Old Friend, New Country

This November, after nearly a year of halfway planning to visit each other I found myself sitting on the doorstep of the Hamilton building of Trinity College, Dublin, waiting for my old friend Danny to get out of class. It was the first day of a whirlwind three-ish day visit, and one that established Dublin as a city I want to return to. From sitting at the table talking about Irish history with Danny's (extremely kind) grandmother, to exploring the streets that my friend-from-freshman-year-of-college grew up in, to the friendly bluntness of the city residents, Dublin just felt like home. The hustle and bustle and rush to see ALL the history of Paris fell away, and my friends and I spent hours just roaming around the city streets, investigating stores and coffee shops. It taught me a different way to see a city: to try to not only know things about the city, but to get to know the city itself--its quirks, its humour, and

its atmosphere. While I didn't get to know the city as well as I would of liked, Dublin and I have established a friendly acquaintanceship, and I can't wait to return.