As someone who has yet to put their passport to use I was extremely excited to start the journey out of the country and into Ireland and Northern Ireland. Flying out of Newark airport on the 7:20 p.m. red-eye to Dublin I had one goal and one goal only; sleep on the plane to reduce the effects of jet lag. However my ability to sleep in a moving vehicle can most aptly be compared to that of a dog on it’s way to the vet, never quite comfortable and always a bit anxious (especially with flying). Knowing this, the expectations of accomplishing my goal was quite low. As I took my seat in the middle of a row, which, as everyone knows requires an intimate knowledge of your neighbor's shoulder in order to get some rest, I waited to see who would be sitting next to me and quite possibly be my pseudo-shoulder-pillow. Then coming down the aisle I saw a familiar face, it happened to be 2016 Victory Scholar graduate Jazmen Boone and to my welcomed surprise she was sitting next to me. Over the next few hours I opted for conversation over sleep as I bounced all my questions about Ireland, SCL and everything in between off the SCL alum. Being the wonderfully helpful person she is she fielded all my questions with in depth answers that illuminated the SCL experience to me, even more than the information I have received previous already has. As we landed in Dublin, we breezed through customs and were met by a smiling SCL face at the exit of the airport. After a brief wait in some weather that is a bit more chilly than what I am used to in summertime New York we hopped the bus to Belfast. This is the part when I am supposed to remark about my first impressions of the beauty of Ireland, however instead I accomplished my goal of getting some sleep. Better late than never right?
