Flying to Ireland and First Day in Dublin

Several things we have learned:

The in-flight entertainment was Bride Wars, a fantastically abysmal movie.  While two Brides-to-be fighting about the same marriage location is certainly a brilliant plot for a film, it fell short of my Bridge over the River Kwai expectations.  Feuding best friends begin on a journey of self discovery, with laughter and tears along the way, and find that true happiness lies not in their insane pursuit of the Plaza hotel but in their friendship instead. 

Everyone in Dublin is remarkably friendly, especially when they immediately peg Tom and I as lost American boys.  

We have four roommates from Belgium who smell quite terrible.  Showering may not be a priority for them.

The Belgians were impressive with their quadrilingual abilities, rapidly and seamlessly shifting between dialects.  They were not happy with America in general, and a fair amount of their feelings were justified because of the last eight years.  That being said, the Belgians think that Belgium can solve international crises without the presence of the global powers as arbiters.  I assure you that Jong-Il and Ahmadinejad shudder at the thought of negotiating with Bruge.  On that note, I can't tell you how happy I am to have Barack in charge, because the respect is coming back.  I sense that discussing America over here will be a theme, and I am curious to dialogue with many more Europeans about global politics. 

We visited St. Patricks Cathedral yesterday, and that was a remarkable experience.  The largest cathedral in Ireland, it houses the body of Jonathan Swift, one of our favorite authors.  Satire is without question my favorite form of literature, and Swift is perhaps the greatest.  An old Irish Priest came over to Tom and I and talked for about fifteen minutes about America, Swift, and religion.  He was quite fond of our country, and our long tradition of satire and dissent is certainly something Swift would respect as well.  The history and aura of the building, at the risk of sounding melodramatic, could actually be felt down to the very marrow.

Tom and I will continue to keep you updated, and the best is yet to come.  I hope you are all doing well and enjoying American (non Irish) weather.

-Joel