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| 21st February 2004 |
| What's up in Ireland? 21st February 2004 Hey all, apologies for not writing a proper update earlier since I arrived in Ireland, things have been pretty hectic. For those of you that have been following the latest happenings you'll know that I arrived here in Dublin on the 3rd of February after a slightly delayed journey, and a night in Stansted Airport in the U.K. It's hard to believe that I've been here for almost 3 weeks now, a lot has happened and many a pint of Guiness has been had. In fact my uptake of the Guiness was a little slow to beging as I concentrated on getting work and limited my spending but now that the money is flowing in I've taken the opportunity to check out where the Craic is (an Irish term some of you might be familiar with, impossible to directly translate but relates to great atmosphere and good company). I was relieved to find work in a restaurant after only 3 days of searching and luckily they have been giving me plenty of shifts and the tips have been good. When I'm not working during the week I'm concentrating on finding I.T work and I've been in contact with a number of recruitment companies. Nothing concrete at the moment but I'm hoping to have something secured for when I return to Europe at the end of April, if not sooner. So what are my first impressions of Ireland, and more specifically Dublin? Well after organised and structured Germany I have to say I was in a bit of shock when I arrived. Dublin is undergoing a fair amount of development at the moment so a lot of the roads have been dug up as they lay lines for a new |
| tram system and upgrade the main roads running through the city. The feeling of chaos is compounded by the continuous stream of huge lorries rolling through the city and the absolute disregard for pedestrian crossing lights shown by everyone. I thought New York was pretty crazy but never have I seen such an impressive display of jay walking as here. Here they have "look left" and "look right" sprayed onto the road at each pedestrian crossing because they know no one payes any attention to the pedestrian lights so they want to remind you which way to look. This has actually been really handy for me because the traffic is back on the left hand side of the road after being in Germany where it's on the right, so I've had to do a complete readjustment again of my traffic directions. I was reminded of the difference when the bus I was on leaving the Dublin airport drove past a sign at the exit to the airport that read "please drive on the left side of the road" in German. Jay walking seems to be a deep part of the Irish culture. People jay walk in front of police officers, hell I even saw a Jack Russle with a big bone in it's mouth calmly walk up to a crossing, look in each direction, and then perform a perfectly executed piece of jay walking. O.K maybe I'm going on about this but after Germany, where people will stand there for 4 minutes while not a single car drives past if the pedestrian light is red, it comes as a bit of a shock to the system. Mind you I don't blame the Irish for showing such disregard to the lights, I've been more than willing to do it myself, the lights just never seem to change and often there isn't even a pedestrian crossing at major intersections so you're left to play your own game of Russian Roulette. So enough about Jay walking though. What else has struck me about Ireland? Well I think the next big thing would have to be the omnious presence of security at the door of every store. It appears the Dublin has a major problem with shoplifting and there are a lot of portly Irish men getting payed to stand at a door all day doing nothing but give directions to tourists. One other thing that's suprised me about Dublin is how European it is. I don't know if it's a recent phenomenan, I suspect it has a lot to do with Ireland's membership of the E.U, but there is any amazing array of continental Europeans living in Dublin that gives the place a great vibe. I've been exposed to it probably more than normal because I'm living in a youth hostel but it's not that uncommon to hear french or spanish being spoken on the streets of the city. The great news is that everything us Aussies have ever thought about Ireland, Guiness, and Irish pubs is all true. There are first rate pubs everywhere and the Craic is great. Live music is big in Dublin and there are heaps of live music venues. Everytime I head out with backpackers from the hostel we almost always end up in the Temple Bar area at one of the many live music venues there. Jane came down from the North last weekend and we had the chance to check out a few of these pubs and venues when we caught up with an old school mate of Trannies, Randall. We also went and had a look at the Guiness brewery which was brilliant. So for now I'm happy living in the youth hostel, going out to the pubs with other backpackers, and working lots at Fitzers Restaurant. I'm keeping an eye out for I.T work though and I'm determined that I'll finalise something withing the next month. Hope everyone is having a great time, no matter what part of the world you're in. Ned. |