A Couple Days In...

And my luggage is still missing! Gah. After what seemed like the worst start to a trip ever (delays, endless layovers in Paris, luggage...) I'm finally feeling a little more comfortable here. The campus is really pretty, and what I've seen so far of the town is great. The trip started off with me, as usual, being a complete spaz when it comes to the security line. Although I did not bring any weapons with me this time (as I did in my affectionately termed "first flight fiasco" to Mississippi), I still can never manage to be prepared. It came upon me suddenly, and bystanders flinched and shrank away as I flailed wildly to get my computer, phone, camera, and liquids out of my bag and into little trays and my coat, scarf, shoes, and travel document thing into another. It was all over eventually, and I started on my way.

My convoluted flight plan brought me from Philly to Boston to Paris to Shannon (yes, I should have found a more direct flight, but I can't always think of everything...), and I got to Boston with no trouble. The flight to Paris was delayed by 4 hours, so my first interminable wait started. Meanwhile, two gates down, a direct flight to Shannon was leaving in an hour and a half, but they had no seats left. The flight to Paris wasn't bad: I was seated between three young, friendly, and attractive guys. One was an American who works in Paris, and he impressed us all by conversing easily with our AirFrance attendants. The second was a quasi-American who has lived in Munich most of his life and goes to school there now. The third was an enthusiastic Mormon from Utah who was on his way to Romania for two years of mission work. At the end of the flight, he offered me "the most valuable thing he had," which was a copy of the book of Mormon. I had to take it, of course, but now what am I to do with it? Ah well... My flight to Shannon was rescheduled from a morning flight to 5pm, giving me about 6 or 7 hours to hang out in Paris (by which I mean slump awkwardly over my backpack and sleep in multiple half hour increments). I eventually got there all right and made it to my apartment, which is Corrib Village. I had no sheets or towels, but I improvised a towel using a spare tank top I had handy. The sheets I had to buy the next day. My flatmates are all really cool: Ethan and Mike are both from Massachusetts, but they didn't know each other beforehand, and Kristen is from Tennessee, but she's not part of the API program. We also have a mystery roommate who hasn't come yet, so more on him/her later. Yesterday we had a group meeting and a campus tour, then API kids from Corrib Village went across to buy groceries at Aldis and to Dunnes to buy sheets (for me). Today we had orientation, and tonight's free, so maybe we'll go out. More later.