The young single adult group in Dublin is pretty awesome. I'm telling you, people are devoted here. The thing that is interesting about it is that there is no YSA ward, it is just a YSA group. So basically we all go to our home ward or branch throughout Dublin, and then we meet up in North Dublin on Tuesdays and Thursdays for family home evening and institute. Institute is taught by YSA group members, as well as the planning of activities for family home evening. The lessons are always really great! You would be amazed at how high the attendance is, and by how many new converts there are. So not only do we have these two activities but we have a Facebook page that people are constantly posting in to go and do fun things. We also sometimes have Sunday dinner at this sweet penthouse in the middle of downtown Dublin. One of the members gets to live in for the company he works for and we all benefit greatly because of it. I'm extremely grateful for this group. It's so refreshing to get out and meet new people a couple times a week, and to form new friendships.
With that being said, I've always struggled with going to activities and it's been no different since being here. I'm pretty needy for friends so you would think I would be great about going, but since I don't drive over here it takes me forever to get anywhere. Unless it's downtown I'm pretty bad about going to anything, but a month I made a goal to go to at least one of the activities that week. I wanted to go to FHE because it's more social than institute but I was having a pretty rotten day on Tuesday and I didn't have the drive to travel for so long to go to FHE so I skipped out. I promised my friend I would go to institute on Thursday since I had skipped FHE, and by the time Thursday came along, I really didn't want to go. I don't mind the thought of institute, I actually really like it, but I did mind taking the bus for the first time. Institute started at 7:30 so I figured if I left my house at 5:45 I would have plenty of time.
When I got to the first bus stop the bus was late, and when it finally came I realized I had spent all my coins and only had cash left. I ran into the Frascatti centre to find something cheap to buy so I could get coins back. I hurried and ran into McDonald's to use their free wifi to check the next bus time. It was going to come in five minutes so I quickly headed back to the stop and as I was walking I watched my bus drive away. It had come early :/ At this point I was a little concerned because I knew I could take the seven or eight bus, but they both said they were going to a different location than the bus I was originally going to take. After a few minutes of stressing and trying not to feel too flustered (because it was a very emotional week for me) I showed a lady where I was trying to go and she helped me figure it out. Bless her. The bus was about 15 minutes late, but other than that everything was fine.
I made it to O' Connell Street and waited for another 15 minutes for bus 40 to come. At this point I thought the tricky part was over. My friend Eric told me the exact number of the bus stop I needed to get off at, and he said it basically stops right at the church. I put it in my Dublin Bus app and I planned on getting off at the Finglas stop. I'm not exactly sure what happened but I thought I heard my bus stop being said over the speaker (even though it's really difficult to understand) and I was on the top floor of the bus so I hurried down careful not to miss the stop, and I asked the bus driver if we were at the Finglas stop. He told me it wasn't for a while, and that he would give me a shout out when it was my stop. I stayed near the front of the bus and I was riding for a long time. The bus driver kept making eye contact with me through the mirror, and he assured me he hadn't forgotten about me. I was slightly embarrassed because it seemed to draw a lot of attention to me when he said that, and made me realize how obvious it was that I didn't know what I was doing.
After quite some time I was the last person on the bus, the bus driver asked me if I knew where I was going. I told him there was a church right by the stop I was getting off at. He continued to drive and after we got to the last stop he asked me if I was certain this was my stop. I told him the number of the stop I needed, and he told me this wasn't it, and that we had passed it a ways back. He didn't want me to get off of the bus because we were in a 'rough' part of town. Believe me, I had noticed! He said since his bus was no longer in service he could try and get me to where I needed to go. So... here I am, standing next to the bus driver while he is personally taxiing me around Dublin. I've never been more grateful for a strangers kindness in my entire life. He asked what church I was looking for and I told him the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He couldn't drive me straight to the church, but he dropped me off at a stop where I would only have to take a five minute bus ride to get to it. I was having a pretty rough week, so by this point I was in tears. The sweet bus driver kept assuring me that it wasn't my fault, and that the bus app was confusing. It was my fault, but bless him for trying to make me feel better. He gave me detailed instructions of what to do next, and I hopped off the bus.
There were two boys my age waiting at the bus stop, and I did a pretty bad job hiding my emotion. They did a good job at not staring too much though, so all was well. When I hopped onto the next bus I was totally defeated. I asked the bus driver how much it was, and I was really hoping I had enough coins left, even though I was pretty sure I didn't. He didn't wait for me to pay before driving off and he asked me where I was going. I told him the stop number and he looked confused. It was pretty clear that I was holding back tears so it was difficult to speak but I somewhat told him what had happened. I then showed him the screen shot I had taken on my phone of my bus route and he told me I was on the right bus, I had just gone too far (which I already knew, but way nice of him to try and make me feel better). He told me I was on the right bus, and when I asked him how much again, he told me not to worry about it. Thank heavens! He asked me where I was trying to go, and when I told him a church. He asked me which one and I told him The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and surprisingly enough, he knew what church I was talking about! He talked to me the rest of the ride as I stood at the front of the bus by him and he made certain that I knew what building I was going to.
At this point there was only about 20 minutes left of institute so I debated on whether or not to go in, but I needed to get wifi so I could at least let the Winkelman's know that I had made it. Of course my wifi wouldn't connect for some reason, but I remembered that my friend had messaged me on Facebook to ask if I was coming, and he told me he would see me there, so I figured I would go in, and see if I could get a ride to the train station near his house so I wouldn't have to take the bus home. Of course institute was packed and all the couches and chairs were taken except the one seat in the very front of the class right next to the guy teaching the lesson. I hoped it wasn't too obvious that I had just been crying, but from the looks I was getting from people, that wasn't the case. I looked around the classroom and couldn't find my friend, and I still couldn't get my wifi to connect. As the lesson went on I was holding back tears, and one of my friends came up to me and asked if I wanted to go out in the hall with her and talk. I was so embarrassed and I immediately said I was fine, but that was the last straw for me so I got up and went into the bathroom. The sweet girl followed me and let me vent about my horrible week to her while I cried and cried and cried. After I got myself under control I went back in with her while everyone socialized for an hour or so. My friend came late and gave me a ride to the train station so all was well.
It all sounds pretty dramatic when I write it down like this, but it was an unforgettable experience that already had me laughing when I made it home and told Mandi and Bryce about it. I'm just so thankful that people are good and helpful, or else who knows what I would have done!
I made it to O' Connell Street and waited for another 15 minutes for bus 40 to come. At this point I thought the tricky part was over. My friend Eric told me the exact number of the bus stop I needed to get off at, and he said it basically stops right at the church. I put it in my Dublin Bus app and I planned on getting off at the Finglas stop. I'm not exactly sure what happened but I thought I heard my bus stop being said over the speaker (even though it's really difficult to understand) and I was on the top floor of the bus so I hurried down careful not to miss the stop, and I asked the bus driver if we were at the Finglas stop. He told me it wasn't for a while, and that he would give me a shout out when it was my stop. I stayed near the front of the bus and I was riding for a long time. The bus driver kept making eye contact with me through the mirror, and he assured me he hadn't forgotten about me. I was slightly embarrassed because it seemed to draw a lot of attention to me when he said that, and made me realize how obvious it was that I didn't know what I was doing.
After quite some time I was the last person on the bus, the bus driver asked me if I knew where I was going. I told him there was a church right by the stop I was getting off at. He continued to drive and after we got to the last stop he asked me if I was certain this was my stop. I told him the number of the stop I needed, and he told me this wasn't it, and that we had passed it a ways back. He didn't want me to get off of the bus because we were in a 'rough' part of town. Believe me, I had noticed! He said since his bus was no longer in service he could try and get me to where I needed to go. So... here I am, standing next to the bus driver while he is personally taxiing me around Dublin. I've never been more grateful for a strangers kindness in my entire life. He asked what church I was looking for and I told him the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He couldn't drive me straight to the church, but he dropped me off at a stop where I would only have to take a five minute bus ride to get to it. I was having a pretty rough week, so by this point I was in tears. The sweet bus driver kept assuring me that it wasn't my fault, and that the bus app was confusing. It was my fault, but bless him for trying to make me feel better. He gave me detailed instructions of what to do next, and I hopped off the bus.
There were two boys my age waiting at the bus stop, and I did a pretty bad job hiding my emotion. They did a good job at not staring too much though, so all was well. When I hopped onto the next bus I was totally defeated. I asked the bus driver how much it was, and I was really hoping I had enough coins left, even though I was pretty sure I didn't. He didn't wait for me to pay before driving off and he asked me where I was going. I told him the stop number and he looked confused. It was pretty clear that I was holding back tears so it was difficult to speak but I somewhat told him what had happened. I then showed him the screen shot I had taken on my phone of my bus route and he told me I was on the right bus, I had just gone too far (which I already knew, but way nice of him to try and make me feel better). He told me I was on the right bus, and when I asked him how much again, he told me not to worry about it. Thank heavens! He asked me where I was trying to go, and when I told him a church. He asked me which one and I told him The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and surprisingly enough, he knew what church I was talking about! He talked to me the rest of the ride as I stood at the front of the bus by him and he made certain that I knew what building I was going to.
At this point there was only about 20 minutes left of institute so I debated on whether or not to go in, but I needed to get wifi so I could at least let the Winkelman's know that I had made it. Of course my wifi wouldn't connect for some reason, but I remembered that my friend had messaged me on Facebook to ask if I was coming, and he told me he would see me there, so I figured I would go in, and see if I could get a ride to the train station near his house so I wouldn't have to take the bus home. Of course institute was packed and all the couches and chairs were taken except the one seat in the very front of the class right next to the guy teaching the lesson. I hoped it wasn't too obvious that I had just been crying, but from the looks I was getting from people, that wasn't the case. I looked around the classroom and couldn't find my friend, and I still couldn't get my wifi to connect. As the lesson went on I was holding back tears, and one of my friends came up to me and asked if I wanted to go out in the hall with her and talk. I was so embarrassed and I immediately said I was fine, but that was the last straw for me so I got up and went into the bathroom. The sweet girl followed me and let me vent about my horrible week to her while I cried and cried and cried. After I got myself under control I went back in with her while everyone socialized for an hour or so. My friend came late and gave me a ride to the train station so all was well.
It all sounds pretty dramatic when I write it down like this, but it was an unforgettable experience that already had me laughing when I made it home and told Mandi and Bryce about it. I'm just so thankful that people are good and helpful, or else who knows what I would have done!
this brings tears to my eyes just reading it and i already knew the story! you're the bravest and coolest. ireland is the luckiest to have you! xo
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