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About this blog
Where is your God now?
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11
Dani in Éire, part two
Dani in Éire, part one
a three weeks' English course starting September 26;
Departure for Dublin on October 16, return on November 20;
Travel expenses (plane tickets, Dublin bus card), accommodation (host families) and meals provided
Support from a local language school
90% monetary contribution towards a language certification (I have one from 2001, so that's one of the main reasons I applied)
The keenest of you will think, "and Luana?" Well, to say she wasn't exactly excited would be an understatement, but seeing that it could be a good experience lasting five weeks only (and after telling her she could come to Ireland for a weekend) she agreed. Puppy eyes may have been involved. Everything's fair in love and/or war. The language test went well (WHO DA MVP???), so I was due to start the English course. There were 13 other people going to Dublin, a pretty well-assorted group (ranging in age from 25 to 41) and made up of mostly agreeable people (a couple were a bit full of themselves, but oh well, no one is perfect). The three weeks' course also went well despite a few hiccups, and in the meantime some friendships (and a disgustingly diabetes-inducing-sweet couple! ) were formed, since we were together eight hours a day for three weeks straight. Of course, we behaved like perfectly well-adjusted adults at all times. Welp. Alright. The course ended on October 14, and on October 16 we were brought to Milan to catch the flight to Dublin. My scale at home wasn't working well, so I had no idea whether my luggage was actually within the weight limits or not. There was only one way to find out in Milan: use the unused check-in conveyor belts as makeshift scales. It's technically prohibited, but hey, Italy. The checked-in luggage was well within the weight limit (~21 kg out of 25). The cabin luggage went on the conveyor belt, and after a tense half-second, it gave the reading 9.95 (out of 10 maximum kilograms). High-fived all of my colleagues (and a few people in the queue to boot, too). Hey-ho, let's go. After the security checks (during which I was selected for a patdown search, typical) and the boarding, we had an uneventful flight apart from very windy conditions that had us circle the airport for a bit before being allowed to land (slightly roughly). Fáilte go hÉirinn, Fáilte go Baile Átha Cliath. Welcome to Ireland, welcome to Dublin. Let's do this thing. (part 2 - and more - to come)