Week Three - beach day, snapshots and classes

What beautiful weather we have been enjoying! Yesterday, I headed to Killiney Beach with some new friends who are all studying at Trinity. It was so nice to lay on the beach, soaking in the sunshine. We are all feeling like we really need to savor every moment of sun because, as we are told numerous times in a day, this is very unusual weather and it won't last. We took the Dart (train) from Dublin to Killiney then walked along the beach. Eventually, we ended up in the town of Dalkey where we found a whole foods shop that could have been picked up and moved to a town like Cambridge without changing a thing (except maybe the spelling of some of the words). It was a great day and a great weekend overall. (In the picture - Agnes from Hungary, Dona from San Fran, and Bridge from DC.)

I love when I am living life slowly enough to appreciate the unexpected things that happen each day. On Saturday evening, I was heading to my Rotary host's house for dinner with all of his family so I got the advice of other Trinity students on what I should bring as a thank you. On the advice of some second year graduate students, I ended up buying a chocolate truffle cake from a fancy, French bakery. The woman behind the counter apologized to me that she did not have any bags to put the cake in and she insisted that I must carry this cake with a hand underneath, like a waiter in a restaurant carries a large tray. Have you ever tried to get through busy city streets on a sunny, Saturday afternoon in fall carrying a cake balanced on one hand? I really kept expecting someone to knock into me and send this cake flying. And I had 3 hours to go before I headed to the dinner! Add to that image the fact that I had to pick up some school supplies. So, there I was, weaving around a small, cramped stationary store, with a heavy bag on my shoulder and a cake in one hand trying to pick up the things I needed. In the middle of this, one of the people working there and I started joking about opening the box and digging into the cake right there (being Irish, she offered to brew a cup of tea to go along with it). Well, you know me, one thing led to another, we got deeper into conversation and, before I left the shop, she had offered to store the cake for me until I headed to my train. I very happily accepted and headed back into the streets without needing to worry about a cake disaster. I did not even get the chance to really thank her because, when I went back to collect my cake, she had already headed home for the evening.
This morning, as I rode the bus to campus, I got to smile about something else unexpected that, if I had not just been watching the world go by, I would have missed. At one street, there was an older woman, dressed smartly in her long coat and red scarf, trying to cross the street to the grocery store. The bus slowed down and stopped for her, even though she was not at the intersection. To my enjoyment, as this woman make her way slowly across in front of us, she blew the bus driver a kiss. It touched me as a perfectly extravagant and wonderful way to say thanks. I think I don't blow kisses to strangers nearly often enough (don't worry, I'll be careful not to do this in any pubs : ).
Classes start tomorrow so I was in to library all day today read up on international human rights, the definition of and foundations for human rights and arguments regarding the definition of citizenship. This is just for my two classes tomorrow. I only have 12 hours of class a week but, if today's reading assignment was any indication, I am going to be quite busy doing homework in the hours I am not in class. I am a little anxious about being back in school but I am also looking forward to it. I will let you know how it goes!

Conversation overhead in the bathroom:
A: Are you alright?
B: I think so but I will ask the bartender if he has plaster. I usually have some in my purse but I forgot today.

So, remember, always carry plasters. You never know when you might need some!