1st Visitor!

My first visitor, my friend Ami, arrives in less than 12 hours!!! I am excited to have someone to share some of my crazy experiences with. I went out and bought groceries which is always an adventure, but especially so this evening. I went after work and the sky was grey, but it's been 7 days of gloomy weather and no sun, so nothing out of the ordinary. I roamed the grocery store and I'm happy to admit that I am starting to recognize items here and know what to cook with :) YEAH! So, I interviewed a few Irish co-workers and asked what food items they would miss if they moved away and their votes included SuperQuinn sausages (grocery store with the most reputed sausages), Tato Crisps (potato chips) and Cadbury chocolate. One girl even said she has smuggled SuperQuinn sausages to other countries when she was studying abroad. I picked up a sampling of these items to share with Ami to eat true Irish food. After I picked up all this food, I had my hands full with 3 very full bags and I walked out the shopping center to find that it was pouring rain. I waited a few minutes and then decided to brave it. I walked across the town of Blackrock to catch the train into the City. By the time I arrived at the train stop, I was SOAKED! The train pulled away just as I arrived. I waited for the next one and got into Dublin. It has pouring so hard when I got off the train that I could barely see. I couldn't figure out why my shopping bags kept getting heavier. I finally figured out that my umbrella was pouring down into the bags. That tells you how hard it was raining. By the time I made it to my apartment I had soaked through a water-proof jacket, through my jeans all the way down to my undergarments. I think I could have rung the water out of my jeans. Now that I am warm and dry I can admit that it was quite funny. I truly hope that we get a bit of sunshine while Ami is enjoy sightseeing.