From Paper to Plastic

Paper=Euro. Better than previous days, though still way disappointing when given back to you with a receipt that basically says "your country is sucking it up right now, and you have to pay--literally, 1.30 to the dollar."
Plastic=the apparent obsession with individual and excessive packaging in Irish grocery stores. individual cloves of garlic are wrapped in netting. three onions per netting package. four bagels in a shrink wrapped package. three slices of ham for £1.40 (our computer's euro key doesn't work, so £=euro) in a shrink wrapped package. six plums in a plastic AND paper carrying case with unnecessary plastic handle. but i bought it all.

i have now been awake for about 30 hours, and traveling for 16 of them. i'm trying to follow savvy travel advice and stay awake until sunset, but it's proving quite difficult. the damp trek back from dunne's, a grocery store (which also sells wine & spirits and a target/h&m-esque line of clothes), with around 50 pounds of groceries woke me up a little, as did the scorching hot electric shower i had afterwards (an on/off switch and a dial for temperature--the other shower has to be heated for an hour before use). and each section has its own cash register. when i bought my food for the next few weeks, the cashier, seated comfortably in an ergonomic office chair, looked surprised, as if people didn't actually ever load their pantry at dunne's. i thought it was sort of quaint, in comparison to two-shopping-cart checkouts at wal-mart. my house is very cute, even though there are no cabinets anywhere but the kitchen, and the washer is the size of a large colander. the door is bright blue, and has a completely useless doorknob in the middle--and it unlocks with a skeleton key!

the flight was good--i spent most of it wondering when 'made of honor' was going to be over so i could try and sleep, which turned out to be never, and listening to the scots behind me. our plane landed less than 200 feet from a cow pasture, and the airport was practically deserted. the customs agent spent more time talking about his brother's failure as an actor than my legal status as an american citizen. my roommates and i went to lunch at a gourmet burger joint down the road, which was delicious. the roommates are all very different, but i think it will make things interesting. tonight we have a mini orientation at a pub down the road--adorable! i really like it here, and can't wait to enjoy it when i feel conscious.