Last Day

Well, today is my last day in Ireland. I've had mixed emotions all day, but I can truly say that I will miss this place....A LOT! While some days were good and some days were bad, each day was a new experience for me that I will never forget and it will only help me later in life. 

Even though my purpose to come here was to find a job, I still believe that the trip was a success. I've met so many new people and made so many new friends who I hope to still keep in contact with in the future. 

Thank you to everyone that gave me encouragement and support throughout this whole trip. I definitely could not have done it without you guys. But now I will finally be able to make some money this summer and start saving up for my next traveling excursion! :)

See everybody real soon. 

Andy

PS. New pics are up on the shutterfly account. They are from a hiking trip I went on last week. Enjoy!

Hey everyone,

I hope everybody's week is going well. So I didn't end up making it to Cork at all this week. After looking at my budget, I realized it would be better just to plan day trips around Dublin and do some last minute site seeing stuff before I peace out of here. 

On Tuesday, I hit up Phoenix Park and bummed around there all day. That place is HUGE, and it had a lot places to just to relax on the grass, so I just read for most of the morning. However, after reading for a few hours I was getting a little anxious and needed something else to do. Luckily, the Dublin Zoo is located right inside of the park. For a reasonable price of 12 euros, I spent the entire afternoon in there. So that was a lot of fun.

Yesterday it was really nice out. So I hopped on a train and went to Greystone. This was only about an hour away and it had a beach that bordered the Irish Sea. I didn't bring a swimming suit at all because it never really gets warmer than 70 degrees here, and I figured that the water would be freezing. However, after sitting on the beach for a few hours and getting the worst back sun burn of my life, I watched hundreds of people swim in the sea. Once I finally became extremely warm, I went to go test the water to see how cold it was and it was fricken freezing!!! I couldn't understand how a bunch of old men could stand swimming in the sea just in their speedos. haha

Today I just kind of bummed around down town and went to a tea room and read in the afternoon, and spent the last part of the day just doing some more site seeing stuff. Tomorrow I'm going to go to a different beach because it is supposed to be really warm again. So that will be awesome! 

But that's about it for me. Hope everyone is doing alright and I will see everyone real soon. Oh yeah, before I forget, I heard a lot of people telling me that the snapfish Web site I started wasn't working. So I started a new one on Shutterfly. The address is: http://andyinireland.shutterfly.com/

Scroll half way down the page and all my new pics should be posted in there. Let me know if it doesn't work again!

Cheers

Galway and back

Hey everybody,

So I'm just sitting around right now and waiting for the Badger Football tickets to go on sale, and I figured this would be a good time to catch everyone up with what I've been doing. It has almost been a week since I wrote last, so there is a lot to tell.

Last Thursday I was wandering around town and stumbled upon a park, and there was a giant street festival going on; it was the street performance world championship. I got to see some crazy stuff. I saw a girl, who was extremely flexible, and crammed her whole body inside of a small glass box. I saw a few comedy acts and a couple mimes put on a really good show. Sadly I forgot my camera so I wasn't able to get any pictures....my bad. Later that night I met up with a few of my friends and we went to go see a DJ at a club, which was awesome. The kid I met was able to get me backstage and into the VIP room, so it was not too shabby at all. 

Friday I left for Galway. After a four hour bus ride, it felt great to stretch my legs. As soon as I walked off the bus I instantly fell in love with the city. There was just some vibe the city gave off that made me never want to leave. Everyone was extremely relaxed, and generally happy and courteous. With the city being right next to the harbor, the fish they served there was delicious; expensive, but delicious. After I got some food and finished exploring the city, which is probably a tenth of the size of Dublin, I headed back to my hostel to try and meet some people. I met some cool kids from California and England and just partied with them the rest of the night.

After I woke up on Saturday morning it was difficult trying to decide what I wanted to do. I had the option of dropping 30 euros to see the Cliffs of Moher, or just spend the day relaxing. I chose to relax and lay out by the harbor all day and spend that 30 euros for something for me instead. It was a super relaxing day. I fell asleep for awhile by the harbor (now I have a really bad farmers tan) and read for a couple hours. So it was just a really excellent and relaxing day. Saturday night I had to go to a different hostel and met some more kids from England and Germany and just hung out with them the rest of the night. So, overall, it was an awesome weekend.

I got back to Dublin yesterday around 2, and went back to the Street Performance World Championship, this time with my camera. The only problem was that it was so crowded I couldn't get a solid picture of any cool acts because there were too many people in my way. 

I uploaded some new photos, but I had to use a new Web site because Flickr wouldn't allow me to post any more pictures this month because I used up all my space. So the new links are: http://www3.snapfish.ie/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=747613010/a=894279010_894279010/ and

http://www3.snapfish.ie/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=747602010/a=894279010_894279010/

Hope everyone enjoys.

So I decided that I am going to have to come home sooner than expected. I cannot find a job at all here and I am losing a lot of money that I need. Without risking the chances of losing the rest of my money, and not having enough cash to come back home or having an apartment to live in, I decided my safest bet is to come back home with the little money I have left and work at my old job to make some money this summer so I am not in complete debt when school starts.

The economy is really bad over here; like really, really bad. But even though I couldn't find a job at all, I'm still looking at this trip as an overwhelming success. I was able to adapt to a new environment; I was able to do things by myself that I though I never could; and I will always be able to remember the 5 weeks I spent in Dublin. With the money I have left, I am using that to travel around Ireland for the last week and half I'm here and do as many things I can. Tomorrow or Wednesday I am headed to Cork for a few days to check out the sites there. I've heard a lot of good things. 

I will be headed back to the states on June 30th. Thank you to everyone that has giving me so much love and support while I was over here. I took a giant risk and entered a country that is having one of the worst recessions in the world. But I would not change a thing I did. I've had a blast while I was here, and even though some times were tougher than others, if I had the option to do this all over again knowing what the outcome would be, I would do it at a drop of a hat. 

Thanks again for everyone's support, and I will keep everyone posted when I'm headed to Cork and let you know how that it is :) 

Time to get everyone up to speed with me

Hey everyone,

The last few days have been extremely busy, so while I wait for the rain subside here before I head out on the job hunt, I'll take a few minutes to let everyone know what I've been up to.

Sunday was an awesome day! I met up with Jensen and Heppe, who were staying with a local from Dublin, and we kind of bummed around Dublin all day and did a little hiking. The guy that was showing us around was named and Andrew and was probably one of the coolest dudes I have ever met. He was telling us about how he spent 10 months traveling around Africa and other places in the world, and how he is saving up now to take a year off and travel through Asia. 

When those guys picked me up on Sunday, Andrew brought us to the "Hollywood Hills" of Dublin, where we got to see Bono's and Enya's homes. Then we went hiking for a few hours and got to see some amazing sites. Later on in the day we played "pitch and putt," which is just like golf, except all you do is pitch and putt. That was a ton of fun. That night then we just hung out at Andrew's home and went to a pub.

Monday morning I walked around a different part of Dublin and applied for some more jobs - still no change in any of the responses. Then Heppe, Jensen and myself went and toured the Guinness factory...that was pretty cool. 

Yesterday morning I woke up pretty early and rendezvoused with Heppe and Jensen again so we could go to Howth, a small fishing community outside of Dublin. This place was absolutely amazing, and it was only about a 30 min train ride out of the city for 5 euros round trip. I brought some resumés and handed them out while we were there and then spent a few hours hiking. This hiking was legit. There were no paved sidewalks, just little dirt trails close to the edge of the cliff that gave off some spectacular views. We spent about an hour and half hiking up to the top of the hill, then when we go to the top, we all expected to see something incredibly awesome. Instead, however, it was probably the most anti-climactic thing ever. We got to the top, and all that was there was just a parking lot haha. 

So after not deciding what to do, we took a road from the parking lot to find a restaurant to come up with a plan to decide what to do. We then went back to the hill to climb back down. The climb down I think was much better than the hike up. We found a different trail to take down and it gave us even better views than the way up. 

After spending around 3 hours hiking around, we came back to Dublin to get some food. We just chilled at my place last night because the two other guys had to leave my place at 530 a.m. this morning to catch their flight back to the states. 

It was a huge morale booster hanging out with Heppe and Jensen the past few days, and it will be always something I remember with those two guys. It feels like we have like a hundred stories to share from the time we were all together. 

Today I'm going to hit the sidewalks again and apply for a few jobs. I'm going to go to the Irish Times to see if I can volunteer there. I went there about a week ago and they said they didn't need my help at all...not even if they didn't have to pay me. So I think if I go back again today, maybe they will be able to see my dedication and persistence and allow me to be there a few hours a week to do something. 

This weekend I am planning on going to Galway and traveling around there for a few days. I think it should be a lot of fun, and I will get to meet some new people. 

Talk to everyone real soon, and I will keep the updates about the job search.

I finally got to experience the real Ireland

Hey everyone,

Today was my first day out of the city and it could not have gone any better. I went to the Wicklow Mountains and was able to see the rolling hills and sheep I dreamed of seeing before I came here. I was able to go hiking and had the best lunch/food since I've been here. More on that in a little bit, but first I will talk about my interviews yesterday.

Well, I went to Starbucks and that other cafe and spoke with the managers, but they both gave me the same response: "We have a stack of applications yay high, so we will try to get through with them as fast as possible." So they pretty much just gave me a maybe, in which it will be another few weeks before I find out any answers. After that let down, I applied for a few more jobs and was able to meet up with Heppe and Jensen.

It was an awesome day once I started hanging out with them, and it was a complete morale booster. We walked around the city for a little bit and just hung out and caught up on things. They have been traveling around Ireland for the past week and gave me tips on all the different places I should go. Then last night we hit up a few pubs and just came back to my place to crash. I then woke up at 7 a.m. this morning to go on the one day tour of Wicklow Mountains.

The entire day today was spectacular. We were on a small tour bus with a group of around 30 and made about an hour trip to the mountains. Before we got there, we stopped at a small mom and pop store so we could buy some touristy things, and to get some coffee and scones. The coffee and scones were great and really cheap. 

After we left there, we drove for a while until we got to Glendalough. This is a sixth century monastic settlement with a  famous 10th century round tower and a lot of celtic crosses in a cemetery. This is where we got to go hiking. The woods were just beautiful. There were two lakes and we had about an hour and a half to just roam the area. I was wearing my Brewers hat today while my roommates and I got off the bus, and ironically I met a couple that go UW-Madison, and one was even in the journalism school. So it is definitely a small world! That was really nice when I met them because I had more than enough stuff to talk to them about. 

While we were all hiking in the woods on a paved sidewalk, the trees, creeks and lakes gave off a vibe that made me never want to leave. It was awesome being away from the city, traffic and hundreds of people always crowding the sidewalks here. It took us about 40 minutes to walk to one of the lakes, but once we got there it was well worth the trip. As the sun finally started to make its first appearance of the day after a morning filled with rain, its shine bounced off rippling water and gave an awesome view to the mountains placed behind the lake. 

Since we only had an hour and a half to walk abound, we got a lot of pictures by the lake and had to start walking back towards the bus. After getting lost for a while, we finally found it and headed to lunch. We had the choice of getting a light lunch at a cafe or going to a hotel and getting a hearty cooked meal that was a little more expensive. I went with the expensive meal.

It was the best and most food I have eaten since I've been in Ireland. It was a Guinness stew filled with a lot vegetables, and the bread that went along with it was perfect for dipping. Needless to say, I was stuffed. 

After that we stopped at few more spots in the mountain and I was able to capture some more pictures. It was a great day. I'll upload the photos pretty soon so everyone can see them. You'll really like them. 

But tomorrow I'm going to go to a small town outside of Dublin called Howth, which is a small fishing community. I guess it is another perfect place to hike and what not. But until then, I hope everyone's weekend is going well and I will talk to everyone real soon.

Another week almost finished

Hey everybody,

Well, it's Thursday and another week is almost finished. So far no luck on any jobs in the area, but I have to go to Starbucks and a cafe tomorrow to speak with the managers; wish me luck. The week has been pretty good; I wake up around 8 a.m. everyday, get ready, then walk around Dublin to hand out my résumés. It is getting a little frustrating right now with the job search, so I really hope one of these two jobs I interview for tomorrow works out.

Last night was awesome! I had to go to a social with a whole bunch of other people from my program. There was free food (incredibly awesome), and I was able to meet a lot of people that are in the same position I am in. So it is good to know that I am not the only one that is unable to find a job. But last night I ended up meeting a few locals, and really hit it off with them. It is so weird, though, half of them were from Canada. I think I have met more people from Canada so far on this trip than Ireland. With that said, I have yet to meet a bad a Canadian. 

But that is pretty much all the new news for me. I really hope something works out with these two interviews tomorrow. This weekend I'm planning on taking a trip to Howth. It is like a 20 minute train ride out of the city and from what I have heard, it is the Ireland that you see on TV and in the movies. So that will be very awesome. 

Wish me luck on the interviews tomorrow, and keep sending those e-mails! :)

The First Week

Hey everyone,

Well, I successfully made it one full week in Dublin. I'm moved into my apartment (pics coming up soon), and I'm still truckin' along on the job search. It is very tough at the moment; a lot of no's. Yesterday I went to the Irish Times just to see if I could volunteer, but they said they had enough people and wouldn't need me. That was really disappointing because it would have been awesome to work a few works at the Irish Times, and it would have done wonders probably for my journalism career. But, I'm trying, and that is all that matters. At the moment, I am trying really hard to get a job at Starbucks. They told me to come back on Friday so I can talk to the district manager, so that has a glimmer of hope for me. Until then, I'll just keep handing out my résumés and hope for the best!

The weekend went pretty well. While I am still fighting the homesickness, I'm starting to get it under control. Saturday was such a long day because it was so cold and rainy outside, but Sunday I moved all my stuff into my apartment and spent my last night at the Ashfiled House hostel hanging out with the friends I made.

I met one kid from Germany, who was on a three week traveling expedition. He was not just traveling from hostel to hostel though, he spent 10 days walking around Ireland on walking trails and just camped by himself at night -- absolutely crazy. I met another kid from Canada, eh. He was awesome because we had so much in common. Other kids I met were from Australia, Boston and other various places around the US. 

Monday was probably the toughest day for me while I have been in Ireland. Whether it was because I had to say goodbye to the group of friends I became so close with in such a short amount time at the hostel, or because of the anxiety of moving into my new place and having to meet a new group of strangers, it was just a stressful day overall. But after getting some friendly e-mails and talking with Mom and Dad, the horrible day quickly turned into a pleasant night. To try and fight some of the homesickness and to take my mind off the horrible job market, I took a bus tour around Dublin and got to see some pretty interesting and beautiful places.

 The bus tours here are really cool. They are called "Hop on/Hop off" tours where you can get off at the Guinness Factory, St. Stephen' Green and other places like that. I just took the ride, though, and decided I will check out those places more in a better (and warmer) day. 

So my apartment. It is definitely clean and quiet. But it is located in a shady neighborhood. My roommates are the exact opposite of mine from Madison, (which I have grown to miss quite dearly). Two girls are from India studying physics and pharmacy at Trinity College. Another girl is from Germany studying english at Trinity College. And, lastly, there is a married couple who are also trying to find jobs at the moment. I was hoping everyone would be very social here, but, instead, everyone just kind of locks themselves in their rooms at night. So hopefully when I get a job I meet some people that are a little bit more open and have things more in common with me. 

But I think that about sums up everything for me right now. Keep sending those e-mails. They are really encouraging when I'm stuck walking around all day by myself trying to land that perfect job. Hope everyone is doing well!

Oh yeah, some of the pics I took on that tour are kind of bad because I was taking them as the bus was moving. So, just a little heads up for everyone...

The apartment

Hey everyone,

Well, I saw the apartment today, and it is quite nice - way nicer then expected. I bartered with the landlord and he is giving me a SINGLE room for 130 euros a week. Expensive? You betcha. Cheaper than a hostel? Yup. But the sad thing, that is the cheapest apartment I have found in the city. So I'm going to keep looking, but for now, this will do. 

It really sucks outside today. It is a very, very cold rain and wind, and walking to the apartment was not fun at all. Luckily it was only a 15 minute walk. But once I got there, the landlord forgot I was coming so I had to stand out in the rain for about 30 minutes until the landlord picked up the phone. But the apartment is set up with six different bedrooms, and one large TV/kitchen area. My room is pretty small, but there will be dressers and a closet to hang up my stuff. Tomorrow I'm going to have to buy a cheap blanket and pillow. 

Last night was definitely my best night in the city. I met some kids from Canada, Australia and Switzerland, and we all went out and hit up a few pubs. Beer here is really, really expensive, so we did not stay out too long. But it was really nice getting to know some new people and hanging out with them for the night...it was quite relaxing! 

Since the weather here is so crappy, I'm not too sure what I will be doing tonight. Everyone I met last night is still going to be here today, so that is really nice for me! But that is it from this end of the world. Good luck to Nick and Andrea on their tri tomorrow. Hopefully the weather lets up for ya.

Day 4: The weekend arrived in just the right amount of time

Hey everybody,

The weekend is here, it's Friday night, it's time for me to relax and not stress so much about not finding a job. After talking with Mom, Dad and Katie, I realized I've only been searching for jobs for two days and things can only go up from here.

I spent all day exploring a different part of the city, and I think it was my favorite part of the city. However, I'm positive it was the most expensive part of the city. And the best part, they were not employing anyone at the moment, too, ha. But, oh well. I think I found something that might be more to my liking. When I went out to cash some of my traveler's cheques, some fundraising group was out trying to get people to donate money. When they came up to me, I told them I was foreign, and thats when they told me that I need to apply because this job mainly accepts people that are constant traveler's looking for a quick dollar, or should I say, euro...

So I applied for that. I think it will be more to my liking because I will be working with kids my own age, I will get to be outside, and the best part, the job involves traveling with all expenses paid. I can't wait until I'm able to travel around Ireland and see some smaller cities. Right now it doesn't feel like I'm in a different country (besides from the crazy drivers and accents). It kind of feels like I'm in Madison or Chicago. So once I can start getting some cash, things will start looking up. 

Tomorrow I get to see view my new apartment I thinking about purchasing. It is 90 euro a week (a steal) and it is about a 15 minute walk from the city centre. So it will be nice to have more structure to my life and get into a routine. Additionally, it will be nice to meet new people that won't leave the following day. 

The hostel is much quieter tonight, which is nice. It has been very hectic all week here, and I was able to get to use the kitchen without bumping into someone else or running out of dishes to cook a meal in. 

Last night I got to see Heppe and Jensen and it was awesome! It was very nice seeing familiar faces and just catching up. I also got to see their hostel, and that's when I realized, I'm paying for convenience, not luxury. Their hostel was much, much nicer than mine, and it was only about 10-15 minute walk from mine. We didn't do much last night, we just got some dinner and had a few drinks at their place.

But, yeah, that is it for me. I will have some pictures posted by the time everyone wakes up, and I will blog about my new apartment as soon as I get back from there. :)

The Job search

Hey everybody,

So today I began looking for jobs. After spending about six hours wandering the streets of Dublin, I handed out about 20 different résumés, and had one sit down with a manager. But no luck so far. I need to start "exaggerating" about how long I'm staying and my skills. On the plus side, though, I found a farmers market today and also discovered a sweet new part of the city...so that was very encouraging. 

I also found a short term apartment to stay during the summer. It's 90 euros a week and I will only be sharing with two other people. I get to check it out on Saturday to make sure I like it. I had the option of getting my own room for 150 euros, but I figured, financially, it would be more beneficial to myself to do the three person room. Also, if I share a room, I will be able to meet more people and become friends with them, without having to  worry about them leaving a day or two later. I think that is the toughest part right now for me living in the hostel. Everytime I become friends with someone, they end up leaving the following day, so I have to go through the process all over again. 

But besides that, everything is going OK. I got a little homesick today, but I think once I move into my new place and find a job, I will start to get into a routine of things, which will be nice. Thanks again for all the e-mails everyone has been sending me. They have been very encouraging and help me stay proactive. 

Tonight Heppe and Jensen (two of my roommates) are in town, so I hope we are able to meet up with each other. It will be nice to see some familiar faces. 

But that is all for now. Wish me luck on finding a job and keep the e-mails coming :) 

Day 2: Taking it a day at a time

Hey everyone,

So I have successfully completed my second day in Ireland, and I have a plan of attack established for the next few days while I try to find a job. Today was a really solid day. The breakfast food at the hostel is good, and it serves cereal, toast and coffee/tea -- so it was quite delicious. 

I had my first and only orientation meeting this morning. It was two hours long and it felt like a ton of information thrown at me. But to sum it up for everyone, the next few days for me will be spent filling out paper work about taxes and immigration, while walking all over the city to trying to find the different buildings to file the paperwork. Also, I have to spend most of tomorrow and Friday trying to find an apartment to sublet. It will be the cheapest way for living accommodations throughout the summer, and I don't think I could handle living with a set of five different strangers everynight-- the hostel room is just too small for that. I made this decision last night after a bunch of German kids came into our room last night at 2 a.m. and sprechen die deutch for about 45 min. So, I think for my sanity it would be best to find a place for a cheaper price, where I would only have one or two other roommates. 

But besides that, I do love living in a hostel. Everyone I have met is incredibly nice. Last night I met a bunch of kids from England and few kids from Mexico, but they all left today, so that kind of sucks. Today I've been hanging out with different group of guys who are from Germany; so everyone is pretty cool. 

After my meeting today, I explored the city some more and bought a cell phone. Now if an employer needs to contact me, it will be much easier for them. Tomorrow I am going to wake up really early so I can start handing out some resumés and hopefully start working by next week sometime. I've been very tight with my money so far, but once I get a job I think I will be a little bit more relaxed and not feel bad if I go out for awhile at night. 

I think my favorite thing about Dublin I noticed so far, is that it stays light out until about 11 p.m. It's really awesome, but it is definitely screwing up my sleep schedule (though that is probably because of the jet lag). I only slept for about five or six hours last night, but I did take quite the solid nap this afternoon.  

But, yeah, that pretty much sums it up for today. Thanks for all the e-mails from everyone, I really appreciate it while I'm getting my feet wet in the city. Talk to everyone real soon :)

Oh, yeah, I started taking pictures today. The address to see them at is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andyinireland/

Enjoy :)

First day: The deer in the headlight look

Hello everyone, 

So I'm sitting in my hostel and finally have some time to let everyone know how I'm doing. Right now, I'm just exhausted and loving it. The flight went well and I slept pretty much the entire time (side note: The airline's food was quite good). The plane landed around 9 this morning and I spent about an hour dealing with immigration and what not.

Once I left the airport it was about an hour bus ride down to the city centre. The strangest part about the bus ride was how it did not announce the street names inside the bus at the different stops, but, luckily, a nice little old lady was able to help me find my way. After getting off the bus I spent about another hour trying to find my hostel. Navigating around here initially was a little complicated because the street names are not posted on the corner of the streets, but rather on top of the building in old school italic writing. 

After I got to my hostel, it was another two hours before my room was ready, so I locked up all my luggage and electronics in a locker and started to check out the city a little bit. The first thing that caught me off guard was how fast paced the city is. I guess I kind of expected it to be really green and rainy, but instead, it was incredibly warm and full of people and buildings, (side note: Dublin has a crap load of construction during the summer time, too). There also seems like there is a biggilillion side shops on different side streets. It sort of feels like there is hundred different State Streets crammed next to each other in the city.

I think my favorite thing I noticed so far is all the food I bought had no additional tax added to the price. But most of the currency here is dealt with coins that look identical. 

So that was my first day, thus far. My hostel is really nice and the people that work here are super friendly. They helped me out a lot when I first arrived because I was so fatigued and out of it from traveling. My room is about the same size of my first room at Mifflin, and I have to share with five other people, who I have yet to meet them. And there is a bathroom connected to my room, which is really convenient. 

But now it is time for me to take a nap. I'm exhausted!