Slán, a ghrá...Cathair na Gaillimhe

Even though it's been over 3 months since I left Galway, Ireland it was still sad to write this blog (obvs very behind but better late than never, I say). Galway was such an amazing city and experience where I made so many great friends, and maybe I won't ever see some of them again, I appreciate all of the special and memorable moments I created with all of them.

Top 10 Fave spots/moments in life

(Corrib, Galway)

Every day since I left Canada, I truly believe everything really does happen for a reason. Even when giving advice to my new friends here or my friends/family back in Canada when they are going through tough times, I always do say, "You are the sole writer, director and actor in your life...so how you choose to go through your life is entirely up to you and only YOU can make yourself happy, not a place or thing or person...just YOU. So you can decide to dwell on the negative situation that has happened or believe that somehow it was meant to happen for some reason...then move on."

I can tell you with 100% of the honest truth that this statement is a true testament to my life and I will continue to believe this hopefully for the rest of my life. Obviously I can't remember every single moment and even those I do remember I will not go into detail or else this blog would be almost endless but since I have started my travels I have tried to keep the same positive attitude that has been instilled in me by my parents, grandparents and family since I was little.

I look at the beginning when I left the stressful and whirlwind of an industry they call Advertising and look at the chain of events since I left and I do believe that the 'everything happens for a reason' pattern does really keep its course. I moved home after attaining my TEFL certificate, got a job at local pub, not knowing the manager of the pub would soon be my traveling partner and flatmate in Galway (Jonny). I spent 8 months bonding with my love, Chelsea, not knowing that I would have to say goodbye to her a year later due to diabetes (which ironically happened a couple days before my brother was home for a visit before I headed back to Ireland). I was able to make some new friends while living in Stratford and I feel confident to say we will be life-long friends (love you and miss you Coop and Jess) and feel so proud to see them grow into beautiful people and pursuing their dreams (Jess moving to Miami, Cooper aspiring to travel after her studies). Being able to continuously increase the bond with my family, grandmother, my sister and my parents was such a blessing because life is too short and every time I was able to sit and just talk with them, I felt like my heart just increased in size and I was able to appreciate each and every one of them in a whole new light. Learning about my Irish roots from Grandma L, laughing till my face hurt with my sister, and - as always - getting the best advice from my rock in life, my mom, when things didn't go according to plan. Which did indeed happen a lot and, I honestly wouldn't be sitting in a cafe in Edinburgh, UK if it wasn't for the advice from Mom, and the way things just go a different way than you planned in life. As some of you may not know, I was originally going to teach English in Jakarta, Indonesia and after accepting the teaching position and finalizing all the paperwork and resigning from my job at the pub in Stratford, I found out just before booking my flight that the visa requirements in Indonesia had just recently changed and my college diploma wasn't accepted compared to a University degree. Obviously, I was devastated and didn't know what to do next but after a comforting chat with Mom, she said to me 'Why did you want to travel in the first place?' I said, 'Well, originally when I started my travel plans after I graduated college, I wanted to tour Europe.' Mom said, 'Ok...so do it. This is a blank page and a chance for you to do anything you want. Just go for it.' So, I opened up the map again and with some advice from some friends who have traveled too, I decided to go with SWAP and instead of traveling for a year, I saw they had a British-Ireland visa for 2 years and booked it. Was it scary? Yes. But, was it more exhilarating? Definitely. And thus my adventures began.

Love of my life in her final days

So...yes, my friends, everything really does happen for a reason BUT life is way too short to wonder why it happened and just keep moving forward. If you're not happy with your life, change it. You may think it's the hardest thing to do but YOU are the only one who can change it for the better. I am so proud of all my friends and family and proud to be in your life. The philanthropic, the entrepreneurial, the retired, the educators, the creative, the managers, the 'life-savers' (yes, that's you sis), the strategists, the musicians, the farmers, and the motivators. I'd like to think that I try to take a piece of what you do on a daily basis and incorporate it into my everyday being and I thank you all for that. Even though I may not keep in touch throughout my travels that well, I do take you all with me in some shape or form wherever I may go...as cheesy as that may sound. :)

Saying goodbye to Galway was sad but I tried to look forward to the upcoming adventure in the UK and what surprises would come my way. I can definitely say that thus far, it's completely opposite to the life I had in Galway...in a good way, and I'm embracing it quite well! So to end this blog, I will list the things I will miss and NOT miss in Ireland.

10 Things I Will NOT Miss In Ireland:
1. Deep-fried everything (my waistline does NOT thank you) with a cup of mayo on top.
2. Drunken Irish or students waking me up in the 'wee' hours of the morning on any given day of the week
3. No Proper Rules/Process. You would think that it would be a good thing to have no rules or a laid-back society, but '5 business days' to get a bank card is more like '30 business days' in Irish-land.
4. As a possible aspiring English teacher, the horrible grammar and pronunciation of the English vocabulary - or Irish vocab I guess in their terms - and how my proper English would be made fun of or told it was wrong...ha. (Eg. 'Hiya. How ye gettin on? Dat jumpa is savage. Where'd ye get dat? I gots to call into dat shop and get me one.')
5. Trying to distinguish the Canadian translation for Irish food/drink terminology. (Eg. courgette = zucchini, cos lettuce = romaine lettuce, prawns = shimp, chicken goujons = chicken fingers, etc.)
6. Access to hot water. Luckily, our amazing landlord, Eugene, installed two different showers into our tiny bathroom (my mistake...'toilets'). One was electrical so I could have a hot shower at any given time of the day. The other is what they call 'immersion', which is the same as a hot water tank, the most common in Irish households. The fine print though, unless you want to pay high ESB (aka. Hydro) bill each month, you have to put the 'immersion' on a timer so it produces hot water only a few hours of each day or wait 1 hr before you have a shower while it warms up. We decided to go with the electrical shower since we were pretty quick. The only drawback - we would have to use the kettle to warm up hot water to do our dishes or make coffee which was fine because in 99% of all Irish households, they have two different faucets for hot and cold water which makes washing your face/hands not a fun experience...think about it.
7. Car rentals. Unless you want to pay 250 euro for an automatic engine, you'll have to settle for the manual-engine car rental which is not possible for me since I don't really drive manual. Yes, this country girl is probably the only one in her family that can't drive stick.
8. Roundabouts. Yes, I agree if you're visiting Ireland it can be quite fun to see all the roundabouts BUT if you're a resident who takes the bus on a daily basis and has a weak stomach - not so fun. Nevermind the craziness of the multi-lane roundabouts combined with insane Irish drivers who have no idea what a signal light is.
9. Wrongly Identified. It's a common mistake for people outside North America to identify a Canadian as  an American since sometimes the accents CAN be similar. Although, sometimes I wish I had a Canadian flag stamped on my forehead because when working in a restaurant, I was always asked, 'what part of America are ye from?' or having actual American patrons treat me like I was American, yet still were rude to me because I was working somewhere other than the United States of America (apparently you aren't to leave the USA?). Though, the positive outcome of this frequent experience is that I became more and more proud to be Canadian and once Irish people found out I was indeed Canadian, they embraced me even more than they already had into their country and culture...even with a real embrace. :)
10. This last one I can problem loop all into the same sentence and please, no offense to my Irish lassies as I don't think any of you fall into this category - or not from what I have seen. The fake-tanned, cheaply-made and too-big-for-you high-heeled-wearing, Irish girls that wear dresses that barely cover their bum and chest (and 'forget' to wear undergarments) that drink way too much Buckfast (alcoholic beverage that consists of cheap red wine mixed with other spirits) and push you on the dancefloor and then fall onto you, spilling their drink, as they cannot wear their shoes or stand due to excessive alcoholic-intoxication and increase their volume of speech by the number of super sugary alcoholic drinks they consume, followed by a lot more screaming and then (unfortunately) sometimes vomiting.

I saved the best for the last because this is probably the main ONE thing I will NOT miss about Ireland. The rest I could likely deal with and I adjusted quite well too. Well, maybe not the really poorly-talented (I think that's called an oxymoron?) busker that would sing really loudly on the main street, enough to hear in my bedroom 3 blocks away. Funny story, Jonny and I were so relieved to move away from this busker and what happens? Approximately 1.5 months later in Edinburgh, he turns up busking right outside our window at the hostel. Yes, you may say....'nah....can't be.' And we did the same, but sure enough, we overhead him saying to someone when we walked by him, that he had just moved from Galway, Ireland. Plus, he's pretty easy to pick out from a crowd as he tends to sing the same 5 songs over and over and over as loud as possible and I can never listen to the Cranberries, "Zombie" ever again.

Now, the positive....

10 Things I Will Miss About Ireland
1. Deep-Fried Everything...just kidding but I do frequently miss the Garlic-Cheese fries from Supermac's and the interesting soap opera theatre that went along with it (aka. drunk students coming to get their post-drinking food after the club/pubs closed).
2. Atlantic Ocean. Being able to stick my toes in the Atlantic Ocean and sit in my favourite spot (below) with a small picnic, my tunes and just lie in the sun, was and always will be one of my top favourite moments in life. When I was able to do this, it was pure bliss and it always reminded me, 'Hey...you're lying in the green grass beside the Atlantic Ocean in Galway, Ireland. Let's just smile and enjoy this moment.'
3. Farmer's Market. Even though I may have not frequented the Galway Farmer's Market as often as I would have liked, when I did go, there was such an array of fresh herbs, fruits, veggies, food carts serving organic vegetarian food, indian food, fresh meats, homemade jewelry (yes, Mom I got your Connemara Marble pendant from the market), etc.
4. The Sickly Blue Door aka. 24 Lower Abbeygate St. The home to many memorable moments; hosting my first Christmas for 5 Canadians, BBQ's on our small balcony, rescuing the neighbourhood cat who we named 'Lefty' who would pull Macgyver moves and climb into the top window of our kitchen to get in (later found out it was a female cat that escaped from the SPCA down the street), many relaxed and amazing movie-nights with the best flatmate ever (Jonnyboy), frequent visitors like Rimi, Mich, Sam, Katey, and personally for me - cooking/baking up lots of new and delicious recipes and having Jonny as my guinea pig...which I believe he enjoyed. Oh, how I miss the Sickly Blue Door and all the memories created but I honestly can say I look back on it with smiles and having the best landlord I've ever had doesn't hurt either!

Two Canadian residents at Sickly Blue Door (24 Lowerabbeygate) - home for a year

5. The Dail Bar. As it was my place of employment for my first 6 months in Ireland there are bound to be many memories and I met so many great people. I instantly became friends with the waitstaff, cooks, kitchen porters, bartenders and managers. Even though I may not see them again or stay in touch too frequently (although I would love to!) they all are the types of people where they come into your life for a short period but you'll always remember them. :)
6. SalesSense International. I must say it was the smallest office I've ever worked in but I learned so much from each and every single employee. I was brought on mid-March as an Account Manager to help organize and bring some structure to one of their new clients - Vodafone. If some of you don't know in Canada, Vodafone is the biggest mobile/phone provider in the world. So, through the guidance of my boss and the very small team I worked with, I was able to understand the world of telecommunications right down to how an actual phone line works (digital vs analog). We became a close family and shared so many laughs including a fun night out in Dublin with the sales managers we all closely worked with and sometimes babysat...ha, jk. All in all, even after 7+ years in the advertising world, I saw that I still have lots to learn and just by working with SalesSense in 6 months, I learned a whole other side of sales marketing that I never knew about and I'm forever thankful for that knowledge and the friendships I made.
7. The Pubs. Obviously it wouldn't be normal unless I mentioned the Irish pubs as one of the things I will definitely miss in Galway. Each and every single one of them had their own character and decor and personality. From Munroe's Tavern with their massive picnic-style seating and 8-euro pitchers of beer (could not find that anywhere else in Ireland) to The Dew Drop with the comfy smoking-area and laid-back-hipster atmosphere to O'Connell's with their backyard beer garden that was open all year-round including a outdoor bar with couches and heat lamps and a big screen so you could enjoy your pint while watching the match. I could go on and on but sometimes I just tell people to go to Galway or Ireland for that matter JUST for the pubs...but I'm assuming most go for that reason anyway and I can tell you this...you won't be disappointed because every city whether it's as big as Dublin or as small as Dingle, they all have the best pubs. Whether you just want to chill and have a pint while you read your book or go out 'on the piss' (as they say) with your mates...they all will welcome you with open arms and a cold, tall, pint of Guinness or Bulmers. :)

Top 5 fave pubs in Ireland - Dick Mack's in Dingle (shoe cobbler by day, pub by night)

8. The Accent. I have to admit I do miss hearing the thick Irish accent. I remember my first days working in the Dail Bar and how I had a hard time understanding an old man when all he wanted was a pint of Guinness and a bowl of chips (fries). It was neat traveling around to different corners of Ireland to hear the different variations of the accent from 'Dubbies' (Dublin) to 'Cark' (Cork) to 'DunEEgaaal' (Donegal) and no, I'm not doing each one justice through writing...like, I said - you'll just have to travel Ireland yourself to see what I mean. I even had to alter the way I would say my name when introducing myself as the Irish wouldn't understand 'Shannon' (of all Irish names) if I said it in my 'Canadian' accent so I had to put on the Irish accent so locals wouldn't think my name is Sharon or whatever weird name they thought I pronounced. If they still didn't understand me, I would just say - 'Shannon...like Shannon Airport?' and they would then just embarrassingly nod since everyone knows that the name Shannon is probably the most popular one (although, I never met another Shannon amongst my travels?) next to Gerard...fact: the manager at both of my jobs in Galway was named Ger.
9. The green landscape. It would be pretty silly for me not to mention the scenery and landscape that the Emerald Isle had to offer to it's tourists and residents. I'm proud to say that I probably saw about 80% of it. From East (Dublin) to West (Galway) to North (Belfast) to South (Cork) and all cities/towns around, I  believe I saw most of what mother nature had to offer with the a few exceptions that I wasn't able to fit into my travels but I imagine I will go back to see (ie. Wicklow Mountains, Killkenny, Donegal, etc.). I think by far my favourite sights were driving along the east coast to Dingle, walking through Killarney National Park, The Cliffs of Moher, Connemara Mountains and the view from my favourite spot in Galway. I would include the Giants Causeway but technically, they are part of the UK (Northern Ireland) but I'll throw that in there anyway because it was during my Irish adventures. To send a postcard of these breath-taking views wouldn't do them justice and once I again I say - you must see them yourself. If my sister/bro-in-law can visit and see most of Ireland in 2 weeks - I think you can too!

 Me & Cliffs of Moher

 Personal Postcard from Coumeenoole Beach, outside Dingle, Ireland

 Lovin' life seaside

10. My life. Odd - but yes, I will definitely miss my life as a Galwegian, living the life as a local, making friends with some of the nicest people I've met, experiencing their culture from food to music to dancing, my flat and having an amazing roommate, a room with a view of the Atlantic Ocean (a rare thing for a smalltown girl from Ontario), traveling around the beautiful country, the memories I've created with some memorable people, pushing myself to go outside my comfort zone and do things I wouldn't regularly do and discovering that I'm a lot stronger and capable of doing things I never thought I could do...like climbing an Irish mountain.

Me and 'Bose' conquering Croagh Patrick and Mother Nature.

To say that Ireland is a great place to visit is an understatement...I can guarantee you will, without fail, have the time of your life if you decide to visit or even live. Just make sure you consult me first so I can ensure you hit up the right towns. :)

All in all, I know I will forever have a special place in my heart for Galway, the Emerald Isle, the friends I've made, the places I've seen and everything that came along with it. So, thank you to Ireland and giving me an experience of a lifetime. I will never forget it!

Slán, a ghrá...Cathair na Gaillimhe. xo

(Goodbye, my love...City of Galway). :)