May 27 – Day 46
There are signs of me officially settling into life in Dublin. I joined a library and a gym this weekend. The library is one room probably the size of my parents family room. It is a satellite library and I’m told that the library in Dublin city centre is quite large. However, I was able to find travel books on Turkey and London in the small library down the street from me, so that was exciting! I haven’t done much planning and I leave in 4 days for Istanbul. I just checked the weather and they are forecasting sunshine in Istanbul. YEAH! It has been cool with intermittent rain for the last week in Ireland. I think the high today was only 52. It’s crazy to think when I go home in July that I am planning to bring a fleece back with me. I definitely haven’t worn any shorts around here!
The gym is quite nice. Just like everything else here it is very expensive. You can’t get a gym membership here for less than $150 per month. I checked about 4 gyms around me and gave up trying to find anything cheaper. That makes those $20-30 membership fees at home so much easier to swallow!
I also went to the outdoor market today in Dun Laoghaire with Lauren. We walked around, had falafel for lunch and went grocery shopping. She has a car and she took me to the big grocery store near her. I was like a kid in the candy store! It was the largest grocery store I have seen since I have been in Ireland. She gave me about 45 minutes to shop and I had a blast! I even found some silverware. There is still the lack of peanut butter, ranch dressing, mac and cheese, chocolate chips and other normal foods from home. But I did buy a steak :) and some gouda cheese and good looking fruits and veggies. They even had individually wrapped chicken breasts that were less than $5 a piece. Who knew grocery shopping could be so exciting!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
A road trip!
May 21 & 22 – Day 40-41
I headed out of Dublin early in the morning with a girl from work and a friend of hers that had flown in from Canada. She was really nervous about driving, but she did excellent! We left Dublin and headed to County Kerry. We made a few wrong turns, but recovered quickly. Our first stop was the Gap of Dunlow. It is an amazing scenic area located on the East side of the Ring of Kerry. We went on a 2 ½ hour hike and enjoyed the amazing views along the way. About 3pm we started to drive the Ring of Kerry (word to the wise START EARLIER!). The Ring of Kerry is a 100 kilometer (66 mile) scenic drive in western Ireland. A 66 mile drive sounds like a piece of cake until you factor in very narrow, rough roads. It took us about 5 hours to get around the ring and at the end my friend said that she deserved a shirt that said “I survived driving the Ring of Kerry”. It was a lovely drive, but my favorite parts of the drive were definitely the Gap of Dunlow and Lady’s view (both on the east side of the circle). I was a passenger in the back seat and sometimes the roads were so rough that I felt like I was on an old fashioned wooden roller coaster being jolted around. We drove for 11 hours before we arrived at our B&B in Killarney and parked the car for the night.
Next we headed to a few pubs. The first pub felt like the halls of a highschool...truly the patrons looked 14! The next pub had an average age somewhere around 80. It had live music but they were doing a sing along and it reminded us of a nursing home. We laughed so hard our sides hurt and then headed out in search of pub somewhere in the middle. We found a hopping pub with a good band (not traditional Irish music), but it was nice. I can’t remember going to a bar in the states on a Monday night, but I was surprised to find an absolutely packed pub with an attached dance club on a Monday night! We stayed and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was a bit of a late night, but we walked back to the B&B. On Tuesday we walked and shopped in Killarney and then started our long drive back. We stopped at the Rock of Cashel. The guide book describes it as “a spectacular group of medieval buildings set on an outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale including the 12th century round tower, High Cross and Romanesque Chapel, 13th century Gothic cathedral, 15th century castle and the restored Hall of the Vicars Choral.” After our tour, we headed back to Dublin. It was a good get-away, but I would not recommend going so far for just a 2 day visit because we spent nearly all of our time in the car.
I headed out of Dublin early in the morning with a girl from work and a friend of hers that had flown in from Canada. She was really nervous about driving, but she did excellent! We left Dublin and headed to County Kerry. We made a few wrong turns, but recovered quickly. Our first stop was the Gap of Dunlow. It is an amazing scenic area located on the East side of the Ring of Kerry. We went on a 2 ½ hour hike and enjoyed the amazing views along the way. About 3pm we started to drive the Ring of Kerry (word to the wise START EARLIER!). The Ring of Kerry is a 100 kilometer (66 mile) scenic drive in western Ireland. A 66 mile drive sounds like a piece of cake until you factor in very narrow, rough roads. It took us about 5 hours to get around the ring and at the end my friend said that she deserved a shirt that said “I survived driving the Ring of Kerry”. It was a lovely drive, but my favorite parts of the drive were definitely the Gap of Dunlow and Lady’s view (both on the east side of the circle). I was a passenger in the back seat and sometimes the roads were so rough that I felt like I was on an old fashioned wooden roller coaster being jolted around. We drove for 11 hours before we arrived at our B&B in Killarney and parked the car for the night.
Next we headed to a few pubs. The first pub felt like the halls of a highschool...truly the patrons looked 14! The next pub had an average age somewhere around 80. It had live music but they were doing a sing along and it reminded us of a nursing home. We laughed so hard our sides hurt and then headed out in search of pub somewhere in the middle. We found a hopping pub with a good band (not traditional Irish music), but it was nice. I can’t remember going to a bar in the states on a Monday night, but I was surprised to find an absolutely packed pub with an attached dance club on a Monday night! We stayed and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was a bit of a late night, but we walked back to the B&B. On Tuesday we walked and shopped in Killarney and then started our long drive back. We stopped at the Rock of Cashel. The guide book describes it as “a spectacular group of medieval buildings set on an outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale including the 12th century round tower, High Cross and Romanesque Chapel, 13th century Gothic cathedral, 15th century castle and the restored Hall of the Vicars Choral.” After our tour, we headed back to Dublin. It was a good get-away, but I would not recommend going so far for just a 2 day visit because we spent nearly all of our time in the car.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Dundrum Shopping
May 19 – Day 38
I decided to try to find the big shopping center in Dublin called Dundrum. After a 30 min walk, a tram ride and a stroll through a town (a total of 1hour 20min) later, I arrived at Dundrum. It is quite a large shopping center with a cinema and a performance theater. I looked at a mall map and there were only a couple store names that I recognized. After walking through the shopping center for a while, I realized how much I rely on stores and my existing knowledge. In almost any mall in the US I will find stores that I recognize that I know I like their clothing like Eddie Bauer and Ann Taylor. In the shopping center in Dublin, I had no idea where to start on my mission to find jeans. I wondered aimlessly for awhile. The fashions here are quite different and I also found out that the sizes are different. I was very sad to find out that their sizes are cut 1-2 sizes smaller than the US. If you wear a 10 in the states you will wear a 12-14 here. That is very hard for the ego!!! I did find out that my shoe size is also different. I wear a 10 in the US which translates to either a 42 or an 8 here depending on the manufacturer. I never really thought that the sizes would be different. I eventually found a pair of jeans and decided it was time to retrace my steps back through town, the tram and then my walk to my apartment. I guess it’s a good thing for the wallet that it is such a challenge to get to the mall!
I decided to try to find the big shopping center in Dublin called Dundrum. After a 30 min walk, a tram ride and a stroll through a town (a total of 1hour 20min) later, I arrived at Dundrum. It is quite a large shopping center with a cinema and a performance theater. I looked at a mall map and there were only a couple store names that I recognized. After walking through the shopping center for a while, I realized how much I rely on stores and my existing knowledge. In almost any mall in the US I will find stores that I recognize that I know I like their clothing like Eddie Bauer and Ann Taylor. In the shopping center in Dublin, I had no idea where to start on my mission to find jeans. I wondered aimlessly for awhile. The fashions here are quite different and I also found out that the sizes are different. I was very sad to find out that their sizes are cut 1-2 sizes smaller than the US. If you wear a 10 in the states you will wear a 12-14 here. That is very hard for the ego!!! I did find out that my shoe size is also different. I wear a 10 in the US which translates to either a 42 or an 8 here depending on the manufacturer. I never really thought that the sizes would be different. I eventually found a pair of jeans and decided it was time to retrace my steps back through town, the tram and then my walk to my apartment. I guess it’s a good thing for the wallet that it is such a challenge to get to the mall!
Friday, May 18, 2007
Black Pudding
May 16 – Day 35
I had a work lunch, well kinda lunch. It started at 3pm and we ate until 5:30. Not quite sure what you call a meal in the middle of the afternoon. The most noteworthy item was that I tried traditional Irish black pudding. (here is an online definition - Black pudding or blood pudding is a sausage made by cooking animal blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. ) I had seen it and not been brave enough before to try it. The guy across the table from me ordered it and the Canadian girl and I and I both tried it. She actually liked it and all I could say was that it was not something that I would ever order. Well at least I tried it!
May 17 – Day 36
Lauren, from church, invited me over for dinner. Lauren also invited a friend of a friend, who was born in Iran, lived in Argentina, studied at Cambridge in England and has spent the last 4 years in Israel. She speaks 5 languages and just moved to Dublin for a job. It is amazing to meet so many people from all over the world. I had no idea that I would meet so many international people in Ireland!
I had a work lunch, well kinda lunch. It started at 3pm and we ate until 5:30. Not quite sure what you call a meal in the middle of the afternoon. The most noteworthy item was that I tried traditional Irish black pudding. (here is an online definition - Black pudding or blood pudding is a sausage made by cooking animal blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. ) I had seen it and not been brave enough before to try it. The guy across the table from me ordered it and the Canadian girl and I and I both tried it. She actually liked it and all I could say was that it was not something that I would ever order. Well at least I tried it!
May 17 – Day 36
Lauren, from church, invited me over for dinner. Lauren also invited a friend of a friend, who was born in Iran, lived in Argentina, studied at Cambridge in England and has spent the last 4 years in Israel. She speaks 5 languages and just moved to Dublin for a job. It is amazing to meet so many people from all over the world. I had no idea that I would meet so many international people in Ireland!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Mothers Day
May 13 - Day 32
Happy Mothers Day! I have to admit that I had quite a difficult time finding a card for my mom. I went to several stores looking for mothers day cards and I finally asked in a card shop where I could find the mothers day cards. They looked at me kinda funny and told me that mothers day was in March and since it had passed, they did not stock the cards until next year. Hmmm. I never thought about Mother’s day being celebrated on different days in different countries. So, I found a random funny card and mailed it to my mom.
I went to an outdoor market in Dun Laoghaire and it was really fun. I picked up some local produce and snacked on hummus. There was lots of different food to eat from crepes to falafel and everything in between! I’ll have to go there for lunch some Sunday after church.
May 14- Day 33
My landlord called to say that additional furniture had been delivered to my apartment. I’m not sure exactly what it is or where it will go, but evidently he thought I needed additional furniture. When I arrived home there were 3 big boxes. I think I’ll leave them for a bit. I’m not sure that I am ready to start assembling.
May 15 - Day 34
I’m booking travel arrangements to go to the Ring of Kerry next week with a girl from work. She is planning to drive and we’ll be spending one night in Killarney. I’ve been in Dublin for just over a month and I am looking forward to getting out into the country to see a different side of Ireland!
Happy Mothers Day! I have to admit that I had quite a difficult time finding a card for my mom. I went to several stores looking for mothers day cards and I finally asked in a card shop where I could find the mothers day cards. They looked at me kinda funny and told me that mothers day was in March and since it had passed, they did not stock the cards until next year. Hmmm. I never thought about Mother’s day being celebrated on different days in different countries. So, I found a random funny card and mailed it to my mom.
I went to an outdoor market in Dun Laoghaire and it was really fun. I picked up some local produce and snacked on hummus. There was lots of different food to eat from crepes to falafel and everything in between! I’ll have to go there for lunch some Sunday after church.
May 14- Day 33
My landlord called to say that additional furniture had been delivered to my apartment. I’m not sure exactly what it is or where it will go, but evidently he thought I needed additional furniture. When I arrived home there were 3 big boxes. I think I’ll leave them for a bit. I’m not sure that I am ready to start assembling.
May 15 - Day 34
I’m booking travel arrangements to go to the Ring of Kerry next week with a girl from work. She is planning to drive and we’ll be spending one night in Killarney. I’ve been in Dublin for just over a month and I am looking forward to getting out into the country to see a different side of Ireland!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
1 month in Ireland
May 10 – Day 29
Boxes arrived from home!!! Yeah! It’s crazy, but it is so nice to have familiar items. I was trying to figure out how I would get 2 boxes weighing a total of 33 pounds home. They only deliver boxes if you are home, so I had them delivered to my office. I had something delivered to my apartment and I had to take a train during business hours to get to the post office and it was quite crazy. Much easier to have stuff come to the office. But then comes the dilemma of getting the stuff ½ mile to the train station, on the train and then from the train to my apartment. I was very fortunate that a guy I work with offered to drive me home. He lives north of the city and has to drive fairly close to my place on his way home. He had to leave early on Thur. so, I left work a bit early and got the boxes home. I am very thankful! He helped bring one of the boxes to door and then I literally kicked them on the carpet through the entry and into an elevator. It had to be quite a funny site. I was home so early that I decided to go for a walk and try to find a grocery store. I walked for about 40 min and found a grocery store and decided to buy ranch dressing for a salad, only to learn that they do not have ranch dressing here. :( I walked a bit more a bought a couple things for the apartment and then decided to have dinner before I hiked back. I found a TGI Fridays and had an appetizer. My bill came and it was converted to dollars and it was $23 for an appetizer! It’s hard to explain how expensive it is here. I was talking to my mom and explained that a pint of ice cream at the grocery store is equivalent to $7.50…she was surprised. It took another 45 min to hike home. I was wiped out by the time I got back to my apartment.
May 11 – Day 30
I went out after work for drinks with a couple girls from work. One girl is from Canada and the other from Malaysia. It was very interesting to talk with people from different countries about their cultures, family relationships, jobs, etc. The girl from Malaysia is Muslim and has lived in London for a few years. All three of us are single girls between the ages of 28 and 31. It was an interesting evening.
May 12 – Day 31
I can’t believe I have been here for a month! I arrived on April 12 so, it’s been a whole month. I am finally getting settled into an apartment and I’m working on getting pictures uploaded to yahoo for my first month in Ireland and including pictures of my apartment. Please send me an email if you would like for me to send the link to my pictures. I don’t want to put my email address here and I think anyone reading this will know it. If not, post a comment on the blog and I’ll get you my address. I want to warn whoever looks at my pictures, that the apartment is fairly standard compared to American apartments, but it is quite a luxury in Dublin to live in a 2 bedroom apartment by myself. It is also quite rare to have a building that is only a couple years old very close to the city center. I even took pictures of the 2nd bedroom and bathroom to hopefully entice visitors!
Boxes arrived from home!!! Yeah! It’s crazy, but it is so nice to have familiar items. I was trying to figure out how I would get 2 boxes weighing a total of 33 pounds home. They only deliver boxes if you are home, so I had them delivered to my office. I had something delivered to my apartment and I had to take a train during business hours to get to the post office and it was quite crazy. Much easier to have stuff come to the office. But then comes the dilemma of getting the stuff ½ mile to the train station, on the train and then from the train to my apartment. I was very fortunate that a guy I work with offered to drive me home. He lives north of the city and has to drive fairly close to my place on his way home. He had to leave early on Thur. so, I left work a bit early and got the boxes home. I am very thankful! He helped bring one of the boxes to door and then I literally kicked them on the carpet through the entry and into an elevator. It had to be quite a funny site. I was home so early that I decided to go for a walk and try to find a grocery store. I walked for about 40 min and found a grocery store and decided to buy ranch dressing for a salad, only to learn that they do not have ranch dressing here. :( I walked a bit more a bought a couple things for the apartment and then decided to have dinner before I hiked back. I found a TGI Fridays and had an appetizer. My bill came and it was converted to dollars and it was $23 for an appetizer! It’s hard to explain how expensive it is here. I was talking to my mom and explained that a pint of ice cream at the grocery store is equivalent to $7.50…she was surprised. It took another 45 min to hike home. I was wiped out by the time I got back to my apartment.
May 11 – Day 30
I went out after work for drinks with a couple girls from work. One girl is from Canada and the other from Malaysia. It was very interesting to talk with people from different countries about their cultures, family relationships, jobs, etc. The girl from Malaysia is Muslim and has lived in London for a few years. All three of us are single girls between the ages of 28 and 31. It was an interesting evening.
May 12 – Day 31
I can’t believe I have been here for a month! I arrived on April 12 so, it’s been a whole month. I am finally getting settled into an apartment and I’m working on getting pictures uploaded to yahoo for my first month in Ireland and including pictures of my apartment. Please send me an email if you would like for me to send the link to my pictures. I don’t want to put my email address here and I think anyone reading this will know it. If not, post a comment on the blog and I’ll get you my address. I want to warn whoever looks at my pictures, that the apartment is fairly standard compared to American apartments, but it is quite a luxury in Dublin to live in a 2 bedroom apartment by myself. It is also quite rare to have a building that is only a couple years old very close to the city center. I even took pictures of the 2nd bedroom and bathroom to hopefully entice visitors!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Project Team & PPS
May 8 - Day 27
Our project team of 4 is now fully staffed. We are very excited to welcome our newest person, a girl from Malaysia. She is a "part-qualified" accountant. I'm not quite sure how to translate this into US terms. I know that the accounting exams over here are 3 years long and a part-qualified means that they have passed some but not all exams, or that they have passed all of the exams and have not fulfilled the experience requirements to get qualified accountant status. We are excited to have one more person to share the workload!
May 9 - Day 28
I set out to find the PPS office first thing in the morning. The PPS is the equivalent of a social security number in the states. It is used to track your taxes and such. And you have to have a utility bill to prove your address. However, my landlord has been requesting my PPS number so that he can "register my tenancy". It's like the chicken and egg thing. You can't register where you live without a PPS number and you can't get a PPS number until you have a place to live and a valid utility bill. My understanding is that when he registers me, I will have to pay a tax on my rent. Kinda crazy to me, but according to the people at work the landlord can be held liable for the tax on my rent if he does not appropriately register me. Once I am registered, then I have to pay the tax. I successfully applied for a PPS number based on an opening statement from the electric company. Now, I just have to wait approximately 2 weeks for them to mail me a PPS number. That was the last of the 3 major items to get in Ireland. YEAH! I'm still working on the Irish bank account to get the ATM and online functions to work, but I am making progress. A girl that I work closely with, is an Irish native, but she spent time working in the states. She says that some of the same challenges that I face here, non-US natives face in the US. She talked about spending 4 hours in a social security office in San Jose, CA trying to get a SSN. I guess my 1 1/2 hours in Ireland sure beats that!
Our project team of 4 is now fully staffed. We are very excited to welcome our newest person, a girl from Malaysia. She is a "part-qualified" accountant. I'm not quite sure how to translate this into US terms. I know that the accounting exams over here are 3 years long and a part-qualified means that they have passed some but not all exams, or that they have passed all of the exams and have not fulfilled the experience requirements to get qualified accountant status. We are excited to have one more person to share the workload!
May 9 - Day 28
I set out to find the PPS office first thing in the morning. The PPS is the equivalent of a social security number in the states. It is used to track your taxes and such. And you have to have a utility bill to prove your address. However, my landlord has been requesting my PPS number so that he can "register my tenancy". It's like the chicken and egg thing. You can't register where you live without a PPS number and you can't get a PPS number until you have a place to live and a valid utility bill. My understanding is that when he registers me, I will have to pay a tax on my rent. Kinda crazy to me, but according to the people at work the landlord can be held liable for the tax on my rent if he does not appropriately register me. Once I am registered, then I have to pay the tax. I successfully applied for a PPS number based on an opening statement from the electric company. Now, I just have to wait approximately 2 weeks for them to mail me a PPS number. That was the last of the 3 major items to get in Ireland. YEAH! I'm still working on the Irish bank account to get the ATM and online functions to work, but I am making progress. A girl that I work closely with, is an Irish native, but she spent time working in the states. She says that some of the same challenges that I face here, non-US natives face in the US. She talked about spending 4 hours in a social security office in San Jose, CA trying to get a SSN. I guess my 1 1/2 hours in Ireland sure beats that!
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