(Poelker) New to the City

In the excitement of arrival mixed with the delirium of sleep deprivation gave Dublin City Centre a rosy hue. The easiest comparison for me to make from the beginning was to Boston. It might be a symptom of my own ignorance, but the bustling atmosphere and comparatively dreary weather made me think of new England. Also, the way Trinity is situation in the city reminded me of Harvard’s Campus, especially considering the proximity to the river. I had to remind myself that Trinity is not like Harvard, but the other way around.

Outside Davey Byrnes pub, a dishevelled man began a speech asking for change. “Not today,” a standard response of personal policy. As he walked away, and elderly Irishman in a suit struck up a conversation. He spoke about how that sort of poverty was becoming a greater problem in Dublin, and how it was often difficult to trust a beggar. This was my first conversation with a native that didn’t involve the exchange of money, and I was glad that it took until I spoke for him to realize I was a foreigner.

His demeanour was overwhelmingly friendly in a specifically Irish way. When I told him I’d come from New Orleans, he knew of it and had heard of “the Mardi Gras.” Then with great compassion he asked how it was since Katrina. As he walked back into the bar he repeated “Terrible tragedy, that” emphasizing the “T” sound in his thick Dublin accent. I began to feel like I’d arrived.