IE3

I was asked to create a blog entry for the OSU Abroad blog. It is not very different than my post on here about my internship, but it is still pretty cool that I am officially a published author now.


http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/osuabroad/


Cheers!

Update

I have been really busy lately but I promise to put up pictures and a full update soon! I was in Scotland for the weekend, mostly because all of the interns planned a trip together and also because I needed to leave the country so that I wasn't in Ireland for more than 90 days in a row (and would need a student visa). Edinburgh might be my new favorite city, it was absolutely incredible! All seven of us were completely breath-taken as we walked around for the first time. (Stockholm syndrome, anyone?) We also visited Lochness, I was pretty sad that Nessie didn't make an appearance. Apparently there have been three official sightings so far this year. Sightings aren't considered official until three different groups of people who don't know eachother see her from different locations at the same time. Sounds pretty legitimate to me! 

http://www.quirkybet.com/weird-creatures-wacky-weather/Loch-Ness-Monster-Found

The Aviva stadium had its first soccer match last night, Airtricity League vs. Manchester United. Everyone keeps talking about how beautiful the new stadium is which is extra exciting to me because it is my next door neighbor. We lost 7 to 1... I didn't attend the game because it is stupidly expensive and there were lots of empty seats because of this, hopefully I will be able to attend either a soccer, rugby or Gaelic football game while I am here! 


In addition to talking about the game where Manchester "coasted" by (their words, not mine), the morning news is also talking about how many recent Irish graduates are having to go to America to start their careers. How ironic is this, considering I am an American graduate (almost) interning in Ireland? Many students go to NYC to complete their internships because there aren't very many here, which I know from experience as I had a really hard time securing mine here. I watch the news here more than back home and it is very interesting to hear about the Irish economy, especially when they compare it to America's. I suppose that graduating from college is always scary, especially considering the current economy in Ireland, America and elsewhere. 


Speaking of, today marks my fourth official week at my internship and I guess I should get up and around..


Pictures soon, til then


Cheers

Fashion

Ireland, Summer 2010.

love, me

One Month

I have officially been in Dublin for a month now, and it is feeling more and more like home. I have been awful at updating this blog, I am really sorry to everyone who has been asking me about it! Italy was great, I made it to Rome, Florence and San Giovani and got to see lots of friends! Italy was hot and crowded and much different than during the winter, and I was relieved to get back to Ireland and jump into a new routine! Work has been taking up a lot of time and energy, but the good news is, I have pictures and am going to talk about it here, so everyone knows whats up.

I have been living in the penthouse at the Mount Herbert Hotel in Dublin 4, which is incredibly ironic since I am literally a starving college student at this point, AND because I work in the sketchiest part of Dublin.

Mount Herbert Hotel

This is my apartment for the summer. It is charming in its own little way. I have way too many rooms and too many bathrooms. Not that I mind too much :)

I have GREAT views of the city, and live right next to the brand new soccer/rugby stadium that is set to open in about a week.

Every morning, I wake up at about 7 am, watch BBC, Irish AM or Big Brother (depending on how intelligent I am feeling, really) as I get ready, and walk about 13 minutes to the bus stop. The bus comes whenever it feels like it, anywhere between 1 minute early to 20 minutes late. This determines whether or not I make it to work on time. My bus ride is about 45 minutes, and I literally go from the nicest, richest part of town where everybody is wearing suits and carrying briefcases, to the most impoverished and run down section of Dublin. Most days, the bus starts as standing room only and ends with every single person getting off before me. I have had more than one bus driver ask me if I am sure I want to get off in Ballymun, because in all honesty, NOBODY wants to get off there.

This is a city map of Dublin, I go from

D4 to D11. They might as well be in different countries.

I work at the Rediscovery Centre Eco Store, a scheme under the Ballymun Regeneration Limited project, Europe's most successful regeneration project.

http://www.rediscoverycentre.ie/

The store is not officially open yet, and I work on different projects from day to day, as any good intern should. I actually feel like an important part of the team, and feel very welcome and needed, and this is invaluable. I am SO happy that I ended up here! The biggest project that I have been working on is a procedures and policy guidebook for the store, basically outlining every detail of running the shop on a daily basis.

Brand new sign :)

This guitar was made out of an old wardrobe

Lovely Ballymun graffiti. Our next door neighbor has had his windows broken twice so far

3-D glasses lamp. I am in awe!

I meet about 7 new people a day, way too many names to remember. I have met a couple of members of the Guinness family, and yesterday I met a tv show host from RTE. Fancy scmancy! We drink tea like its nobody's business, and the atmosphere is much more relaxing than anywhere I have worked in the US.

Today, I took photos of all of the garments in the store and am creating a sort of database for them so that future store employees can be informed on all of the clothing and more able to sell them. The garments were created by Carrie Ann, the head designer, and her kick ass team whom I am getting to know quite well. Their studio is connected to the store, and while I am working on my (beautiful, shiny, brand new) Macbook Pro (thanks daddy :)), and keeping up the shop, they are working away making great new creations completely out of recycled materials.

A wedding dress from completely recycled materials? This girl rocks!

My favorite piece

I feel like I am good at my job and I love working hard at something that I love to do. I also really enjoy working on a project that is helping people, and working with a lot of really GOOD people who are passionate about making a difference. I just found out that the regeneration project was nationally publicized, and, ironically, made it into the Bend Bulletin!! (shout out to Grandma for the link!)

http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100629/NEWS0107/6290366

In my free time, I have been spending a lot of time with all of the other American interns, mostly exploring Dublin (Temple Bar district and Grafton St, to be more specific). I love all of these guys and it is great to have a support system here!!

My decision to come here was not easy, and I had to fight really hard to get here. Everyday is a HUGE adventure and it is not always fun and hardly ever easy. But it is worth it, and I feel SO lucky! I was asked to write on the IE3 International Internship Blog, so look out for that! As always, I am missing everybody at home SO much! I am really excited to go to Scotland in the next couple of weeks, and have my mom and sister visit!!!! I still have lots more exploring to do, and a lot more to learn at work, all is well :)

CHEERS!

Viva San Giovanni e Paolo!!

I decided to come to Italy for 8 days because I don't start my internship until next week. This was a GREAT decision. I have been loving exploring Ireland and hanging out with all of my American internship buddies, but I had too much idle time and was feeling so overwhelmed by Dublin that I was starting to feel really depressed. What I really needed, without realizing it, was a sense of community, and this was the perfect place to come.

San Giovanni is a teeny tiny town near Napoli, tucked in the hills with the most beautiful views I have ever seen. There aren't hotels or anything tourist-y and I get to eat homemade Italian food and wine all day long. Yesterday I played volleyball, tennis, took a motocross ride through the hills (again...best part of this sentence is that I have done this more than once in Italy. Beautiful :)). Ate lots of pasta and pizza and deserts, and just relaxed with all of the San Giovanni boys and my new friend Sarah, who lives in Venezia.

I haven't decided why I am so much happier here, I think that a lot of blame can be placed on Italia, and a lot has to do with my amazing buddies here. It is comfortable, and I am in love with it in a way that I haven't fallen in love with Ireland yet. I am going to Florence tomorrow, and then to Rome for the weekend to do a pub crawl (and because Rome feels like home to me) and am headed back early next week. I am nervous about going back to Ireland, but SOOO excited to start my internship and get settled in finally. I actually had a lot of fun last weekend in Dublin and think the Temple Bar District is a very entertaining place. I am just ready to go find my spot in Dublin that I can call home for the next 10 - 12 weeks, and I will feel much more content. That is all for now. Ciao!

"....Americans have an inability to relax into sheer pleasure.Ours is an entertainment seeking-nation, but not necessarily a pleasure-seeking one....This is the cause of that great sad American stereotype- the overstressed executive who goes on vacation, but who cannot relax."
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia)

I have been reading Eat, Pray, Love, which I bought at JFK during my grossly long layover. Reading it last night, the author's experience almost perfectly matched up with mine, as she fought lonelinessin a far away place, traveling all alone (She was told to "embrace" it, to experience loneliness as a normal human emotion). Another battle she had was trying to find full pleasure while in Italy, perhaps the world capital of pleasure of food, sensuality and beauty. Culturally, I don't think Americans naturally contain the capacity for experiencing this in the same way that Italians do, and I was faced with this yesterday as I explored Dun Laoghaire for hours on end. Waiting for a call about my internship, I literally had the entire day to do anything I wanted. But what the hell do I want to do??! I don't know when the last time I even had the option of asking this question was, and today I am faced with it again. This is the same situation Elizabeth was in during the few chapters I read last night, and while we were both a bit scared of having to answer this question, it is REALLY REALLY nice to try to answer :)

Yesterday I left the hostel and just started walking, going first to Penney's, a clothing store that kick's Forever 21's butt. I bought 2 shirts, a necklace and some oxfords (finally!!) for €19.50 (roughly $24). Then I walked around a mall, bought a few groceries at Tesco, ate a delicious brie and tomato sandwich and spent a couple of hours walking the pier, people watching, eating ice cream (it is somehow different here, I think it tastes a lot better) and sitting by the sea. Just sitting. I had a pint with one of my intern buddies and received a call at about 8:30 saying I am going to be interning for the company I really wanted to intern for (yay!! finally!!)! What started as a tired, sleepless morning ending up being a really great and relaxing day, but I had to work really hard for it and had to fight the anxiety ofuncertainty and loneliness.

The truth is, I don't mind being alone, I am just not used to it, even after living alone for a year at school. I am paying a LOT of money to be here, and I will be working a LOT of hours at my new internship, because they are launching a new project. This is my last week of summer off, and I need to experience all of the best this country has to offer without feeling GUILTY, which is the hardest for me.

Anyway, it is sunny again today, everybody here keeps saying how amazing the weather is. I think I am going to hop on a bus to Dalkey and just see where the day brings me. Maybe bring a copy of Eat, Sleep, Love, which I think everyone should read. I am only about 75 pages in, I think reading a book a little at a time is a luxury, but maybe that's because I just graduated college :p. Here are some pictures from my day yesterday. There was a moment on the pier yesterday where I realized, "I like this, I like spending time with me". That was a big step in my trip :) I miss you all dearly (clearly, if you read this)! Wish you were here!

"The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life's achievement."

Homesick

Kind of a depressing way to start my brand new blog, but I want to keep it short so that I can go shopping (this is kind of my cure-all for any sad/mad/depressed mood). I am staying at the Marina House hostel in Dun Laoghaire. I still have to google Dun Laoghaire everytime I type it out, eventually I will learn how to spell it. . . It is a cute little hostel and I have an 8-bed room all to myself for €16 (I still have to google the Euro sign too, eventually I'll figure it out :p). However, last night was the first night I have spent all by myself, and I think this solitude, combined with my inability to sleep through a full night in Ireland due to jet lag, my lack of internship and permanent housing, and FINALLY coming to a realization that I am so far from home have left me with a touch of homesickness. Perhaps because all of my plans were so last minute in coming here, it really didn't even occur to me that I may get homesick. I have been far from home before, for extended periods of time, but I have never been alone. Lucky for me I have a great support network both in Oregon and in Dun Laoghaire, all who are only a phone call away. I also realize that this is a completely natural progression in the adjustment period and I will get over soon (nothing I can't handle). Anyway, that is where i am now. Literally almost every moment of the trip so far has been amazing, so far I have been to Dublin and Wicklow. Ireland is beautiful, and I don't know what all of this talk of rain was, it has been amazingly sunny every day. Today's weather is expected to be a high of 22, which means almost nothing to me, but I think that is sunny :p. I had my first internship interview yesterday, for an amazing company that I am really hoping I can get in with. I think it is shopping time now though, so I will go. I am choosing not to post the link to this blog until my next entry, I don't want to worry everyone, and there are so many more emotions here than loneliness, it would be a shame to start off on only this one! To showcase a brighter note, here are a few of my favorite words/phrases so far:

"what's the craic"

"mind your guinness", "mind your head", "mind the step", etc..

colossal

bullocks

brilliant, brilliant, brilliant

D4!