Packing in all the TRAVEL!!

So I've pretty much stayed around the Dublin area so far, and met a lot of cool people and gotten to know Ireland fairly well...but starting this weekend, I'll be traveling a bit more and seeing more of Europe. This weekend I'll be going to Galway, which is the countryside of Ireland. Should be fun, some friends from Smurfit are going and possibly some of my other Irish dentist friends. The weekend after, I will be in Edinburgh with my Google peeps. Then I'm here in Dublin for 3 days, cramming in as much school work as I can before I'm off to Rome to meet Candace. The week after I will be visiting Madrid and seeing the Denises and Mike Roth. I'm here in the Dublin the next three weekends, which includes Thanksgiving, then I'm off to Brussels! Woo! Talk about squeezing a lot of trips into two months! Can't wait tho!!! The studying will have to be secondary to the travel, but as they say, when in Rome!!

Dublin vs London vs Los Angeles

So it's October (my does time fly) and I've been living in Dublin for just over a month now. Thought it was time to do a little comparison of the cities I've lived in to see how it holds up. I've now lived in four major cities - LA for most of my life which includes Monterey Park, Westwood and Santa Monica, then Davis for two but we'll leave that out of this comparison, studied abroad in London as an undergrad and now studying in Dublin as a grad student. Overall, London and Dublin are somewhat similar, but London is a bit more fast paced and crazy. LA is quite busy as well, everyone is always in a hurry racing from one destination to another. Dubin has a nice balance and the people here are more relaxed and take the time to enjoy themselves, which I think is awesome.

So here is my comparative breakdown:

WEATHER

Weather-wise, LA has to take the cake. Both London and Dublin are rainy, windy and cold. Kinda reminds me of my two years at Davis. But I have to admit its nice to have actual seasons, whereas in LA its sunny and 75 most days. Here in Dublin, good weather has been in the mid 50's and no rain. My perspective on a nice day has definitely changed. What I consider a lovely day here would be a cold ass day in LA. But I guess the rain is what makes Dublin so green and beautiful! When I was living in London, it was summer, but it rained quite a bit, in fact, probably as much as it does in the winter. It was just warm and rainy. I can deal with rain in LA (the little of it that occurs) more so because I have a car and can drive. But in Dublin and in London, walking and taking public transportation sucks when its raining, which leads me to the next topic...

TRANSPORTATION

Not having a car has been a bit of an adjustment here, but taking the DART has been awesome and convenient, not to mention affordable. I get a weekly pass for about 16 Euro, which is close to 21-22 bucks. At home, I was filling up the tank at about 50 bucks a pop each week. The only downside to taking the train is that it stops running at midnight, so social actitivies either have to end early, or I am forced to take a taxi. And as I mentioned above, trying to find a bus stop in the rain is not fun. Last weekend, I went to my new friend's place for drinks and had to take a bus. Simple enough rite? Well, as most of you know my sense of direction sucks and Taking the train in London was comparable, although we took the bus more, to places like ASDA, the UK Walmart.

FOOD

Food, oh boy! One of my favorite things, being the "foodie" that I am. I could probably write an entire blog about food.
The cuisine here in Dublin is not healthy, for one. The Irish sure do love their potatoes and carbs! Everyone here eats chips (fries) and crisps (chips). You'd think they'd be fatter, but for some strange reason they're not. (I do fear that I'll be much fatter when I go back to the States!) I finally tried some traditional Irish food the other day. My friends and I had a shephard's pie, guiness beef pie and Irish stew. It was pretty delicious, but very filling. And of course, it came with our choice of mashed potatoes or chips (fries). I haven't had a traditional full Irish breakfast yet, which includes something called blood pudding that has liver and other stuff...probably won't try it while I'm here. The food is a bit similar to British food, lotsa meat pies and peas and carrots. One thing I love is that they have Hob Nobs here. I fell in love with the yummy cookie when I was studying in Brighton and was happy to find that they have it here.

The funniest thing I found here is that with Chinese food, you have the option of either getting white rice or chips (french fries). No offense, but I just find that bizarre. Asian food here hasn't been great, a bit disappointing. My roommate Will has had two bad Kung Pao Chicken dishes here so far. But Lydia, a new friend from Google introduced me and Katherine to a great hot pot place in Temple Bar. The service was really good and the staff was friendly, which is rare for a Chinese restaurant.

My roommates and I recently went to a korean bbq place, which was pretty decent - I had the bi bimbop, which was delicious! Will got a pretty tasty sweet and sour chicken, but we found it funny how none of the chicken dishes here are breaded. Lydia also brought us to a great place for Thai down the street from my apartment, which was yummy!

I have been craving a bowl of Pho since I left the states, so I searched online and I found a Vietnamese restaurant in Temple Bar. Its called Ho Sen, and it is literally the only Vietnamese restaurant in Dublin. Kathy and I tried to go the other day, but it was closed for lunch. I'm excited to try it because they have actual Vietnamese spring rolls. All the spring rolls I've had here have basically been fried egg rolls. In general, Asian food here is pretty pricey. At Ho Sen, the Pho is like 15 Euro, which is crazy cause I can get Pho at home for like 5 bucks.

Have also not found good Japanese yet. They have a Wagamama, which is a chain around Europe. Haven't had it here, but had it back in London. Ramen was mediocre. The sushi here is expensive and also average. Their spicy tuna roll is not like what we have back home. The tuna itself is not mixed with spice, but the outer roll itself has a Mexican chili powder layer around it...just bizarre!

People that I've talked to about the food say its because all the restaurants have changed their food to suit the Irish palate. Oh well...whatcha gonna do?

Italian food is pretty good here, as is Indian food. Am planning to try Polish food soon, wish me luck!

DRESS

Despite the rain, women here are super fashionable. I myself have had to readjust my waredrobe. Its usually damn cold, so I would never think to wear a skirt or dress when it rains. When we go out at home, I'll wear dark jeans and a nice top, but here that is really casual. Girls here wear dresses and tights, high boots. They look fabulous so I have had to buy a few things since coming here.

$$$

What can I say? London, Dublin and Los Angeles are all expensive cities. However, I know LA much better and can find things for cheaper, like food and clothes. Plus with the Euro and the Pound and the fact that the dollar is crap, LA is much more price friendly.

Still getting used to the Euro Money, not a fan of all the 1 and 2 Euro coins. Gets all bulky in my wallet.

Neither Dublin or London feels like a foreign country. I think that I chose the city that is the most like America. It kinda feels like the East Coast but with accents.

Overall, I love Dublin. I am really glad that I decided to study abroad. I've been having lotsa fun and meeting awesome people. I am sad that I have to leave here in a few months but I am looking forward to seeing all my friends and family.

What I'm missing back home

Look at this cutie pie growing up so fast and I'm missing it. Alexis is already a month old and getting bigger and cuter every day. Luckily Cando and I figured out how to Skype and I got to see my lil niece via web cam and talk to my sister. It was great, gotta love technology! So skyping will definitely help me cope with my home sickness and missing this cutie patottie! If anyone back home is on Skype, look me up - rachelquach. Would love to talk and see your lovely faces!!