Guarda, Guinness, and Beer Pong

Friday I set out on a mission to get my immigration card from Guarda. When I arrived in Ireland they only stamped my passport for one month. I had to go to the Guarda office downtown and register/pay them for a card that would let me stay for the rest of the semester. This card is also the only thing that gets me back into Ireland after my weekend and spring break trips so it is pretty important. So Ally and I took the bus to Lower OConnell street and it was a short walk- some of you may like to know that the Guarda office is located on the same block as the huge Heineken building in Dublin, haha!

We got into line, there were a lot of people already there, great. In the first line I showed my papers, passport, school ID, etc and they gave me a number. My number was 266, at that point they were on number 215.... fantastic. We sat down and waited. About 20mins later I realized that we were moving at a snails pace because all but 2 of the clerks were gone! Their lights were shut off and they weren't helping anyone! ugh. The Irish and their breaks! So we waited for them to all go have tea or something and when they all got back 15 mins later it started moving again. Finally it was our turn, Ally was 265 so she went first and then I had to wait for what seemed like forever until someone was available.

The guy who gave me the number was totally confused by my American bank account, I guess he didn't realize he could easily convert that into Euros and see I still had enough money in the account. Luckily this guy was not confused, haha. He looked at my letters from the school, my receipt from tuition, passport, school id, proof of residence here, etc. He asked what I was studying, when I was leaving, for some contact info, took my fingerprints, and more. I paid and he took my picture. Then I had to go wait for the card to print. Although I am leaving on May 18 he was nice enough to give me through the month of June in case I wanted to travel or something. I know this is very uncommon and usually people would only get like one day extra, or a week tops. Then I finally got the card! yay! I legally can stay!

Afterwards we walked to Upper OConnell Street to the bus company to meet up with Heather and Jackie and buy a bus pass! It was so overdue. It is very hard finding coins every time you have to take the bus. Then we put our bus passes to good use and jumped on the 123 to Guinness Storehouse!

Guinness is a self-guided tour thing. It starts on the first floor and goes up to the gravity bar on the 7th floor. At the top is a really beautiful view of Dublin. Since we went late it was dark by the time we got to the top and my pics didn't do it justice. So anyone who wants to see it will just have to come visit me =) On the 5th floor they had a smaller bar where you could pull your own pint. They taught you the proper way to fill it and then you got to do it yourself. It was pretty cool, and I even got a certificate!!

The new bus pass put to use again to go back to upper oconnell to search for solos and ping pong balls for Ally's beer pong party. We had no luck. We got tall, clear plastic cups that would be decent. The real kicker is our ping pong substitute of wiffle golf balls, hahaha! I would urge you to not try this at home, it gets messy. The balls are definitely heavier than ping pong balls and will knock down almost every cup you hit. oops!

I invited my roommates over to learn the art of beer pong and flippy cup. Elodie had a babysitting job and Natasha said she wasn't feeling well. Cecilia and Marine were the first to come over. I think it was a little intimidating for them to walk into a party that was already going on with all Americans who were mostly rowdy boys. They were champs though and mastered flippy cup! It was so fun to teach them. I went to change my shoes and Andrea's crazy friends were walking downstairs telling me they wanted to come to my party. Andrea's boyfriend is visiting and he doesn't speak English (this is becoming a common problem in my life) but all of them headed over with me.

Just when we were walking in Ally's roommates and their rowdy American friends were leaving to go out. It was perfect timing because then I explained beer pong to them and had them get into 4 teams of 2. Heather helped me but she isn't as used to talking to them so they didn't quite understand what she was saying. So they asked me again and I used simpler words, gestures, ya know. Cecila and Marine played against Andrea and Celia's roommate. Sandra and I played against Celia and her friend. Mateo watched and laughed at us. Heather was in charge of rules at the game I wasn't playing in. It was very fun. They got into it and were excited to learn a new game.

After the games were over we played flippy cup. They really enjoyed that game too. My team was Andrea, Celia, and their friend (she is the only one I don't really know). We were pretty good. They are really funny because when it was Celia's turn she would drink a little then pour the rest into Andrea's cup and flip it. Then Andrea would drink a little and pour the rest into my cup and flip, and I was like "no!" this isn't how you play!! hahaha!! Then Heather peaced out and it was just me and my roommates and their friends in Ally's apartment, hahaha. We sat around laughing and listening to music. Gasolina was a fave because all the Spanish girls knew all the words, I asked what it was about and they said it was dumb, haha. Soulja Boy was also popular and they assumed I knew the dance and asked to see it. I told them nicely that I don't dance but I would show them the instructional video, haha.

Celia decided that we all needed to have a big dinner one night. Andrea told me I should make Chicago style pizza, hahaha. I told them I can't make it, especially without an oven, and I would take them when they visited me in Chicago. If anyone has any suggestions on something I can make for them then let me know!

Overall my day was a success! Got my registration card, went to Guinness, and my roommates and company had a good time at the party!

Also, thanks to Ally for the pint pouring and st. james gate pics!