Accidental Discoveries and Covid Abroad

 

    

    After going 2 years COVID-free, of course, it would finally get me while I was studying abroad. Masks are optional here in Ireland and most people choose not to wear one, including myself. With the amount of places I've been here and the crowds of people I've been around, I would have been impressed with myself if I didn't get sick. It was a few days ago when I started to feel a little weird and at first, I didn't suspect it was COVID just because the symptoms I was having weren't really "COVID symptoms". I also didn't go anywhere that had a lot of people in the days before that and my tests were coming back negative. Nevertheless, I did eventually end up testing positive and my self-isolation began.

    It's been 4 days and fortunately my time in self-isolation has not been completely awful since my symptoms haven't been too bad. The only thing that's killing me is my boredom. I guess it's just weird staying in all weekend when all I have been doing the past 4 weekends has been exploring and sightseeing. Maybe I needed this weekend though, to relax and recharge from this crazy past month. 

    Aside from taking a lot of naps, I finally started Stranger Things which makes me pretty late to the party. One thing I find kind of funny is that I've never been one to order Uber Eats or anything like that, and I wouldn't have guessed that my first time ordering food to my door would be when I was abroad in Europe. I also have been trying to get some fresh air once a day since I can't stand being in my room 24/7. 

    Yesterday I walked to Blackrock Park which is a coastal park 2 miles south of where I am staying. Walking there and back was good exercise especially since that's probably all my throat and lungs could handle. I did a little exploring in the area where I accidentally found a tiny outdoor flea market which had a lot of cute stalls and good food. Don't worry, I made sure I was wearing a mask the whole time. I had eaten lunch prior to going on my adventure, but the food stalls ranging from Korean BBQ burritos to poke to falafels were tempting me to eat again. I stumbled across Ireland's first hand rolled ice cream shop, called Arctic Stone. Even though I have a feeling I'm starting to lose my taste a little, I was still able to taste the creamy goodness of the salted caramel ice cream I got. 

    It was nice to get out for a bit during this isolation period and hopefully time flies so that I can get back to my internship and exploring Ireland. This was definitely my one rest weekend during my trip here. After these 7 days are over, it's going to be plans on top of plans until I leave.