It’s official, yesterday was our final class session of the term! It ended with my completely not awkward at all presentation on the scholarly debates around the “virgin-gore” fetish represented in John Cleland’s Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure. Then I partied with the gang (aka the two American women and I went to get pizza and gossiped about essay word counts in other programs). In six days I’ll be headed back to sunshine and thick valley accents. So I thought we’d review what I’ve learned this first term:
- Things I’ve missed most from the US- standardized toilets, granola bar boxes with more than three in the package, cold water, and doing something before 11am
- Foods/Drinks I’ve enjoyed the most- literally any drink from River Rock, single size microwavable mashed potatoes that are actually good, Broderick’s candy bars, Proper salt & vinegar lentil chips, Forest Feast chocolate coated almonds, morning buns from Bread 41, and scones from Bewley’s
- Worst food experience- the vegan sausage roll in the cafeteria & the hot chocolate from Costa Coffee
- Best restaurants- Bread 41, Vice Pizza, Póg Tara Street, Juice Jar
- Biggest “stupid American” moment- trying to use superhuman strength to rip off all the bottle caps that are supposed to stay attached
- Biggest “what the fuck is wrong with you?”- Europeans calling bathrooms/restrooms “toilets”
- Smartest moment in class- “Hello, my name is Jenny” on day 1
- Favorite Location- Trinity’s Postgraduate Reading Room
- Favorite fun fact from an Irish person- one way to immediately spot an American is if they have a water bottle
- Favorite item I can no longer live without- my grey knitted wool sweater
- Strongest moment of a sense of belonging– being constantly mad at tourists on campus for being in the way (get off my lawn)
- Biggest regret- not going to the pub with the professors after Monday night lectures (I will change this next term)
- The most fun I had- the Christmas tree lighting event on campus
- Thing I’m most excited to do next term- travel outside of Dublin
- Top thing I would recommend people do in Dublin- see the Trinity College old library’s Long Room (just don’t get in my way)
And finally,
What did I learn?
I am the stupidest person on the planet and I hate myself.
(don’t worry, every single person in this program feels the same way, I think it’s natural)
I’ll see you all in January for part two of this adventure!
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