An Ode to Irish Strawberries

My third day has been infinitely more relaxed than the past two. All of us are tired out from jet lag and going out our first two nights. Last night, our group went out to The Nubar, which is a DCU student bar where a bunch of American students from various programs hang out. There, we met a group of kids from ASU who are doing internships for another 3 weeks. After getting a few pretty cheap pints at the bar, we went back to Shanowen with them and hung out for a while. We got back at two AM, hence the me being tired out of my mind today. 


The rest of today was kind of a tired blur. We got lunch in a pub just outside the entrance to St. Stephens Green. While we were eating, some drunk local got into a fight with the bar man ("This is my pub! How dare you take that from me!") He kind of looked like the Dude from the Big Lebowski, which I guess means that he also looked like my real Sketchy Uncle. (Offense meant? Maybe.) Also after we left the bar, he came up to one of the girls in our group and told her this little gem: Why couldn't the life guard save the hippie? He was too far out. 


We walked around for a while north of the Liffey River, and then Kelli took us to get our Leap cards for the bus, which is great for 2 reasons. 1. No more change for the bus. Yay! 2. We're kind of like locals now, right? I mean, Kelli said that we were real people now. So I am going to go with her word. (Also, we definitely got asked for directions today. Looking so local.) So, that was our day in Dublin.


When we returned to Shanowen, 2 of my suite mates and I took a nap and then went to the Tesco to do some more extensive grocery shopping, and I am in heaven. Which leads to my ode to Irish strawberries and what little I have observed about Irish environmental policy in general. 

Fully Stocked with Delicious Irish Goodness

From the few things that I have observed from just grocery shopping and what Kelli has told us, Irish environmental policy is far and away superior to the United States. To start with my experience grocery shopping. The Irish don't have "organic food" like in the United States. They just have food. All of their meat, fruits, and vegetables are organic, because they have laws regulating what their cattle and other animals eat and using hormones and other enhancers in fruits and vegetables is illegal. Which makes their food so delicious. For example, I bought a box of strawberries and just died. They were so good. I haven't had ones this good since Nana stopped growing strawberries in the garden. They are smaller but with so much more flavour, and I ate the entire box. 

Nomz

On a related note, at the grocery store, you have to pay for your bags. At first, I was confused, but this is such a great policy. They are really cheap, like 70 cent for a large bag, but then you reuse them. That way, people actually have an incentive to buy the reusable environmentally friendly bag instead of just going through the plastic bags like it's nothing. I love it. 


So that's what I have to say on that. With each passing day, I'm loving this place more and more. Just the little things like walking everywhere (minus the blisters) or grocery shopping just make Ireland seem really wonderful. I kind of don't want to leave. Good thing it's only my third day. :) 


That's about it for my day. It's only 8:45 (and looks like it is 5:00), but hell, I am going to bed soon. I'm pooped, and I am starting my internship at The World Trade Centre tomorrow, so sleep is a necessity at this point.