Midweek Mashup

A mashup in a way, because I need to tell you about the last couple of days and I’m going to cram as much of it in here as possible. And also because I’m quite artistic and I enjoy writing in a rather uncommon fashion.

So let’s see… there once was a day called Sunnandæg in Old English which soon turned into sunedai and is known to us simply as Sunday. Now, as legend has it, there was this young man who was sent to Ireland to hone his skills and experience the beauty of this not so far away country… far away country… ar away country… way country… ountry…

I woke up quite early which was for one, because of the alcohol I had consumed the night before and secondly, because I was ahead of everybody else by one hour. So after washing up, recapturing the day before and coming to terms with the fact that I had just spent my first night in Ireland, I went into the kitchen to eat breakfast. After breakfast I tried reaching George, answered a couple of the other messages I had received during the night and… bravely sat around while the world turned without my help.

A little later I was on my way to George who had gotten back to me and agreed to venture into the city. The sky, though cloudy and ripe with rain, looked amazing. One would think that the sky looks the same everywhere but I now believe that is not the case.

HouseOfCustoms

George and I went to the nearest Spar-shop, which his host dad had kindly pointed us in the direction of, and bought two leap cards for the bus. We each topped off the cards with 15€ and went to the nearest station. After asking a young woman, who tried her best to ignore the persistent bastard I am, we found out that every bus would go to the city centre from this point so we took the next bus and got off at O’Connell Street.

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After walking around the city centre, eating lunch and buying our O2 SIMs, we met up with Toni and headed to the Temple Bar to get a few drinks. As it turns out, Temple Bar is a major rip-off (/salute Major Rip-Off) as we paid almost 6€ for a pint of Guinness/Kilkenny and another 6,30€ for a shot of Jameson. It was a nice experience though and at least we get to brag with having had a drink there. We went home after that and I had dinner and went to bed.

Monday was a bank holiday in all of Ireland and I tried sleeping in, which did not work at all. I was up at around 7am, got dressed, had breakfast and then went back to my room and onto my bed to write another blog entry and a few postcards. I watched a movie, enjoyed a couple of YouTube videos and took a nap. It was quite the lazy day until George picked me up at around 16:30 and we went to see what Tesco had to offer and how Lidl would try to compete. I bought my favorite brand of facial tissue because I felt a cold crawling its way into my life here. The day ended as boring as it had started and so after having dinner, I went to bed.

Tesco

We had our first day of school on Tuesday and it was… okay. I know most of the things our teacher is teaching and the rest I don’t care about. It’s not boring per se but it’s also not a lot of fun. I try and help the other students as much as possible and give explanations where they are needed. Since Monday was off, we had an afternoon-session which ended at 5pm. For lunch, Toni, George and I had a Burrito right around the corner from school and were granted a discount of 1€ with the ISIC.

Later that day I bought flip-flops and a pair of sweatpants at Penneys because I didn’t bring any, not seeing the need that was now painfully clear to me. Dinner consisted of a Quiche and a nice, hot soup. My cold was in full swing and the night was terrible but at least I had Vaseline to keep my lips and nose smooth and keep the irritation at bay.
You, who so bravely read every word and giggled over every little joke, probably want to know how this story continues… Well, you’ll just have to tune in again on Sunday. 😉

A Very Warm Welcome

To say it was cloudy when we arrived at Dublin Airport would be quite the understatement. However, the carpet looked beautiful from above and kept us warm from below. I don’t know what the temperature was but I had to open all 3 of my jackets on our way to the bus.

After hunting down our luggage we made our way outside where Damien, our driver from INTERNSPLUS, waited. He gave us our welcome pack including an Irish sim (which I’m not going to use) and instructions for the first week in school. We have to attend classes at a language school near the Trinity College in the city and since Monday is a bank holiday, we have to stay the whole day on Tuesday. Wednesday through Friday it’s supposed to be 4 hours from 9am to 1pm so there’s time to see the city afterwards. There is also going to be a welcome meeting on Wednesday after class.

I was the first one to get off the bus and Damien brought me to the front door of 31 Elm Mount Heights where Ann O’Connor is now harboring me. She showed me to the room where I put down my bag and backpack and took off my jackets. I went down to have a cup of tea and a sandwich in the kitchen. I talked to Ann for quite some time and asked her about the things I would have to keep in mind while staying with her and her husband. She told me that there is also a guy from Saudi Arabia and a guy from Switzerland in the house and that she has been a host for about 2 years now. She mostly has full time students here and I’m the first one to have a work experience.

After my second cup of tea Ann told me that she had to run some errands, gave me the key to her Wi-Fi and I went up to unpack. My room had obviously belonged to some girl before because she kindly left her hair all over the wooden floor. I got rid of the hairs and started unpacking.

Later that evening Ann’s daughter and two of her sons where supposed to join us for dinner. I sat in the kitchen while she prepared lamb chops with potatoes and assorted vegetables and an apple pie. We talked a lot which I really enjoyed.

The evening was great and the food awesome. I stayed up until long after 2am that night, talking to Ann, her son Patrick, his wife Denise (who both kindly invited me to their house warming party and Denise’s Birthday) and the rest of the family. Patrick told me about the national sport Hurling and said that the championship is about to start. He offered to take me to a game one time and I’m looking forward to it.

Patrick also offered me a chance to have a Guinness and after having three Heineken already I felt reluctant to refuse the offer. So after 2 Guinness, a couple of jokes and singing Dubliners songs, Patrick and Denise where the last to leave the party and I went to bed after they had left.

I felt very welcome that day and considering it was only the first day and they had just met me, I’m looking forward to the days to come.

1001 Goodbyes

The last 24 hours in Germany are quickly ticking by. As I’m writing this, there are actually not even 23 hours left until my flight leaves tomorrow. I am at my father’s house in the depths of Brandenburg, enjoying a preview of the weather in Ireland. It’s quite cold and the gray sky is weeping droplets if bittersweet goodbyes.

I feel… great! After the last couple of weeks of studying for the CCNA-exam, cleaning my apartment and meeting family and friends for „the last time“, today is the day I can just enjoy the peace and quiet, for there is nothing more I can do now but wait in happy expectation of what is to come.

As of now, I still have no idea where I will sleep for the next 2 months or where I’ll be working during that time. My only constant is Dublin and the EU-Office’s continuous affirmation that there will be someone picking us up from the airport. However, I am excited; excited and not afraid.

I am looking forward to meeting new and interesting people, to working with people, both users and colleagues, who appreciate what I’m doing as much as I will enjoy it and to seeing one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

Over the next two months I will write 3 times a week so stay tuned for the first blog entry out of Dublin – Ireland.