On Trying to Calm the F*ck Down
Hopped off the plane at ORK with a dream and 60 pounds of luggage. After enduring the absolute JOKE of an airport that is London, Heathrow, I have blissfully found myself in Cork! My traveling and adventurous mind told me to take the train from my airport to the hotel because public transportation is the absolute tits. However my heart, mind, body and spirit which hadn’t had actual sleep in ~20 hours and had just sweated through all his clothing on the 1:50pm Aer Lingus flight from London decided a cab was the proper choice.
Mr. Cab (forgot his name) was truly an absolute sweetie. He gave me so many recommendations of little excursions and activities to do during my time here. He was very passionate about me seeing the Blarney Castle. So much so that it seemed that he may have been getting a commission from each visitor he sent. Through many winding tall grass-lined roads, we arrived near the city center, where I was to stay my first night in town while getting acclimated to the time zone. As Mr. Cab (forgot his name) unloaded my little items from his boot*, he did take the opportunity to show me a poster of the Blarney Castle just to hammer in the fact that I should be going here.
The evening proceeded with a short rest, a crossword puzzle, shower in my hotel, then meeting with two other prospective students to jaunt about Cork. We visited a chipper**, and sat along the River Lee to acquaint ourselves and tee hee hee and haa haa haa. We concluded the evenings festivities with a nightcap at the bar in my hotel because I’m selfish. For the following morning, we agreed to share a cab to whisk us off to Ballymaloe.
While meeting people is so fun and nice and special, I am a cranky lad when I don’t have enough alone time throughout the day- so Sunday was a bit of a stamina test. However- I was very brave and met so many people including my cottagemates, who are thankfully delightful. I live with three others in a cottage on the far end of the farm about an ~8 min walk through the gardens- it’s as charming as it sounds. We also share a backyard with four other students attending the school. We have established many team hangouts and little family dinners. Very quaint. Very chic. Very Irish.
Our first night consisted of a homemade pizza party that turned into what felt like extreme eating contest. Next, we were introduced to all 66 of us giving a ~2 sentence bios (some squeezed in a few more sentences). As mentioned, I am an introvert which also has a side affect of having “everyone-here-hates-me.” Unfortunately, science has said there is no cure. The anxiety IS however treatable if you have nice people sitting next to you who commiserate about how anxious you all are. Then those nice people invite you to go jump in the ocean the next morning before school- and you do that! Again, very brave (also we saw dolphins).
First full day of school consisted of walking around the farm for 2 hours, followed by sitting in a room and listening to information- two things at which I excelled. Ultimately, there was a delightful energy from start to finish. Tomorrow we actually start cooking, wearing chef coats, and getting into the nitty gritty. Of course we couldn’t have the energy to take on tomorrow without jumping into the salty, frigid, open Atlantic again this evening followed by spending time in a sauna trailer we found down by the shore.
Cheers!
*Irish for car trunk
**Irish for place that sells fish and chips
