I'm glad that I didn't go to school in this town!

Lanty and I arrived in Limerick this morning, sleep-deprived (somehow neither of us could sleep on the flight from Chicago to Dublin, but we were completely out on the flight from Dublin to Shannon--a 20-minute flight on the same plane). We got ripped off by a taxi driver who seems to have graduated from the "How to Cheat Friendly Tourists out of their Money, especially in Washington, DC before Metered Cabs Began Service." But, oh well. Had I been more awake, I probably would have noticed that he was charging too much, I was tipping too much, and he was "out of change" -- I should have ran into the hotel to inquire about the fare and get my own change...oh well.

Now, onto this town (Limerick). The Institute for Study Abroad vigorously encouraged me to study at the University of Limerick during the application process in early Spring. As my mother said today, “it pays to know people with good advice.” (My godfather had strongly discouraged me to study in Galway instead of Limerick for its academic excellence, culture, and beauty.) In short, he couldn’t have been more right: the town is not just old, but it’s dilapidated; there are lots of shoe stores, cell phone retailers, and the basics – but nothing too exciting or classic European; and there’s a large pile of garbage on the docks across the street from our hotel.

I’ll stop the description of this picturesque town there, for Lanty and I are heading off to a place called Dolan’s – a local pub with live Irish music. (The one next door, the cabbie said, is where the prostitutes go. “Be careful which door you use,” he said.)