10 years ago

I don't know why it didn't hit me before, but we're in 2010! A decade has passed by, and without a doubt, it was a decade of HUGE changes for me. Ten years ago today, I was sitting in my dorm room in Dublin, Ireland. What is very exciting too is that I've only recently found my journal from my time in Ireland. It is so much fun to look back, and remember the person who was writing that journal ten years ago. I know it was me, but it seems hard to imagine just how different my life would become.
I arrived in Ireland on January 6, 2000. I was going to spend the semester at the American College Dublin. I was living in a residence hall that was shared between our school and Trinity College. My roomates were Maura from New York, and Evan from Virgnina. Soon after, I began my first class, which was a two week art and humanities tour of Paris and Lyon. When I returned, I started my regular classes and began settling in to my semester in Ireland.
Here's what I found in my journal from February 2, 2000:
Well, my second week of class is over, and am now completely confident that the semester will be over before I know it. My classes are good... Yesterday, I wore my new boots to go to the ATM (5 mins away,) and by the time I got back, I had the biggest blister ever on the back of my heel! It is SO gross! To make matters worse, it is so difficult to get gauze pads and tape. First, Band-Aids are plasters. Second, I couldn't explain gauze. At the pharmacy, they gave me 3 absorbent pads- no more. They told me they only had 5 in the store. All I wanted was a good old huge pack of Johnson & Johnson gauze pads, from good-ol CVS.
Well, tonight I am going out with Kelly and Marta.
...Hopefully, Dad will come visit me. I think I am going to Belfast next weekend. And hopefully, I'll be going to Galway and the Aran Islands in 2 weeks. I'm sure that once I start traveling, it'll make the time go by quicker and maybe I'll enjoy Ireland a little more.
The talk radio had a discussion last night about parking at the police station- then about public housing, which is regular housing bought by the republic and given to the people on the housing list. They charge 7 Irish pounds a week for the same house that costs 200.000 pounds! Its crazy! To make matters worse, they were also disputing if people want to live near people on housing lists. Then they started talking about people would make undesiriable neighbors- immigrants, travelers, and single mothers! Crazy!
...I also talked to Jorn through email- hopefully, during our study week, I'll be able to go to Stuggart for a few days!
... Well, that's all for now, tomorrow is the Dublin tour I didn't go on last week.

Some commentary. First off, when did "gross" exit my vocabulary? I never say that anymore! I still miss CVS, but European pharmacies are much more "homey" to me now. Marta and Kelly became my closest friends in Ireland. In 2008, we reconnected through Facebook. My dad never came to visit (in a few more days, I would have to head home for a month,) which changed plans quite a bit. I cannot believe that I was so smart to listen to the talk radio. I HATE talk radio, but it was a really good way to learn about the culture. I think I listened to that program every night I was in Dublin. I think its funny that I started talking about Jorn (whose name I now know how to spell,) I had NO idea what was to become of "me & Joern." I also know how to spell Stuttgart now :)
What really suprised me though was how I was wishing my time away. Here, I'd love to go back and slap some sense into that Allison, who was wishing away the most amazing experience of her life. And to get back to what? Baltimore? Oy!

And what am I doing on Feb. 2, 2010? I've just returned from my second physical therapy appointment for my back. It went well, and oh yeah, IN GERMAN! I drove- my X5. This evening, Joern will pick me up to drive to my in-laws' house, which is where we are building our house (in Germany) to see my father-in-law's new M class.

I've really enjoyed looking back at the person I was 10 years ago, and where life has brought me today. I'm completely amazed!