March 27: Woking, Surrey

Well, I have arrived in Woking, Surrey. The good news is that the flat (apartment) was already ready to move into when I arrived. The downside is that I’m living with my (male) manager. I’m sure it will be fine, we’ll just be seeing a lot of each other during the week.

Get ready to cry me a river.

It’s a two-bedroom, two-bathroom fully furnished flat. The living room has a red leather wrap-around couch, a door that opens out onto a balcony, and a TV complete with DVD player. Anyone familiar with living in the UK will know that a tax is levied on every television set in a home, so just to have one at all is considered a luxury. The kitchen has a washer-dryer all-in-one unit, a dishwasher, and large refrigerator and freezer. There is adequate space to the side for a four-seater glass dining table. My bedroom has a double bed, small desk, bookcase, nightstand, and armoire.

I know, it’s a tough life here in Woking… But before you start getting jealous, just remember that I’m getting half my salary and that the exchange rate is killer at the moment. It cost US $30 to get into London today. The average sandwich from a convenience store (i.e. NOT a dine-in place) is ₤4 or so, which is about US $8. For a sandwich. In one of those triangle plastic cases.

But it’s worth it. I’m so happy to be in the UK. Woking is a charming little town as well, though most shops close at 6 PM and I don’t plan to spend many weekends here, so I may not get to really see much of it. There are two malls nearby, and one contains a Top Shop! Trouble. There are lots of restaurants and pubs and even a few clubs. Oh, and the McDonald’s here has an EasyInternet Café. Since my flat doesn’t have Internet (or a phone), I might have to hit that up a few times.

And to top it all off, the weather was GORGEOUS today! Bright and sunny, and at least 70˚ F with a light breeze. It probably won’t keep up, but so far it’s been a great welcome.

The update on work is that i have to leave the UK after April 7 in order to re-enter with a work permit stamped by immigration, so it looks like we're scheduling a work trip to visit one of Plan's National Offices. Right now it's looking like it might be Norway, Finland, or Germany. They're also thinking about sending us to visit a Regional Office, likely either Panama or Senegal. I should know more soon. Oh, and the UK gets two days off for Easter: April 6 and April 9. Happy Days!

March 24-25: Days of Dublin

After the Paddywagon dropped us off and some of us checked in at the Paddy's Palace in Dublin (again, not palacial), some of us went on a quick walking tour of Dublin. We checked out St. Patrick's Cathedral and St. Stephen's Green before meeting people back at the hostel for the evening. I got ready quickly and went out with Caragh and Aoife, my friends from Accenture's Core Consultant School.

I went to dinner with the Caragh and Aoife and two of their friends at a Spanish tapas restaurant, then out to 3 lounge-y pubs NOT in the Temple Bar. We had a really good night out, but I was exhausted from the week and had to call it a night after the 3rd pub. I felt like I might be coming down with a cold...

The next morning confirmed that I had definitely come down with a cold. The first few days of the tour had been in VERY cold weather in Northern Ireland, which I was not adequately prepared for, and then after a week without enough sleep and staying in hostels where we were lucky if the sheets had been laundered rather than just straightened on the beds, it wasn't surprising I wasn't feeling well. I was not alone: at least half the people in our group were now feeling under the weather as well.

I took it easy on Sunday and just spend the early afternoon checking out the Book of Kells and the Long Room at Trinity College, both of which were truly amazing. The Book of Kells was written by Irish monks around 800 AD and is a fully illustrated. It is incredible considering the incredibly rudimentary methods used back then to produce a book, something we completely take for granted now. The Long Room is a library that is 300 years old with publications going back 600 years.

I stayed two nights in Paddy's Palace Dublin and by the end of it, was very ready to leave the backpackers hostelling lifestyle behind me. Shelley, Nora and Kristy - how did we manage to live like this for 1.5 months?? One week and I'm through with the dirty showers, some of which switch off after 2 minutes and have no temperature control, through with the bunk beds, through with trying to sleep through freight-train snorers. Whatever accommodations are waiting for me in Woking will seem heavenly!

Paddywagon Day 6

We left Killarney bright and early the next morning, leaving most of us with less than 4 or 5 hours of sleep. Today we had to book it back to Dublin, so we spent most of the day on the bus, dozing. But we did stop off around 9:30 AM at the Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone. Legend has it that kissing the Blarney Stone will give you 7 years of good luck and the 'gift of the gab', or eloquence. It has been 8 years since I first kissed the Blarney Stone when on a Spring Break tour with my high school junior year, so I was due for another smooch. You have to bend over backwards over a 5-storey dropoff to reach the smooth surface of the special stone at the top of the castle ruins. The castle grounds are lovely and I walked around them for a bit that morning with Anna and Penny.

We finally arrived back in Dublin just before 4 PM. It was strange to say good-bye to people I'd only know for a week, but felt close to nonetheless. I hope to see many people again in London or traveling somewhere on a weekend before I return to the US.

Paddywagon Day 5

Today we went to the Western-most point in all of Europe. The little hill is pretty unremarkable, but there are beautiful islands off the coast, one of which looks like a sleeping giant and of course comes along with an Irish 'fairy tale' of sorts involving the same Finn MacCool.

The landscape of southwestern Ireland is absolutely breathtaking. There are rolling hills dotted by sheep and criss-crossed by stone/hedge-enclosed pastures. I love the sheep, so cute!

We spent lunchtime and early afternoon in the small town of Dingle, a charming fishing village. There are 57 pubs for a population of about 500. Many of them are also hardware shops or bicycle repair shops.

We arrived in Killarney later that afternoon and most of us went on an optional horse and buggy ride around the National Park. It was very romantic. :) Our tour guide was very entertaining with a sharp Irish wit.

It was another Paddy's Palace for us, which was, of course, far from palacial. Our guide says 'Happy Days' about every other sentence, and apparently that's the theme of the organization since it's written here above the entrance. We had a good last night out on the town in Killarney that ended with a nice 3:30 AM wake-up call for me when my roommies came back after 'frolicking' in the streets after the club closed. I look forward to catching up on some sleep in Dublin!

Paddywagon Day 4

Today we drove to the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast of Ireland. Words cannot describe how stunning these cliffs are. Here's a picture, but it really can't do it justice.We were so lucky to go on such a brilliantly sunny afternoon so we could see all 5 cliffs. Absolutely breathtaking.

We drove to Lahinch to eat lunch at 'Paddy Murphy's Pub and Grub'. This is one of the most popular surfing spots in all of Ireland, and sure enough there was a class out there as we watched. The Aussies scoffed at the very small waves, incredulous that any surfing activity could take place at all. Bryce, you would have gone out regardless, I'm sure. The chilly weather wouldn't scare you away either.

We left that morning minus one member of our tour who had ended up spending the night in the suburbs with some Galway locals. We were heading out to a tiny town called Annascaul in Kerry, and had no idea how she would make her way back to us. Incredible, she showed up that evening at our hostel, the Randy Leprechaun. The Galway guy gave her a lift, what must have been a several hour long drive. Legendary.

There is karaoke at the Randy Leprechaun so we of course participated enthusiastically. There were so few people there, we could pretty much walk up and sing our selected song right then. Happy Days, Happier Nights.

Paddywagon Day 3

Lots of driving through the countryside today to get down to Galway. We stopped first at Drumcliffe Church to see the burial place of William Butlet Yeats. His tombstone (shown here) is inscribed with his own words: "Cast a cold eye on life, in death, Horseman, pass by." While sitting in the cafe, one of the girl's purse was stolen by a local and there was quite a flurry with the Irish Garda (police) arriving to sort things out. Miraculously, one of the accused women 'found' it back in a corner of the cafe. Such drama.

Btw - shout out to Shelley for giving me that Atlas for my birthday (slash Valentine's Day) because I'm able to look up where everyone in the group is from. It's been really cool. There are a lot of other people traveling alone so it's been easy to make friends and have a good time. I'm learning the Aussie accent, too, mate.

Dinner tonight in Galway at a place with some great Irish stew then out on the town. I got a new t-shirt "Guinness. Black goes with everything." that I wore out. Good times, but our roommates (also part of our tour group) were a bit rowdy coming home to the hostel late that night around 4 am (?). Gotta love the shared dorm rooms with bunk beds and bathrooms down the hall. And those showers that only run water for about 2 minutes before you have to push the button to start them again. So sweet. My tiny shared apartment in Woking is going to feel like a palace after this very grimy week.

Speaking of which, I'm so grateful to be with these Aussies who are living over in the UK and working enough to make money to travel for a little a bit, then work again and do it all over. Hearing stories about living in hostels with 3 other people and doing odd jobs is making me realize how NOT roughing it I will be. With my half-salary and per diem, I will be more than fine.

Paddywagon Day 2

Today we left Belfast, driving past the shipyards where the Titanic was built on our way farther north in Northern Ireland. 'Titanic 2', an exact replica of the original, has been commissioned and is to set sail on April 12, 2012, 100 years after the maiden voyage. Our first stop after leaving Belfast was the rope bridge in Carrick-a-Rede. We walked across the rope bridge, which was a little frightening as huge and sudden gusts of wind caused it to swing a bit.

We then went to The Giant's Causeway, a collection of interesting rock formations that look like staggered hexagonal stepping stones. It was incredible. The Irish story behind this causeway involves Finn MacCool, the wisest man in all of Hibernia (Ireland). Chicago-ans, sound familiar? I'm hearing all sorts of Chicago Irish pub names while I'm out here...

We arrived in Derry and had a walking tour of the city. It's primarily Catholic, so it's not as divided as Belfast is between the opposing groups. We saw the site of Bloody Sunday where 13 civil liberty protesters were killed by the British Army in October of 1972.

Back at the hostel (another Paddy's Palace), we had a cookout where we each put in 2 Euro and cooked a big pasta dinner with salad. Afterwards, we were serenaded by our walking tour guide, Rory, and tour bus driver Joe. Then out to the pub for some authentic live Irish music. Matt (Chef) and I did some very unauthentic Irish jigging. :)