After we returned to our rooms on Thursday, I posted this picture that I had taken while we were in the city on Instagram.

I really liked the picture but as I was about to post it I realized that it’s hard to immediately tell that it’s in Dublin. So as a caption I wrote “Ireland is pretty cool.” A little while later, one of my friends wrote a comment on the image that said, “Totally thought this was Boston at first.” I agreed with her that my picture wasn’t really uniquely Dublin. So when we went to class Friday and today, I tried to notice differences between my home and this place that is my temporary home for the next three weeks.

It is surprising to me that a city that is so far away can feel so familiar. However, I think that I finally got enough sleep to be able to absorb the differences. For instance, yesterday we went to Professor Hinds’ house for dinner. On the way there I got a feel for what a rural Irish neighborhood was like. Their neighborhoods were set up a bit differently from ours. We also saw James Joyce’s house on our way there.

Today we went and watched a cricket game at Phoenix Park. Cricket was weird and hard to follow but there were quite a few spectators there who seemed to be enjoying the sport despite the cold weather. Although the sport was strange, that kind of atmosphere was familiar. I think that there are definitely going to be much more unique experiences as we continue to explore Dublin. It felt nice though to arrive in a foreign place and feel almost at home.