Ireland, Week 1

Hey everyone,

Note: Leave me comments. hehe. They make me smile!

So I have officially survived my first week "living" in Ireland. And what an interesting week it has been. I don't exactly know where to start. I guess I'll start by saying that I think I will carry my camera around with me all the time now, so that I can properly illustrate this blog with photographs. (Like, I really wish I had a photo of the asian food market that I'll get to later on...)

For starters, this has been a "getting to know what it's like living in the suburbs" week. And it is a certainty that I do not, nor ever will, like living in the suburbs. At the very least without a car. It takes foooreeeevverrrr to get anywhere from Paddy's house in Malahide. You have to catch a train and a bus or a bus and a train or walk walk walk walk until your legs fall off. But, I now count my walking in city blocks, so it is a bit entertaining. For example, I imagine that from the nearest bus stop to home it is from 79th street to my apartment on 98th. "Oh yea, about now I'm passing George Keeley's. Yep, and now I'm finally at Dive Bar!" Notice, landmarks are inevitably watering holes. If other people walked here, it would be less excruciating, but I swear I'm the only one....well....me and all the little kids walking to their friends' houses to play.

I realized yesterday as I was walking around Dublin (shopping for that perfect gray hoodie to replace the one I lost in the airport--RIP Marisa's gray hoodie I stole..., going to the post office, the bookstore, the ticketmaster outlet to buy ticket to Cois Fharraige-another music festival in Sept.) that I could certainly get a job here under the table. I was worried that if that was something I wanted to do, I wouldn't be able to do it. However, yesterday I realized, for better or worse, that I CAN do it, and I don't WANT to do it. I don't love Dublin enough to settle for a job I don't love in a place I don't love. Dublin isn't where I ever intended on staying, so it seems silly to be looking for "desperation" work here. And come on, I get paid until September so I'm certainly not desperate. That being said, I'm going to Galway.

On August 31st I am going to Galway for a month. I am going to take a TEFL course there. I think taking the course will benefit me on a variety of levels: 1) I will meet people in a more organic manner, 2) I will be certified to teach ESL in Ireland and abroad, and 3) If I decide NOT to work and stay in Ireland, it will look great on my CV should I decide to continue teaching in The States. Galway is probably my favorite place in Ireland, and if nothing else, this is an excuse to get me there and doing something productive. I was looking for an apartment but could not find one that would have me for just a month. I found a hostel that will give me a cheap weekly rate, so I am going to be rotting away in a hostel for a MONTH. Not quite sure how I feel about that...seeing as I'm really getting to enjoy my "Hammer Time (ha)" but I think it will be an interesting experience to say the least.

Just to give everyone a heads up, before I go to Galway I am meeting up with Tiana in Zagreb, Croatia and then we are heading to the beach in Herzeg Novi, Montenegro. I will be spending almost two fabulous weeks reminding my body what the sun feels like, thank you very much. Then there is a small chance that I will be heading to England to have a fantastic love affair. (Don't worry Mom and Dad, I am just kidding about the love affair part...mostly.) Seriously though, if anyone has holiday and wants to go to England, I've never been, and may be going around the likes of Aug. 20-30th-ish. And Kim and Justine have given me FABULOUS ideas about what to do while I'm there. (Thanks suities!) I may be meeting up with Tiana again, who is soon to be my favorite travel buddy!

Now to abruptly end this blog, I am going to list all of the things that I DON'T like about Ireland, because that is what you do when you finally settle into a place and realize it isn't perfect:
1. You can only get tofu in asian food markets (which, by the way, are the most spectacular little pieces of heaven in the middle of Dublin. amaaaaazing food. and cheap!)
2. There are no black beans in this entire country (I had to make Andrew's Black Bean Burrito Bake with KIDNEY beans...but Markus still enjoyed it. Europeans wouldn't know crappy Mexican from good Mexican anyway.)
3. Bus stops do not have numbers or routes. How am I ever supposed to figure out where I'm going???

And that's it. So really, this is a pretty grand country, isn't it?

Cheers :)
Sarah