Day Four of the Dublin Adventure

Today was a busy and adventurous day. We took our first venture out past Dublin on the DART rail system to our job interviews, in the coastal towns of Blackrock and Dun Laoghaire (pronounced "leerey," for those like us who can make no sense of the Gaelic phonetic scheme). Speaking of the Gelic phonetic scheme, we were forcibly "taught" Gaelic at a pub today by a non-Irish woman from MARYLAND, who EUSA arranged to bring some culture to our lives. None of us were terribly interested, as it was hard to understand, and it was just serving to delay the ordering of our free drinks.

Afterwards, an Irish man forcibly "taught" us a Gaelic drinking song, and we all just sang along (or mumbled incoherently) for the first few rounds of the song, but after about the 312th repetition, we were just bored and ready to go.

But, back to the job interviews. First off, Whitney did not really have an interview per-se, but more of a short sit-down meeting atop boxes. The woman she was supposed to meet with will be leaving for a preggers break, so she talked with another man who worked at the company. Whitney will start her 9-5 on Tuesday and is curious to see how it will go. At first, she was told that they would have to make room for her, but when she let them know that she was a designer, he seemed to be more enthusiastic about taking on another intern, as they are strapped in the design department right now.

Duncan's job is with a youth outreach group in Blackrock, and will have more erratic hours than Whitney's. Tuesday, for instance, he starts at 2 pm, and some days he doesn't even come in at all, because of the afternoon structure of the Urban Junction. That is all ok, though, as it gives him time to branch out with some local churches, and to take on some extracurricular sightseeing as well. Plus, he gets to wear jeans and t-shirts.

The coastline, though littered with trash and somewhat neglected, is nevertheless very beautiful, and we are both very fond of the towns we have been placed in. The commute for each of us is about an hour and a half, which, all told, is better than most Atlanta commutes, and we don't even have to drive. The buses, though utterly vague and confusing as to where exactly they are stopping, are still clean and plentiful. The rail line is also very efficient, and I would trade a rush-hour drive into Atlanta for this ANY day.

That's the update for now-- here are some pictures! Sorry we did not have cameras today to post many good pictures, but here are a few.

This is a picture of most of the Berry kids-- Beth, me, Jordan, Whitney, and Kelly out and about, causing havoc throughout Dublin. Be sure to note how mod I look in my new track jacket--VERY Euro, I might say :-)


Despite the fact that the name of this restaurant is my middle name, it is decidedly uncool-- 400 Euro for a meal? The REAL Duncan "Shanahan" Meadows would never charge that.

Whitney, bemused and slightly discomforted by our singing Irish friend.

Talk about style AND function. Check out Whitney in her new Euro-style kicks!