Praise God we were able to set up a bank account today which was quite a feat! Things do not work the same way here as they do in the US. There is a large amount of American influence here with restaurants, tv shows, music, and stores- which makes the transition easier because not all things are foreign. Most people here are nice and I have not yet felt hated for being American. It strikes me as particularly funny that I was told more than once that Americans are known for being loud but I find that it is the Irish that are loud! They also drink and cuss a lot and smoke like chimneys! I mean everyone here smokes. I am so glad you can't smoke inside anymore because it's hard to breath outside at times! I am not at all used to city living so it feels like a zoo here to me. The only thing I can compare it to is walking down the strip in Vegas- filled with people. Riding the bus is a new thing for me and is not a bad way to get around. The sucky part is finding the right bus (or buses) to get you where you need to go which is tricky when you don't know the city. People do not give directions here by streets and street signs are near impossible to find. They may give you directions by landmarks instead. For example, we went to look at a rental last and the owner told us to get off the bus at such and such pub. Speaking of pubs we haven't even had time to go out for a Guinness yet! We have been eating out and trying to share meals as much as we can to keep our costs down. I know you are all dying to know if it is really as expensive as people say. I haven't gone grocery shopping or paid any bills yet but as far as going out to eat and checking on the price of broadband and making other small purchases here is what I think so far: if you are living here earning euros it's not too bad. Exchanging dollars into euros is another story altogether. When you give the bank $500 you will get back around 355 euros- OUCH! Save your pennies to come visit!!!
4 comments:
As soon as Matt gets working, you should keep you're American dollars in your bank account here in the great USA and live on euros, but I'm sure you've already figured that out ! DUH ! I guess you'll be seeing if the grass is really greener on the other side (of the ocean), even if it's beautiful emerald green!
look Dana, now you're twice the pilgrim in a foreign land......I wish I could be there with you guys, one day when I have millions we'll plan a "national lampoons" european vacation together and go travelin griswold style:)
Somebody say,"no one ever listens to me!" for Cbass. She told you all those tihngs about the Irish! That's too funny! I hope you are gonna be learning to cook us some GIANT meals. Would Pete even survive there?
What do you mean save your pennies? Just head on down to that Ha Penny Bridge. I'm sure there are plenty in the river. That's where I want to go when I come to visit. It looks like a cool bridge=)
Post a Comment