Dublin

We have arrived in Dublin! Our flights out of the states, however, particularly the first, were not uneventful. About forty-five minutes in, the flight attendants began hurrying up and down the aisles, speaking to one another in hushed yet audible tones in response to a call from one of the back rows. Soon after the call, one of them announced on the intercom, "If there's a doctor on board, please identify yourself. There's a man not responding and bleeding from the mouth." No one within our view got up and I suddenly realized that I was sitting next to a newly certified nurse. I nudged Melissa and it took her a moment to realize that she was no longer a student and was actually qualified to walk back and assist. She rose somewhat apprehensively but once she was discovered by the flight attendant, she was hurried to the back of the plane. I was sitting next to an elderly woman who was returning to her home in Minneapolis but had been visiting a friend, recently diagnosed with cancer, in Juneau. She had spent the last four or so months with the friend, while suffering herself from a rare and apparently incurable lung disease, as well as an increasingly worsening case of pneumonia. Her humble self-sacrifice was quite refreshing as well as encouraging. She sat talking to me as Melissa assisted the other nurse, who came from the back of the plane, to find out what was wrong with the unresponsive gentleman. The elderly woman commented that, "This was exactly why Melissa became a nurse and this sort of situation would do nothing but give her confidence!" She was very insistent in her statements. Melissa returned presently and informed us that the man had had a minor seizure and had bit his tongue during it, hence the bleeding. The flight attendants had overreacted not knowing the source of the blood and Melissa had been able to comfort them and inform them of the diagnosis and information she had gleaned from the second nurse.

When we finally arrived, we were greeted with unexpected sunshine. After we went through passport control, we found our luggage and soon after were met with our first official laughing fit. Aided by exhaustion and disorientation ("Dr. Melon, talking to yourself is not a sign of mental stability...") we attempted feebly to put on our backpacks while making change for the bus. The backpacks are not light; forty-three pounds to be exact. I'm not sure how that happened. I didn't think we were over-packing, however, we have since been able to redistribute/rid ourselves of some of the weight and that has been helpful. We have also mastered the cinching of straps to position the weight so as not to dislocate limbs with every movement. We finally got the bus to Dame Street, where we met Colleen, our Alaska/Dublin contact, at Starbucks and then boarded the 16a to Kennelworth and Rathgar Villas where Colleen lives with her four roommates; most of them studying at Trinity College Dublin. After getting settled, we took the bus back into town and managed to see the National Library, the National Museum (history and archeology segment), the National Gallery, Trinity Campus, and we also walked through Grafton Street, one of the main roads through Dublin. The National Gallery was most interesting with endless rooms of paintings, which were at points, somewhat overwhelming, but we managed to focus on a few works and exhibits of personal interest including the Yeats exhibit (W.B. Yeats' brother, John Yeats) and the Harry Clarke illustrations from the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales, as well as a painting, the name of which escapes me at the moment, depicting the marriage of Aoife, the daughter of the King of Leinster, to Strongbow of Normandy, after Strongbow's help in fighting the High King in 1150. It was quite interesting since I felt that in comparison with many of the other paintings that I was unfamiliar with, I actually had some background knowledge to refer to. The painting was huge, covering almost an entire wall, and the walls were not small. We'll be in Dublin two more days, approximately, and hope to make use of our bus passes, seeing as much of the city as possible.

Noted Places of Interest:

1) Bowler's Barber Shop

2) M.J. O'Neill's Cafe

3) St. Stephen's Green