Whatever happened to that guy?

So if any of you are still trying to keep up with me I apologize. I got here and got so caught up with everything that I have neglected my blog for almost 3 months. To say the least a ton has happened to me in that 3 month period. So where am I in Ireland? What have I been doing? Where am I working? Well I am going to get you up to speed. The first few entries will be the quickest and most brief overview of the entire trip. Then I will break it down into more detail but I think you can look at Matt’s for a good review of what happened before we headed in different directions. His blog again is www.matthew-kyhnn-year-abroad.blogspot.com

So I instantly fell in love when I got off the bus in downtown Ireland. I had to ask a cop on a horse where to find the Temple bar district as we were staying there. After a couple hectic and sleepy days in Dublin we began to travel the countryside. Galway, Kells, Tramore, Donegal, Cork, Aughram, Ennis, and many other towns were hit. I saw tons of historical sites. The History over here is amazing. Everywhere you turn there is something that some town is proud of. And if you a curious just ask a local at one of the pubs and you’ll pry get an answer. And if you are in Kells you may have to knock on Mrs. Carpenter’s door to find the real answer. I have seen castles, high crosses, the Book of Kells, Guinness Brewery, Jameson Brewery, high crosses, towers, light houses, monastery ruins, cemeteries, and tons of churches! There is no shortage of sites to be seen in this great country the size of Iowa. So after about three weeks of traveling I had spent all the money I had brought and plus some.

So Matt and I had looked at a company called Face2Face Fundraising before we left. We applied and got the job which entailed talking to people in the street about a said charity and then trying to get this person to give 12-21 Euros a month. They did this by giving us their bank details for a direct debit. Sounds easy right? Well after 7 days I thought so. Then I didn’t sign anyone up for the next five days and got sacked (fired)! Oh well, the hours were long and pay was just ok. The plus was they had been providing my transportation and lodging. So it was back to Dublin for me as my couch surfing friend Lori happened to be coming to town the day after I got fired. We met up and I showed her all over Dublin. Then we grabbed a few pints, listened to some stellar traditional music and she headed back to her hostel as she had to catch a flight back to DC the next morning. From here I headed back to Galway. The young bustling town that 7 other Face2Face ex-employees were also moving too, to live it up. I got here before most of them and had a harder time than I thought finding a job. I finally did as a kitchen porter at Martine’s Quay St wine bar. I washed dishes, and on occasion plated a dessert. This lasted two and a half weeks. It was really tough work which didn’t bother me as I was eating first class food every night. Then I found out I wasn’t going to have any hours for two weeks as we were hitting our slowest time of the year. I couldn’t go too long without work and began looking elsewhere. I came across an ad at bestjobs.ie and now I am working at the Delphi Lodge Salmon Fishery. And I must say I couldn’t be happier. It’s funny how you find your way to a job that suits you. Even all my friends in Galway after being here just one week all told me I was in a much better state of mind! As I am now about an hour and a half from Galway I don’t get to see them too often. Working here in the nursery, netting salmon, clearing streams is great. Love it! Now I am starting to plan my transition to the UK as it is less than a month away. So that’s as short and sweet as I could possibly keep it. Oh how the time flies. That’s it for now but check back soon. I promise I won’t neglect my blog again!