I've been waiting to write a post for when I began classes, and boy I didn't realize that would make this post so long! Sorry in advance.
Claudio and I have tried to be active an see a lot of Dublin County before classes begin. First, we went to the Dublin Zoo!
The Dublin zoo is very unique. It's one of the oldest in Europe, being founded in 1831. The best part of the zoo, compared to the Honolulu Zoo or the Woodland Parks Zoo, is that every animal is unique and has a nice habitat. I didn't see the entire zoo (sorry reptile house) but I can promise you that my moments watching the Orangutans and the Bolivian Squirell monkeys are prized. If you know me really well you'll know that I have a thing for primates, and of the ape family the Orangutans are my favourite. We watched in the Dublin Zoo as one young female reached into the water with a stick and tried to grab a fallen Bunny stuffed animal. She couldn't reach it all the way with the stick, so she grabbed onto a rock, held on, and leaned a good 3 or 4 feet into the water to grab the lifeless stuffed animal. Although I couldn't see her face at the time, I'm sure she was ecstatic. She pulled it out and then rung it out like a dish rag and proceeded to climb as high as she could into the trees so no one would bother her. It was precious, and when we left she was being slowly followed by a few other Orangutans wondering what she was hiding. Claudio took the bulk of the photos, so I'll try to upload some at a later time. The Bolivian Squirell monkeys were just adorable and they we about the size of a guinea pig. Yet, they were SO active. Running around, holding to the edge of the cage and onto the trees. They held my attention for probably twenty minutes. They will be my first stop if I return!
We also went to Dun Laoghaire (done-lury) which is a "commuter town" in Dublin. We decided to go check out their ice cream, because when Pinterest tells you that Teddy's has the best ice cream in the country, you listen. It was a beautiful day when we went, so I got some nice photos!
Dun Laoghaire has a large pier, helping to protect its harbour, which was quite enjoyable to walk onto. Teddys hold the monopoly of the town, and there's even a Teddys stand on the right tip of the pier.
Conclusion: I don't understand the rave about Teddy's. It was basic soft serve, but I think people love it because of the memories it brings of their visits to the small town in the summers.
Claudio and I both endured "fresher's week" at our schools, where all of the societies have booths to get you to sign up. If you're from Brigham Young University - Hawai'i, it's like World Fest but 3-4x as large.
It's quite interesting though, because when Claudio signed up for the UCD investors and entrepreneurs society, his care package included the "hangover cure" and a condom. Thanks UCD for promoting safe sex to all of the 18-year-olds? Well, we're not in BYUH anymore, that's for sure!
Here's a photo from our second day in dublin that a friend just posted:
I had the orientation to my course on Wednesday the 17th and it was really nice to meet everyone in my course. We're somewhere between fifteen and twenty students, 50/50 male/female, 50/50 Irish and non-Irish. About an hour or so of introduction to different courses, we packed up and headed to the pub. Only two of our professors joined us, but it was nice to get to know the majority of the class over a pint. For me, the means orange soda! I'm getting used to ordering orange or lemon soda by now! I only grabbed on photo, but you can get the jest.
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