was definitely a taxing adventure. I woke up from my 7 hour flight from Heathrow with a pounding headache and a bout of awful altitude sickness. With my spirits low in the London airport, all I could think of was getting to Ireland and collapsing (in what I hoped) was a warm room and a made-up bed. Boy, was I wrong (but in a good way!)
My first impression of Ireland as I drove in a taxi to the heart of Cork was how magnanimously industrial it was. I had dreamed of a picturesque scenery; flowing green hills and lush meadows. To be honest, I was a little crestfallen, but I kept repeating to myself that everything was going to be new and I had to strip myself of these snap judgments. After the taxi man dropped me off, I approached the apartments with complete befuddlement...where was the entrance?! It reminded me of the art institute Kate attended that summer in San Francisco: all sharp angles, metal exterior, graffiti splayed across building walls. Once I found the entrance (after approaching a door that so clearly stated to 'find the other door') I entered and met my extravagant and spacy apartment owner. She instantly handed me towels, a flat iron, blowdrier, and my keys (score!) Apparently, so many international kids come to this apartment complex that they leave their appliances there for other tenants after them. I was led up to my apartment (the building basically consists of 4 floors, each containing several apartments with several separate rooms). I was surprised to find that I had my own room and my own bathroom (double score!) I can't remember how long it's been since I've had this much privacy in university housing, I love it so far. Compared to the outside of the building, the inside is really nice, with light wood furniture and a glass shower (a real step up from shabby IV livin'.)
I was introduced to two Americans: one from Oregon and one from Boston, and we decided to go out exploring even though we were all severely jetlagged. After unpacking a little, while listening to my roommate play the fiddle from the other room, the three of us figured the only way to cure this jetlag was some Guinness, of course! We began walking around the city of Cork...and wow, it is beautiful. It just goes to show that first impressions can in fact be dodgy. At night, all of the streets were lit up and buzzing with Irish people. Even though I've never been to New York, my roommate from Boston said it reminded him of what could be imagined is a segment of downtown NYC. We were famished, so we grabbed some chicken tenders from a fast-food ish restaurant. This is where I encountered my first cultural lesson: do not ask for ranch dressing, because it doesn't exist in Ireland. The cashier definitely gave me the stink eye!
We then strolled by a pub clearly marked as a "musical" one, and decided to go in. The sign on the front of the door read "21 and over" and the three of us instantly froze up and began to walk away. This Irish guy laughed outside and told us that it was perfectly fine to go inside and order a drink (and that we must be Americans to believe some bullocks like that!) Once we got in, the three of us were acting like little scared sheep, because we'd never ordered a drink legally in a bar, or an authentic Irish pub for that matter. I think the group of Irish kids outside took pity on us, because one of them came over and starting chatting with us. All the sudden, the group was offering us to share a couple pints at their table and we gladly joined. This was the best part of the night...the three Irish guys were hilarious, outgoing, and super nice and we talked for hours it seemed. Apparently they'd gotten "knackered" the night before, woke up that morning and had a full Irish breakfast (they say is the perfect hangover cure) and had been in the same pub drinking all day. Mind you, it was 7 o'clock at night when we came in. They were very boisterous, singing the songs that came on the jukebox and cussing profusely. I found it extremely easy to converse and laugh with them, which surprised me because usually I'm very shy when I first meet a group of people. We found out that two of them go to UCC, so I exchanged numbers with them. If this is any example of what the Irish are like, then I can't wait to meet many more!
Now I'm in my room, which I'm sad to say is freezing, and without any bedding because of my forgetful landlady. I'm just happy I got around to switching the plug adapter and getting my internet set up. This is only day one, and I can't wait for many more adventures to come!