Settling In

Our big task of finding accommodations is finally completed. We did not get our first choice, which was an apartment of our own. All of the apartments that were decent that were 2 or even 1 bedroom were €800 and up and if they were less, we didn’t think we could tolerate them for a year for reasons like they had kitchens in little closets, or the room was the size of the bed. Before we left we thought €800 would be affordable, but we realized how much traveling would be costing and how important that is to us and we so we chose the less expensive path. So we’re now residing in a “double en suite”, which means we’re renting a room with a full sized bed and a bathroom (with shower) attached to our room so it will only be us using, that which is nice. The house that we’re renting the room in is a “semi-detached” house with 2 other bedrooms, a really nice kitchen, our own small fridge/freezer, a living room with a working fireplace that I think we’ll actually get to use, a washer and dryer, and small closed in back yard (like a small Brooklyn sized one) where we could safely keep our bikes, if not inside. The man, Collim, who we’re renting from, is a nice, quiet man who said he won’t be around too much and that we can use anything in the house. The area is interesting- it’s a development and all the houses look the same. It’s very safe feeling, but not at all like what I imagine a neighborhood to look like in Ireland. However, right across the road from the development is very “Ireland looking”. Grassy and rocky with short stone walls everywhere, hilly and smelling of cows. I really like having that so close by to keep me feeling like I’m actually in Ireland. We moved in Sunday, and a friend of mine from work, Carmel, helped us out since she has a car and biking with 4 suitcases would have been hellish! It’s actually not too far from our first place,which is good since it took us 2 trips to schlep all our stuff over. The other nice things is that it will only take me about 10 minutes to bike to work and probably close to 20 to get home since it’s up a pretty steep hill, and right now I have to stop ½ way to ease the burning in my thighs. My goal is to be able to do it without stopping in a month.

First week of work went really well. It was gradually less overwhelming. However the differences have not ceased to surprise and shock me at times. Partly it’s that this hospital seems behind the times with things in general, and then the same with OT. Things like the fact that we only have about 8 wheelchairs to choose from to loan and test out with patients (when we could really use about 50), or that the wait list for patients to see a community OT is about 18 months. There just isn’t enough… anything to go around it seems. There needs to be about another 500 OTs to make things run smoother through out the system. Anyway, I got to see 3 patients on my own on Friday and that really helped me to understand everything, just getting my hand in things. Each patient was pretty different- one I did a home assessment with and then order equipment for safety in the bathroom, one I did a cognitive assessment with, and the third was a determined but VERY heavy duty patient who had had a stroke, he was pretty challenging, and so was his family but it was nice to actually physically be treating patients again.

Michael made a few connections around the city, put in a bunch of applications and refined his CV (resume) once again to fit Irish standards. He went on his first interview on Friday, which he biked to and it took about 30-40 one way! He’s a biking stud! It went well but the logistics of his work permit still need to worked out. We think we understand what he has to do, but it’s going to be a pain in the butt. Internet access at our new accommodation should really decrease the stress of him going from one internet source to another trying to get everything done. His legs are so sore from biking around all day long! There’s a question about whether the €500 fee for the work permit will apply to him but if it does, you can pray for the employer to be willing to pay for it as mine did especially since most of the places he’s looking into are non-profits (which they call ‘charities’ here).

We got initiated into pub life on Friday night! Carmel invited us out to a pub called Front Door, where we met her with her fiancé and a bunch of her friends from all over Ireland and even 2 from the States (she had some visitors this weekend). It was a blast being in a large, jam-packed, boisterous pub with a bunch of extremely friendly, generous strangers who were quick to find out what we like to drink. Pints are much larger than they seem, but we didn’t realize that till after we finished them. Michael did a great job of keeping up the Irish tradition of buying rounds for the people you’re with. Everyone we met was hysterical, crazy and made our first pub experience unforgettable. I was educated on how to get yourself to like Guinness- just drink LOTS of it and eventually you won’t be able to stop…. Great. We are continually being recommended to other pubs for one thing or another so we’ve got a long list to check out, and that’s just in Galway! If you come to visit we’ll take to our favorite ones!


Until next time- Sláinte (slawn-cha)- Cheers!