Goodbye Dublin, hello Carlisle!

From Dublin, I flew directly to Pennsylvania to spend my last semester at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Like my start in Dublin, my start to Pennsylvania was joined by trouble. After a night without sleep but with a lot of goodbyes, tears and struggles with my suitcase, I arrived at Dublin airport only one hour ahead of my flight. My suitcase was too heavy and I should whether pay 55$ or repack it. Desperate as I was, I just threw away all my shampoos and heavy things like that. Then I could finally run off to the 250 security checks I had to pass, including fingerprints and photographs. At the last security check, I could hear: “Passenger Antonia Luehmann, please come to the gate!” I just smiled at the security officer and said: “That’s me!”
Finally arrived at the “big red Dick”, the first weekend was overwhelming. Packed with orientation meetings, I had no time to settle in. But at least I learned where to report sexual assault and how important the use of hand sanitizer is. I felt very orientated.
The classes started directly after that weekend and already in the first week I knew I’m gonna have to work hard here. A lot of work is waiting for me. But also a lot of fun…

Dickinson College

What I like about College Life.

Last week I gave you a description of what is going on here in Griffith College. This week, I wanted to find out what the students like exactly about their College time and I went out with my Interview Mic again.

Here are the results:

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“I love this city tonight; I love this city always.”

People always ask me what I like about Dublin and I never really know what to answer. What exactly makes this city so special for me? Why do I enjoy it here so much?  When I walked into town yesterday I thought about these questions and paid attention to the things I love about this city. And there were a lot of small things that I discovered: the scent of the city, enjoying autumn colours in St. Stephen’s Green, the friendly people, driving on the left side, the “Look rightà” signs on the street, the yellow-blue buses, the uneven footpaths, the small old houses, the colourful doors, the font of the pub signs, the pubs and the cider, the short walking distances, the nightclubs, the street musicians in Grafton Street, the nightclubs, college life and the Liffey running through the city which reminds of my hometown Bremen. Maybe the similarities with Bremen make me feel home here as well. Dublin has round about the same amount of habitants and the composition of the cities is very similar. Both of the cities have a river through the city centre which divides the city in two parts. In Bremen, the northern part is the place to be; in Dublin it’s the south. If there wouldn’t be the Liffey I would maybe not love Dublin that much. It’s really important for me to be close to water. I must have the opportunity to go out and sit by the riverside, watching the sunlight glistening on the water, seeing the swans swimming and observing the tourists on the boats while enjoying a hot coffee. That’s what I really like about Dublin and about my hometown.
Every city is a bit like home; built of light, steel and concrete. You live in a modern style, no matter where you are. And again, I lie awake and so much is passing by. All the things next to my bed are suggestive of me being settled. But I'm not. I'm restless; always looking for new adventures. The mail comes via internet. Everyone told me I was courageous and how much they would like to do the same. I tell them: I’m fine; and it’s good to be alone; away. I’m standing here and see the future far and wide.

My step into reality.

I did it; I tried reality for two days last week. It had a bitter taste. I flew back to Germany from Monday till Wednesday. When I arrived at Dublin Airport on Monday I could already hear so much German at the gate. The worst thing was the German translation of the security instructions in the Aer Lingus plane. It sounded even worse than a self learning-CD. No one talks like that. It wasn’t real. My time in Germany felt a bit unreal, too. I felt like a visitor in my own country. It was like waking up out of a deep dream. Well, I was happy to see my parents and my friends and I had a great time with them, short but great. None of my friends knew that I was coming so it was a very nice surprise. Another good thing was the food; finally I had proper meals again ;) I went out for dinner with my parents both nights; one night with my mom, one night with my dad and my little brother. He’s just one year old and he can take his first steps now :) Life is going on in Bremen; it’s a different life for me now. I miss so many things that are going on there, while I live here in Dublin. I start to accept the bubble as reality, my reality. The world outside is not real for me; it’s strange. I’m not ready for this world yet. And I don’t want to be. I’m happy I’m back in Dublin now. Back in the bubble; back home.  

Home?!

This week, I went home. But what does that mean; the little word home? Where is it; the place called home?
Where is my home?

Home is where the heart is, they say. And my heart is in Ireland. It walks on the cliffs. It plays with sheep. It likes the music on the streets. It lies down in the green grass. It goes out for a pint. It dances in a nightclub. It enjoys coffee in Stephen’s Green, sitting in the sun. It goes shopping in Grafton Street. It wants to learn Irish. It enjoys college life. It meets new people. It likes the Irish. It watches the seals in Howth. It walks through the Wicklow Mountains. It drives around the Ring of Kerry and enjoys the views. It speaks different languages. It is in Cork for a weekend, shopping at the English Market. It learns a lot in college. It likes the Irish accents. It goes swimming in Kinsale in March. It’s happy. And when I say, let’s go back to Germany; it hides behind the hills, where the Leprechauns live. It doesn’t want to leave. And me neither.

Living in the Bubble.

This could be the real world now. But it’s not; it’s college. College life is like a colourful bubble; it keeps us from reality. The real world is out there; we know. But we don’t want to go out there yet. We like our bubble. We want to stay in there. It’s a safe nice world on its own without consequences; with responsibilities but with a lot of freedom. It’s a safe environment for experiments, mistakes, experiences, friends and learning. The bubble consists of many nationalities: There are French, Austrians, Spanish, Germans, Asians, Italians, some Irish and so many more. We do everything in our bubble.

We stay awake the whole night and go to class without sleep. We start doing our assignments one night before the deadline. We wake up Asian guys at 9pm. We meet new people from everywhere in the world. We go to dog races and lose our money. We speak different languages. We play drinking games. We kiss. We don’t pay attention in class; we rather play solitaire. We just knock at doors to see if there’s a party going on. We dress up. And down. We skip classes because we are hung over. We cook pasta at 5am. We watch movies. We go on bike trips. We get kicked out of clubs (if we get in...) We vomit in taxis. We wake up at 5am because of a fire alarm. We do sports. We lock ourselves out by forgetting the keys in our rooms. We set off the fire alarm by burning toasts. We fall asleep on strange sofas. We drink espresso at 5am. We take a taxi to the nightclub (and back home). Our camera brings back our memories from last night. We’re lazy. We’re busy. We study. We read. We write. We think. We blog. We drink. We smoke. We get tattoos and piercings. We need coffee. And alcohol. We’re enthusiastic. We go shopping although we have no money. We date. We get student discounts. We miss home. We fall asleep with contact lenses in. We have fun. We enjoy life. We have bad taste parties. We laugh. We cry. We work. Sometimes. We make up new words. We go out during the week and stay in during the weekend. We broaden our minds. We start thinking critically. We are open-minded.

And some day we’ll get to the point when we get our diploma. We’ll throw away our hats and will be released from the bubble. But will we be ready for reality? 

College time passes by really fast and when it’s over, there’s no way back into the bubble. There’s enough time left for seriousness, work and family; out there in the real world. So enjoy your time in college; it’s the time of your life! 

Dress up! It’s Hallowe’en

SpongeBob with Patrick.

Scary.

Last weekend – well, last week – was Hallowe’en. Many would assume that this is an American holiday, but in fact it’s Irish. It has roots in the Celtic festival Samhain, which celebrates the end of the brighter half of the year and the beginning of the darker half. That’s why it’s often called Celtic New Year. You shouldn’t eat any blackberries after Hallowe’en. Pooka, a ghost that often appears in the shape of a horse which carries its horseman quickly through the forest, spits on the blackberries during that night. Of course, this myth has a true essence: Blackberries that froze can hurt your stomach. And around Hallowe’en it’s often cold enough to freeze.

Today, Hallowe’en is spelled Halloween and it is mostly celebrated in the US, Ireland, Scotland and Canada. A very common Halloween customs nowadays are “Trick or Treat”, Halloween costumes and costume parties, bonfires and ghost stories.

Me and a cat.

Waldo!

 

The Irish take their holiday very serious, what I found out during the last weeks. The stores were full of crazy costumes, pumpkins in every shape and size, skeletons and spin webs. Even one week before the actual Halloween night, there were a lot of Halloween parties. I attended three of them and they were full of funny encounters. I met the Joker, danced with the devil, was attacked by a pirate, a monkey and a vampire; I met SpongeBob and his friend Patrick, a zombie; and I even found Waldo! I turned myself into a witch, a cat and a Bavarian girl. On the actual Halloween night, there was supposed to be a parade and fireworks. But we couldn’t find anything. So we were the parade! A parade that consisted of a devil, a vampire, a cat, a Bavarian girl, a guy that just came out of the shower and a leprechaun.

The parade.

For more pictures of crazy costumes, check out my Halloween Photo Album