Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

As you probably read in the last blog post, I didn’t get my luggage yesterday.  The Dublin airport had said they’d deliver by 12, but that wasn’t the case.  I had to leave my studio at 12:40 to go to the airport and my bags never arrived.  I checked in with Aer Lingus and they said there was nothing they could do because the lost luggage claim was with Continental, although Aer Lingus is who the bags should have been delivered by.  I made several phone calls and kept leaving messages with the address where I’d be in Somerset. 

When I arrived in Bristol, I contacted their lost luggage customer representatives and gave them my contact info and address at the “resort”.  Luckily, I got a phone call from the airport in Bristol this morning saying they had my luggage and it would be delivered today.  Of course, I learned my lesson and I won’t celebrate until I actually have it in my possession. 

Getting to the location where I’m teaching the next few weeks was interesting for sure.  I’d been given good directions, but I literally took the airbus in Dublin to the airport, flew to Bristol, took the airport to the Bristol city center where I got a train to Taunton, then took another bus to the Butlins Resort here in Minehead.  LONG day of traveling.  I arrived last night and was taken to my room (I’ve got one of the largest with three bedrooms and a bath).  It’s nothing special though.  There are no towels included in the room so I had to dry off with an extra bedsheet this am, but you know, it worked.  I went to guest services this morning to “rent” a towel.  Very strange.

This morning I had the tour with some of the group leaders who brought students and then I got briefed on what I’d be responsible for, essentially teaching and leading afternoon activities outside of the classroom. Today we’ll walk into the small town of Minehead to check things out.  There I can get a sim card and other necessary items if my luggage doesn’t show.

I don’t know much about the students as I only ate breakfast with them, but in total we’ve got 300+ people and next week we have more arriving.  I had no idea this was such a large program. There seems to be plenty to do here though with rock climbing walls, an arcade, bowling alley, and movie theatre, swimming pools and jump castles, go carts and mini golf.  Then of course the beach is here as well but I’m telling you, it’s not like beaches at home.  I’m in jeans and my EF polo and wind jacket (very stylish) and I’m freezing.  You wouldn’t get me in a pool to save my life! 

About to head to lunch and hopefully I’ll get to spend some time getting to know the kids this afternoon. They are Russian students from 10-17 I believe.  Quite a mix.

I’ll do my best to keep you posted!

         

Day 2 in Dublin

I probably shouldn’t say “Day Two in Dublin” as most of it was spent in my apartment and the rest was airport and England!  I woke up around 7 this morning which surprises me a bit because Donal and I were out until 12:30 or so and you know I didn’t sleep on the plane much yesterday.  We had a good time last night.  Donal drove us, although he said he wasn’t familiar with my part of town and we parked over on Dawson Street I believe.  I suggested we go to the Porterhouse since it was near and neither of us really knew where else to go. 

Apparently Donal doesn’t hang out near Trinity, he goes to Temple Bar a lot. I find that a bit strange because I’ve heard many people say that Temple Bar is not for locals.  Anyway, we had several beers and chatted about a tone of crazy topics, just getting to know each other. Donal is 25, the youngest of 5 kids.  It will be nice to meet his siblings if possible to have more contacts.  His sister, Orla, and I have been emailing. She’s a primary teacher.  Anyway, Donal has offered to take me horseback riding, hunting, to shows, and to borrow his car any time I want!  That would be interesting.  Not only is the traffic all on the opposite side of the road, which I’ve never driven on, but Donal’s car is a 5 speed, which I can’t drive.  I guess I’ll have to learn.  Donal goes to see his dad in America in a few weeks, but when he returns, perhaps he can give me driving lessons.  A car would have been nice yesterday when I was buying all that stuff for the apartment.  Donal said he’d take me out to IKEA to see about some furniture for the place.  I need a chair at least! My little table just has two bar stools. 

Back to this morning though, I woke up because I was worried about the luggage problem so I got up to call the airport but of course my phone has no more credit!  I went on the cheap yesterday since I knew I’d only need it one day.  In my new pjs I went to a new neighbor’s door (right next to mine) and knocked, and knocked, and knocked.  I heard music so I knew someone was up but got no answer.  I went back in my studio and paced a bit then returned to the door with a note, but ended up knocking one more time and finally got an answer.  Mark, my neighbor, let me use his computer to check the status of my luggage, but the number they gave me for reference wouldn’t bring anything up, so I emailed instead with details.  I was in panic mode most of the morning, but tried to keep myself occupied in an apartment with nothing to do…read a few chapters of A Place of Yes, by Bethenny Frankel, showered and put on some fresh undies and a new shirt but my same old jeans and cardigan.  I thought about working on a lesson plan I have do for the grant I was working on back home, but no internet access so no research ability.  I ended up playing my itunes (thought Dave could help me relax), drank a bunch of water to keep myself “full” since I haven’t and won’t buy groceries here, at least until I return from England, and began writing this blog!

My letting agent, Alan, came by at 9:30 to bring me the lease and to let me pay him the rest of my rent for the month of July (I didn’t have enough cash yesterday since I paid for my cab coming in).  I borrowed his phone to call the airport and THANK GOD they had my luggage and said they would deliver it before noon so I could unpack a few things and then head back to the airport for my flight this afternoon!!!  I don’t have any praise music here but was seriously singing praises.  I have been so strong (those of you who know me well know I panic easily) and I have really just gone with the flow in my dirty clothes, but I was shaking I was so happy.  God, yet again, has looked out for me.  I think Alan thinks I’m crazy, but again, those of you who know me know I am! 

The craziest thing happened after all that.  Something so simple, a task you do all the time and probably have never once found joy in or stopped to think about.  I took out the trash.  It was my first time taking the trash from my new home and walking out to the drive to put my bag away, I looked around at the beautiful flowers my neighboring house has (look at the pics) and I thought, “I’m happy…I’m going to be happy here.”  I literally skipped up the stairs back into my apartment.  It may be hard, I’m sure I’ll question things and at some point, want to come home, but I’m really happy I took the chance to do this.  I won’t regret it.  I had to “celebrate” so I put on my favorite Dave Matthews song “Two Step,” and sang out loud “Celebrate we will, ‘cause life is short but sweet for certain.”

FYI...my luggage never came but I'll tell you more about that later.

         

A New Day, and Exciting Already

I didn't sleep much here in NJ as I have that teacher brain that wakes up at the crack of dawn however, I'm so glad I was up!  I got a call from this person with EF Language Schools whom I interviewed with last week over the phone.  She was happy to say that they can offer me a job starting this Thursday.  That's super great news, but there is a catch...the job is in England.  No big deal! I have nothing else planned immediately as I can't start my other job just yet. 

This job in England will be down in Somerset, on the west coast.  I'll be living with a bunch of teenagers in what I can only imagine to be dorms.  It's only three weeks and it will surely be an adventure, which is what I'm all about.  Love the way life is leading me right now...every direction imaginable.  I am very thankful that God knows His plan for me and I'm more thankful he's given me the patience and ability to trust Him.

The Adventure Begins and Goes On and On...

Surprisingly enough, I actually slept most of last night.  We did dinner for Dad’s bday and my leaving at Wild Olive and I was so stuffed when I came home I could barely do anything. I did have some laundry and last minute packing to do though.  I read a bit of my latest interest Paddy’s Lament, about the Irish potato famine, and then went to bed at a reasonable hour.  I woke up twice with dreams and text message goodbyes coming in from friends, and then I finally got up around 6 this morning.  That’s where the fun began!

I had Mom and T’Lene both show up at my house although we said we were meeting at Mom’s.  They came to help me load my luggage!  On the way to Mom’s, Beth, my cousin, passed us and had to turn around.  She was confused thinking we’d changed plans on her.  Once we all made it to Mom’s I said my goodbyes to Edgar and then we headed to the airport.  Beth Anne (sorry but I have to identify you EAM) showed up and we all went (my entourage and me) to the self check in at United.  I was promptly asked to call an agent, which was a first for me.  I then was informed that my flight to Chicago at 9:47 had been cancelled.  No big deal.  I was at the United desk after this trying to get a ticket on the next flight, which apparently was full so United sent me to Delta who put me (or so I thought) on a flight to NY and then would later connect me to Chicago so I’d make my 6:45 flight to Dublin.  Well, wouldn’t you know, that wasn’t to work out either, but that’ll come later. 

Since my flight to NY wasn’t leaving until one, Mom, T’Lene and my cousin Beth kidnapped me and we went to IHop for breakfast.  I’m pretty sure that was my first time there, maybe my second.  Not bad for a person who doesn’t eat anything but cereal…no eggs, no pancakes, etc.  I’m just strange.  After breakfast we ran a quick errand and then took a driving tour of Old North Charleston down by the old navy base.  We still had time so we went to the outlets to get T’Lene a gift for a shower…wouldn’t you know all this happened and I was still back to the airport with two hours before scheduled departure time!

Once back at the airport I kept watching the screen for another United flight heading to Chicago, the one I tried to get on earlier in the morning. It was still full but I waited to see if perhaps someone wouldn’t show up.  Not my luck.  So then, and here’s some more fun, I found out that the Delta flight to NY was going to be late. This of course (reciprocal cause and effect) meant I’d be late for my flight to Chicago and then miss my flight to Dublin.  For those of you who don’t know, I was supposed to meet a “friend” at the airport…someone a friend here put me in touch with and this friend, Donal, has been planning to pick me up in Dublin to take me to meet my new landlord.  Well, I was able to cancel my Delta flight because the nice young man at United found a flight from Charleston tonight to Newark and then directly to Dublin.  The problem is, it’s 2:04 pm and I’m supposed to sit in the Charleston airport unitl 7:00 tonight…there is nothing to do in the Charleston airport!!  The good news is that I will arrive in Dubin tomorrow morning only about an hour after I was originally supposed to, so let’s hope that all goes well this afternoon and I’m not rerouted anymore.

T’Lene asked if I’d like to leave the Charleston airport, but I tried to stick it out, that is, until I sat twenty more minutes staring at the wall.  I called Mom and asked her to come get me so I could go home, take a nap, maybe shower again, and come back to catch my 7:00 flight. 

When I went to the United flight desk to get my latest boarding pass (this would be my 7^th printed today), they told me I was bound to miss my fight to Dublin from Newark if I waited to leave Charleston at 7, so they put me on ANOTHER flight.  Yes, I was rescheduled to fly at 4:30 to Newark.  Please remember Mom was on her way when I found this out.  I got my last boarding cards (hopefully), ran outside to say hello and goodbye again to Mom, and I’m proud to say, I’ve finally made it to Newark.

That’s where I end my journey today.  You see, waiting two hours to board to Dublin, I heard the call for someone to give up their seat tonight in exchange for a travel voucher and a night in hotel with meals included.  I mean, Newark isn’t exactly where I want to spend the night, but I couldn’t pass up the voucher.  This means that tomorrow night at 7 PM I am to fly to Dublin, and that puts me in the city at 6:55 AM on Tuesday.  What fun.  I have to say though, everyone has been extremely pleasant today and I’ve met some interesting people.  In my hotel tonight there are about 40 guests whose flights were cancelled.  Of them, there is one Dubliner, one girl from Cork, and one guy from Edinburgh, so at least we can have a good chat together about how we all want to get someplace sooner or later!

Last Day in Charleston for a While...

I'm sure I should have done something exciting today, but honestly, I woke up rather early to do mostly nothing.  Up at 5, packed, cleaned, ran a few errands and then back home for lunch and a nap.  It's something that I've enjoyed these past few days, just resting on my couch.  Perhaps it's because I won't have a couch in my new studio!  Perhaps it's that this house is where I spent a lot of my childhood visiting with my grandmother and also I have lived here alone for the past 7 years. It's hard to believe I'm leaving it.  It's just like selling my car last week.  You get attached to things without realizing it.  Certainly things aren't what define us, but they become part of us.  This is my home.  I won't say bigger and better things are ahead, but I will say I'm excited for a change.  I had a phone interview today for a position with EF language schools and, fingers crossed, I'll get it, but even that will be a change as the position is in England.  Yes, my life is an open book right now.  Where ever the Lord leads me, I'll go.

Dinner tonight with my family for Dad's birthday and my going away hoorah.  Big things ahead, big things.  Flight tomorrow morning and there's no turning back!

Already Planning for Visitors

You know, it's been hard this week and last saying goodbye to all my dear friends and family at home, but I have so much to look forward to.  Already, my sister booked a flight to visit me in September for my birthday, I just booked a flight for my mother to come in August, and one of my very best friends is planning to visit in October!  This year abroad is going to do so much for me, but even my friends and family will benefit from seeing the beautiful country of Ireland! 

And So It Begins

I guess you could say it actually began in October when my dad and I were talking about me going to Ireland for the summer.  The discussions we had got us both so excited, and the support he showed encouraged me to take a leap of faith.  What I thought would be a fun vacation away from Charleston for the two and a half months off school has actually become a year away from home. 

I lost my dad in November to Cancer, but his support for the summer trip made a little dream blossom into a bigger reality.  I've worked really hard since he passed to make arrangements for this trip across the pond.  I want to do this to honor him.  In just three days, my journey begins.