Let the games begin: 14 June 2008

My first international experience began on a very hung over afternoon in mid-June in the beautiful city of Newark, New Jersey. The previous evening I decided that I was going to go all out so I would be completely exhausted for my long trek over the pond. I accomplished this mission with gusto. My weary body arrived at Newark International four hours early with my overly parental parents. We weaved our way through the maze of Newark, finally arriving at the Continental Airlines Check In area. To my surprise the entire check in experience only lasted 20 minutes. After my goodbyes with the parentals I eagerly walked to the waiting area to begin what I imagined would be a ten to 15 hour slumber that would be periodically interrupted by transitioning modes of transportation. Little did I know that I would be bombarded by two chatty females that would reduce my slumber time quite significantly. Part of this was my own doing, as I offered my new friends, Amy and Emily, the seats next to me. The seats were vacant and I saw it as an opportunity to better know the people I would be spending the next six weeks with. We arrived at Shannon International following a three hour delay due to inclement weather and a six hour flight. I merely slept eight of the possible fifteen hours. This was more than the combined sleeping time for Amy and Emily so they held that against me.