10 Questions About…

On Saturday the whole crew went to the RDS to see the Young Scientists show. It’s like a big high school science fair. I like what a big deal it is here. The winners are on the news and loads of local shows. In fact Aine recognized several of the exhibits because they had been on some TV program the night before. If it’s on TV, she knows it!

The winner created a smoke-free stove for use in third world countries. We also saw something on the science of playing the saw. We learned about microchips from the Intel booth. Aine learned about to perform some kind of CPR on a baby – so that’s helpful. We got to be in a clean room, which was fun because later in the week I had to do research on clean rooms for a client. Oh how science imitates life!

After the science fair we went into town. Due to colds and the cold the girls hadn’t been into Dublin yet. They were very happy to going into town. (We were not really born to suburban life.) We went to our favorite Market and had chocolate crepes. We saw some buskers as we raced through Temple Bar. We saw the Spire as we raced through the North side. The girls got jeggings (mix of jeans and leggings), which are a big trend here. I have to admit they looked better on than I thought they would.

We had lunch at Luigi’s Malones. I had heard that it was good for kids and it turns out that it is. They give American-size Diet Cokes. Also in their lower level you can see part of the original Dublin City Wall. The wall was part of a friary dating to 1260. Apparently two murders were committed in 1379 within the precincts of the Friary. We didn’t hear any ghosts, but we weren’t very quiet either.

Last Friday night we went to see The Seafarer at the Abbey. We were lucky to catch a bus quickly as we got there minutes before the show started *and* we got the last two seats in the house. So the seats weren’t great – but we got ‘em.

The show was great. I’m sometimes wary of shows at the Abbey. I’ve seen a couple of great shows (this and Roddy Doyle’s Playboy of the Western World) but I’ve also seen a number of pretty forgettable shows. I’m sure that Patrick could give you the names – I forgot them.

An extra treat – we ran into friends from the University of St Thomas at the show. Jim and FIntan were leading a group of students through Ireland and this was their last day in Dublin.

After being cancelled until Thursday, school was un-cancelled on Tuesday. I don’t really understand how they (the government) could do that but then I didn’t understand how they could call a snow day 5 days in advance. It’s kind of crazy!

Regardless, we were all thrilled to get started. Lily and Kate are both back in their old classes, which is nice. They know most of the classmates. For new readers, the girls go to Our Lady of Good Counsel National Girls School in Johnstown. It’s the national school, which is kind of akin to a public school back home – except that the national schools are run by the Church. So they wear uniforms, there are religious statues throughout the school and they get two weeks off at Easter.

Lily is in 5th class, Kate is in 4th and Aine is a senior infant, which is a little different than kindergarten in that it’s the second year of school for the girls in her class. I think she recognizes some girls from Montessori, but no one is worse with names than Aine so we can’t be sure. We’re trying to catch her up with some home use of sight word flash cards. Subsequently Aine and I may drive each other crazy. (How can you *not* read [and] after the 43rd time?) Patience isn’t my longest suit. Luckily Aine is very easy going and doesn’t really feel bad when I lose patience with her.

Here is a picture of the girls in front of the school on their first day. They start at 9 am; as you can see it’s still dark. Aine is done at 1:40. Lily and Kate are done at 2:40.

So in our first few weeks in Dublin we’ve met up with a few familiar friends. (That’s my new euphemism for old friends.)

First I met up with Karina in Dun Laoghaire. Karina and I worked together many years ago at a café. My timing was perfect and I dropped in on Karina just has she was taking a break from her job at the book shop. I’m hoping to join her book club there.

A few days later we met up with our old friend John Newcombe. John worked in Minnesota years ago. John is working in a halfway home these days. SO half o his time is in Dublin and half in Kildare.

Finally we met with Gary Murphy, who we hadn’t seen in years. Gary used to work in Minnesota too. He moved back to Ireland about 10 years ago. It was fun to hear about all of the theater work he has done since he’s been home. I think Patrick especially enjoyed it as he probably recognized more names. I’ll include a YouTube video of Gary’s latest ad for folks who know him back home.

One of the hard things about moving here last time was never seeing anyone we knew. So it’s been nice to see familiar friends. Also it’s fun when the people in the local shops and in the park remember us. It’s a small thing but it backs Dublin more of a home away from home.

It’s 28 degrees in Dublin today. There’s almost an inch of snow on the ground and the kids are off school again. It’s a snow day.

The girls were supposed to start school yesterday (Thursday). But on Wednesday the announcement was made that the school would be closed on Thursday and Friday. Rumor has it that it will be closed Monday too. Criminy! (Update from Saturday morning – schools have been closed in Ireland until Thursday!)

The temperature in Dublin has been hovering between 23-35 degrees since we got here. It has snowed 1-3 inches. The girls went sledding in the park. I’m not sure how they did it with such little snow – but they took pictures for me to post.

Aside from the boon in sledding, in many ways the city has come to a dead stop. Yesterday we were thinking about going into town but I vetoed the plan. I was worried that the buses might quit running and we’d be stuck in town. And you know what – the buses did quit running yesterday so we dodged a bullet.

The sidewalks are treacherous! No one shovels; no one even brushes the sidewalks here. So the snow melts and freezes. The path in the park across the street has about 2 inches of ice over it. The driving seems worse. Most cars seem to have rear wheel drive. None of the side streets have been sanded or salted. They call that grit here. And the government reports that they have one day of grit left for Dublin. You can watch the cars not making it up inclines in the road.

It’s funny to hear people complain about the extreme cold her, except that we can see what a difference it makes to live in a place that’s prepared for cold. To start the heat here is kind of a binary – it’s off or on. It’s on during the day but off at night, which makes it brutal to get out of bed in the morning.

Also we’re bored. The girls have watched more TV in the last week that the previous 2 months combined. Tomorrow (Saturday) the whole family is going to into town if I have to capture stray dogs and a carriage to get there!

We got a call from the doctor yesterday. The radiologists found an infection in her lung. So the good news is we got antibiotics. Hopefully she will be feeling better soon!

Last summer when we came to Ireland Kate was kind of sick the whole time. A couple of months ago (in Minnesota) Kate got pneumonia. So this time around I’ve been watching her more closely. We’ve all been sick. Aine threw up our first day here – but no one loves a barf bucket like Aine. I’ve been sneezing nonstop and Lily has been coughing her head off. But none of us breathe like Kate. She sounded terrible this morning. So we decided to take her to the hospital. (No doctors’ offices available on a Sunday.)

So we took the cab to St Vincent’s. It’s not too far from the house. Unfortunately, Vincent’s does really take kids. Also their outpatient department isn’t open on Sunday. Fortunately they would at least triage us. In fact they were very kind. The oxygen level in Kate’s blood was too low. So they sent us to Crumlin’s Children’s Hospital.

When they found out that we didn’t have a car they arranged an ambulance. They even put on the sirens so we could get through the lights more quickly. I’ve never been in a moving ambulance. Kate was nervous but the EMTs put her at ease. And when we got to Crumlin, they wheeled us right into a room. Vincent’s had called ahead and warned them that we were coming.

So at Crumlin they ran a bunch of tests, including a chest x-ray. Her oxygen level never really got better – but she didn’t have any other signs of sickness. They gave her some oxygen and that made her feel a ton better – but in the end they sent us home. So we’ll keep an eye on her.

We ended up taking a bus into town from the hospital, having dinner at Bewley’s, then bus home. Nothing like a bus home from the hospital to make you feel like a really quality parent!

For folks who are keeping tabs on healthcare policies throughout the world. Our trip to the hospitals cost 100 euros. I let Patrick talk to the accountant types. They knew that we were from Minnesota and that Patrick was Irish but there didn’t seem a ton of questions. There were no questions about payment until we were leaving Crumlin. Credit card was fine. A trip to the doctor would have been 60 euros. Apparently from the doctor we could have received a referral that would have taken care of the hospital bill – but I have to say for the service we received 100 euros was an amazing price. (I’ll post an update if we get an unhappy bill in the mail.)

We flew out on December 29. It was the worst flight ever. No TVs in the seat; turbulence the whole time. And the plane was way too small to be crossing an ocean. I hate flying – but when the flight is good I’ll admit it. This one wasn’t.

We arrived to a day of rain. Ugh!

Then on New Years it started snowing! We know what to do with snow! We like snow!

For New Years we all walked up to the pub for dinner, the pub being a place where you don’t need reservations, even on New Years. The food was good and there was a fun buzz in the pub. I hope you can see the snow on the way there.

On New Year’s Day we saw that the snow had stuck. In fact here it is January 2 and the snow is still here. It’s not a lot of snow maybe an inch or two – but apparently enough to shut down the city. Yesterday Patrick was going to take the girls to see a movie (the only thing open on New Year’s) unfortunately, the buses were not running.

The fun thing is that everyone thinks I’m very tough here because I don’t mind being outside when it’s 28 degrees. It’s better than when we lived in Spain and everyone thought I was such a good eater because no one ever served me fruit or vegetables.

So we’re here and that’s good. We’re a little trapped in Cabinteely. Everyone is a little sick so that takes the edge off being trapped. I told Patrick we were going to the pub tonight no matter what – so that should lighten the mood. The girls start school on January 7 – despite what they might say, that should help make the transition here a little easier.