Culture Shock - 1 Rachel - 0

I've been in Ireland for five days now, and all I can say is wow. This past week has been nothing like I had imagined it would be.

I flew out of snowy Pittsburgh in the morning. My family gave me a warm send off in the airport, and we parted ways until May 14th. I was a little worried about getting through security and boarding all on my own, but thankfully, everything went smoothly. I arrived in Boston after a very quick flight.
Once in Boston, I spent my nine hour layover walking around, online shopping, reading, and doing anything to make the time go faster. I met several API students in the airport, and we all anxiously waited for our flight together.

Ever since I stepped foot onto the Aer Lingus plane to Shannon, I've felt like I've been sleepwalking. I sat next to a kind, elderly Irish woman with the voice of Mrs. Doubtfire, and all the flight attendants had last names like O'Reilly and O'Donnell. We arrived in Shannon around midnight (5:00 am in Ireland), and we hit the ground running. I didn't even have time to feel exhausted the first few days, but it definitely caught up with me.

Now that I'm settled into my apartment and starting to learn the city a little better, I can definitely picture myself enjoying my semester here. Surprisingly, it wasn't love at first sight for me. I was expecting my transition to be a lot smoother; I underestimated how big of a challenge this is and how I would be affected. My first three days here have been miserable. The weather was absolutely terrible with 40 mph winds and sleet (even the Irish say it's not usually this bad). Even the simplest tasks like making the shower water hot were completely foreign. I was almost ready to book a flight back to start the spring semester at Marietta.

Every day is better and better. I keep reminding myself how desperately I wanted to be here and how lucky I am to have this opportunity. Our director constantly reminds us to make it through the first month here, and in February, we will never want to leave.