It's Pancake Tuesday

Upon our arrival in Dublin, we met with our advisor from BU and during our welcome she mentioned how there are going to be times that we are all going to just wants things to be as easy as they are back in the states. She guaranteed that there were going to be times and situations where things do not go well or how we imagined they would.

Yesterday was the first time I experienced that feeling, and it all started with my appointment at the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) and this is where dreams go to die--just kidding...kind of. It is where we register with Ireland's government and pay a fee of 300 euros so that we can legally be in the country.

As a student at UCD, we were able to get an "appointment" before our arrival. Going into the day my friend Morgan and I knew it was going to be pretty awful. We had heard stories of people who had waited 8 hours and some people had even had to go back the next day because the GNIB never got to their number.

Morgan and I decided we were going to try to make this the least painful situation so we left campus at 7:20 and headed to the GNIB. Unfortunately, we got a little lost and did not arrived at the GNIB until 8:45 and there was a line already outside the door. Assuming it was the right line we joined the crowd, and all of a sudden a guy came out screaming, "No more tickets available!" Immediately, I realized I was in wrong line and shuffled to the front. As I got closer the guy kept on exclaiming that there were no more tickets. In response I asked, "We have tickets, so can we go inside?"The guy started screaming "That's not until 10:00 what are you doing here?" and he grabbed my arm and pushed Morgan and I onto the street.

To say I was displeased is an understatement. I do not like being manhandled. We left the scene at which point, Morgan realized she forgot her passport so she left to go back to campus.

It was only 9:07 in the morning and I was already exhausted.

I finally got the courage to go back to the GNIB at 9:20 where I was able to get a number (I got 109 which apparently is a very good number) and I was told to come back in an hour.

When I returned at 10:20, they were only on number 40 so the waiting began. After waiting another 2 hours my number was called and I was thrilled because a 2 hour wait is nothing at the GNIB. The DMV has nothing on the GNIB. The GNIB is actually in a whole different league.

After running around doing errands in the city, I returned to my apartment soaking wet, cold, and exhausted, but it was Pancake Tuesday so I was pretty excited.

Pancake Tuesday is a tradition in Ireland where everyone eats pancakes because it is the day before Ash Wednesday. So this was definitely a tradition I wanted to get in on.

This is where I am going to give a shout out to my amazing roommates who have helped make my first few weeks in Ireland even better.

There is actually 6 of us, but we are missing Bridget in this group photo so watch out for a complete roommate photo.

To be honest with you, my friends Morgan and Sydney were also in attendance since they are honorary roommates and also really love pancakes.

The night was a complete success and this is definitely a tradition I will be taking back home with me.

Until tomorrow's adventure,
Hannah