Quarantine Recap
I’ve already been in Ireland for over a week. I’ve tried writing this blog post a few times already, but I’ve been struggling to figure out what to put into it. There’s very little to do when you have to quarantine for the first two weeks.
But let me try anyways:
Day one – My half empty flight from Chicago to Dublin (hello, empty seats and extra leg room) landed on Friday August 28th. I had the quickest, easiest experience with customs that I probably ever will, then I grabbed my luggage and went to find the free transportation for international students put on by the university. This is where things got a bit tricky. I found the booth where the people were supposed to direct me to my transportation, and my name was not on their list. They assured me that they’d get me where I needed to go, and after about thirty minutes of waiting, I was introduced to Neil, the cab driver who would be driving me the 2.5 hours down to Cork. Did I mention that I didn’t have to pay for any of this?
Once we got to Cork, I checked into my student accommodation and met the cutest dog ever (after Beau, of course.) His owner works in the reception office of my accommodation, so I plan on seeing plenty of him. I lugged all of my luggage up to my room on the seventh floor (Thank God for elevators) and spent the rest of the day trying to get everything unpacked/organized.
That night, since my grocery delivery was going to get delivered the following afternoon, I decided to order some dinner from the Irish version of DoorDash. Both my credit and debit cards got declined, and when I told reception about it, they offered to buy my dinner for me. Irish people are SO kind. (Sara, be sure to tell James this.)
Day two – The next day was grocery day, which came with a few technical difficulties and some panic on my end. I ordered from Tesco “the Walmart of Ireland” as some people I know would say. On their website, it said my groceries had been delivered so I called reception and no such luck. Cue my panicking. (It was mostly hunger-induced.) Turns out, the website will say delivered even if it’s not, so that was a fun thing to learn.
The next few days were a bit of the same: staring out my window longingly and craving coffee.
THEN on Day Five I learned that I’m allowed to go outside on walks as long as I don’t go into any of the shops/restaurants. This was a game changer. That day, I walked to the campus where I will be starting classes (University College Cork) and a park close by called Fitzgerald Park.
There’s not much to do during a mandatory, precautionary quarantine besides walk around and wish you could go into the buildings you walk past. However, that doesn’t mean I haven’t enjoyed the freedom to go outside. So that’s how I’ve spent most of my days. (That and eating microwaved eggs for breakfast because my pots and pans I ordered almost a month ago still haven’t gotten delivered.)
Yesterday, I received an email to register for classes so I am now officially enrolled at UCC! Classes don’t start until Sept. 28, and since my program is so small (approximately 12 of us) it’s most likely that all of my classes will be in person.
Now as far as COVID goes, Ireland has some strict measures in place for lowering their numbers. You can download an app that posts the daily number of new cases and even breaks down the numbers by county so you can see where the cases are. A lot of people do not wear masks here, but it’s a requirement to wear a mask if you enter any business/restaurant. The government reviews the guidelines for the country once a month, so their next review and possible easing of restrictions will be on Sept. 13. This is when, rumor has it, all pubs will be able to open! So be sure to look out for those good old pub stories.
I know this post isn’t the most exciting, but the past week has not been the most exciting. Once I’m free to do whatever (Sept. 11) I’m sure things will pick up.
Until then,
Emily
