So I am very much behind on this… 12 days to be exact. I had to leave Ireland in kind of a hurry and it has been go-go-go but now I have a chance to wrap up.
For those of you who don’t know, I got a job teaching 2nd grade and had to return home 4 days early to get started. I am very excited about it, it is the grade I wanted and the school and stage are amazing. I was very sad to leave Joe of course, but luckily the time apart is less this time. He is coming to see me in November!
I got home on a Wednesday, the day after I went to Bray. My parents had ordered a puppy from a breeder, a little girl named Darci, and she arrived about an hour after I landed. Since I will be moving to the area I got a job in an hour south, I ordered Darci’s brother, who I named Emmett. So Wednesday was a pretty big day! Emmett is the sweetest little guy, and he, Darci, and my parent’s one year old dog Kiera are the best of friends. Keira is so good with them! They all have the same mommy and were born a year apart. Emmett is just over 2 lbs and only 8 weeks old.
The day after landing, I went to sign the paperwork for my new job! I spent the next several days setting up my classroom and attending meetings, and Monday I had meet the teacher night. That was last week. We started school last Tuesday, and I have to say I have a pretty great class. What a difference from being a kindergarten IA! Today is the first day I have felt caught up enough to take a break and do this. I even cooked dinner! Sausages and potatoes, yumm!
So fast forward from last week, I spent the weekend lesson planning and apartment hunting with mom. Saturday did not go well at all in terms of the places we saw, but Sunday we saw so many nice places! I put an application in with one though before close on Sunday, and Emmett and I will be moving there soon! In the picture, he is on the left and Darci is on the right. I can’t get all 3 of them to sit still long enough to get a photo! They just love to play. Emmett is quite cuddly though when he isn’t running around with those 2, and he loves jumping on my hands while I’m typing!
Already in the last 12 days I have also been missing some of my favorite Irish foods… rock shandy, chorizo sausage (the real kind), curry potatoes, centra scones, pear Bulmers, strawberry juice, things like that. I also miss the easy access to everything via public transport or walking… I haven’t been walking as much because I’m at school and have a long commute until move-in, but when I live 3 minutes from school I bet I will get loads in with Emmett around the pond and at the park at the new apartment! Plus, my school is HUGE and it takes probably 3 minutes just to walk from the classroom to the office or related art rooms. So glad to be back but also missing it there, it was definitely home to me while I was there. And I’ll miss everyone of course, not just Joe, and hopefully we can all hang out again over my spring break!
Hoosier in Dublin 