More officialness

So, the airline ticket has been purchased for a while but what about the work visas. Well with the help of BUNAC.org and a money order for $1069 I can happily say I have attained work visas for 4 months in Ireland, and 6 months in Britain. I also have health insurance included for my time abroad. The first three nights I will be staying in hostels booked in Dublin. I have to attend an orientation meeting before I can get jobs, an apartment, etc. I also have to drop another €100 to register at the Garda when I arrive. There Ireland will give me a tax number and validate my work visa. This should be an exciting start to the trip. I still don’t know where I’ll be living or what I’ll be doing. Hopefully it will be picking potatoes, herding sheep, or caddying on a golf course. I’ll be living out of my Whitney backpack made by Gregory, which I purchased at moosejaw.com for a little over $300. I got a rain cover to go with it, as I hear it rains a lot in Ireland. Next up is to find a raincoat, pack my bag, and jump on the plane. The time is flying by, and I am getting really excited now. The ice cream gig has been great and I have been able to pay off some debt while saving money for the trip. There is still a lot of paperwork to take care of: lining up reference letters from banks, landlords, and previous jobs, selling my car, international driving license, and spending some extra time with the family. I’ll let you all know how it goes and the progress I make in the next few days!