Goodbye Ireland!

Ferry Arrives
Originally uploaded by yvoinireland.

Well actually we left over a month ago! We spent a few lovely weeks in France and now we are in Illinois. Looking for an apartment, it's slowly coming together...

Otherwise I will be moving onto an LJ account soon, stay tuned!

Vacation in the USA, and more!

Mr & Mrs Gilbert
Originally uploaded by yvoinireland.

Heres a pic of Fabien and I at Dave's wedding....The wedding was our main reason for going back to visit in July and it was well worth it. We had a great time, I talked with lots of friends that I hadn't seen in ages. Dave and Gina looked great, very relaxed at at ease on such a big day! Driving to get there was something else though. Being friday afternoon when everyone and their mom leaves work early, we got caught in traffic jams galore! As a result we missed the ceremony but apparently that was cut short anyway because of the rain. So I was sad for that but I wasn't the only one late for the same reasons...

Otherwise the big news is that Fabien got his Visa yesterday! We went to Dublin for the 'interview' which was really just handing in the papers, waiting a long time, being asked a few basic questions, waiting some more, then we had it! It was not the grueling process that it is sometimes said to be, but maybe it's because of our unique situation, you never know. So anyway, we are so happy for this and can now make our plans to go back to the US. We hope to be there in the end of September...

The Latest

Well I have been very busy but things are calming down now (World cup will be over soon too). First of all the weekend in France was very nice. The weather was lovely, but apparently it was just as nice in Dungarvan while we were gone so we couldn't brag too much about that afterwards. We spent most of our time with Fabien's family since most of his friends had planned a weekend to Parc Asterix (amusement park) outside of Paris. Fabien was a bit bummed about that but we had plenty of other people to see in 3 days anyway. I had planned to do a bit of shopping in Angers but ended up with only an hour to do it all since we stayed so long at his mother's house for lunch on saturday. So I got the minimum done and I was happy. On the Sunday we went to a medieval style amusement park called Le Puy du Fou, about 40 minutes away, with Fabien's father and his wife Annie. They left their baby, Elie, with Annie's sisters for the day. It was very entertaining but after watching all of the shows they all seemed to have a similar plot line (boy in love with girl, must fight for good cause to save everyone, boy wins girl). The best was one with all the big wild birds that you can imagine (falcons, hawks, eagles, vultures etc.) that fly literally over your head and high up in the sky. I know its hard to imagine the just explained plot line involving lots of big birds, but it did, kind of! It was hot that day though and I got a bit of sun even after putting on sun-tan lotion. Definitely recommended though, Le Puy du Fou.

We are leaving this friday for Chicago for 2-1/2 weeks. I should have my old phone # working then. We can't wait, looking forward to seeing lots of people.

The Immigration procedure is moving swiftly along. We have THE interview just a few days after we get back from Chicago, then we'll know if it's approved the same day or in the post afterwards. THEN we can make all final plans for leaving. We're already planning to take the last week here to see some more of Ireland. Probably the Southwest (Dingle, Ring of Kerry etc.)
Then we'll take the ferry to France with all of our stuff and do some more traveling and visiting before we come back to Chicago for good! Lots of traveling I know, but these transition times are the best opportunity. After you're in a job its sooo hard to get even a long weekend. Im now regretting not going to London before when I had lots more free time...I may still try though, we'll see.

feel free to call me when I'm in Chicago, and Allez les Bleus!

Vacations!!

So I have been very busy lately with work, vacation plans, and Immigration papers for Fabien. Well regarding the immigration plans we have deposited the initial petition and are now gathering paperwork. Anyone want to help sponsor Fabien?? I cant do it alone since Im currently living in Ireland...
Work has been going well. I have been working on a large housing estate with a few other people for the last few weeks. Its near the end but I really cant wait until its over with. Houses get less fun to design when you have already had to change them around 15x and the client always wants the smallest possible floorspace to cut costs! Otherwise Ive been working on the re-design of the park in Dungarvan, not a big job but fun. I have made several hand sketches of perspectives in the new park and everyone likes those. It does really help to visualize the changes and they are a little more human than computer-generated perspectives.
Otherwise I really love the office and the people here, they are all interesting and very nice too! I'll miss it when Im gone.

Last night we went to the opening of a new art exhibit in Dungarvan. The step-father of one of my co-workers was showing his watercolors. It was very interesting and it was actually the best show I have seen here so far. They usually try to show local subjects in the art they exhibit, being very community-based, though the watercolorist we saw is Polish and living in Portugal, quite a different personage. Being there among the little art community of Dungarvan, I could really imagine myself doing this some day. But that day is still far away as I barely have any free time to practice art. I really need to make an effort one of these days.

And vacations, one of the biggest complications in the past weeks. We've bought tickets to go to France in 1.5 weeks time for a long weekend. Thats just to get out of Ireland and relax a bit! In July we'll be in Chicagoland, from the 7th to the 24th. I'll be attending the Regiment dinner, Show of Shows, and hopefully Dave & Gina's wedding, although I havent heard an official word about it yet, and working inbetween. So we might be busy but I'll of course try to see as many people as possible. Gimme a call while Im there in any case, it'll be cheaper for us all!

Thats all for now, its cold here!!!

Whats been going on...

So there has been quite a few progressions in the past weeks, starting with one really bad weekend...
So 3 weeks ago, a Saturday morning, we found out that someone had slashed all 4 of Fabien's tires on his car. His car (with French license plate) had been very visibly sitting on the outside of a parking lot and we could only assume that someone returning home drunk after the pubs decided to target his car randomly, meaning not against Fabien personally. We have talked to our friends and many of the foreigners here had stories about cars with foreign plates being attacked, sometimes related to sports match rivalries of the day.
Second, our neighbors-a yound couple-apparently had a big argument that night (saturday) and the girl left. The guy got drunk and whatever with his friends and they caused such a ruckus that they woke us up at 4am and didnt stop until 8am, meaning we couldnt sleep either. They were playing loud music and screaming along with it. Fabien went over and banged on their door a few separate times and they just yelled back at him from the other side. We should have called the police but i didnt have the number handy and I just wanted to sleep. We just slept in that day but we talked seriously about moving out of our aparment after that. Now we think its not worth the effort but I will definitely call the police (Garda, actually) if it happens again.
Third, that afternoon, Sunday, it was quite a beautiful day. Fabien decided to go to the local park with his friend Maxime to play Petank. They got harrassed by some young guys, asking them for money and such, then attacked them with broken bottles. Fabien and Maxime fought back and got control of the situation quickly. They let the guys go when they cried for them to stop and just got their belongings and left. They had a few minor cuts. the Garda arrived just after and found that the 2 young guys had stolen some big knives from a local store and had come back looking for Fabien and Maxime. They found the Garda instead and are now in jail. I went with them to file a witness report against the guys that evening, helping to translate for Maxime since his english is not great. Again there was nothing personal in this attack, just racial. All we can say know is that there are some serious problems in the society here.
Apparently racial attacks here are on the rise and I do not see how the situation calls for it. There is almost no unemployment here, Ireland has probably the strongest economy in Europe. And the immigrants here (mostly polish, lithuanian, then some french, german, spanish) are from the same political and religious backgrounds. Maybe its territorial but I know that Fabien and his friends were never looking for trouble here and they have been harrassed on several occasions, just never attacked until now. Fabien is fed up here and he cant wait until we leave.
So, we are starting the papers for his Green Card on monday. If we're lucky it will only take a few months. theres even a visa that allows him to come to the US during the waiting process so we are hopeful to be back in the US by this October. I'll be sad to leave my wonderful job here so soon after starting but I have to do whats best for Fabien and myself. And of course I cant complain about going back to where my friends and family are (well, the majority at least)!
Otherwise, besides Crazy Ireland, Im doing well with Fabien, enjoying the married life. My job is wonderful but stressful at times since there is so much work! I'll talk more about that later. The weather is forever changing but we have seen some beautiful summery days in the past week.
We have talked about having a wedding reception in the States eventually, and all I can say now is that it will have to wait until we are re-installed in the US (in the fall...). We just cant plan it until we are there and we dont have the time now anyway! Plus it will be better to have it in our future apartment for everyone to visit. I'll keep you informed...

Blue Vase

Blue Vase
Originally uploaded by yvoinireland.

My main piece...

Pottery and Easter

Well its Easter. In Dungarvan, Ireland that means a 4-day weekend, all stores closed (and even the pubs on Good Friday!), yellow balloons and scary inflated clowns walking around. Hurray. The weather is gorgeous though. It was wonderful to sit out on the balcony this morning and take in the sun and warm breeze. We thought about traveling somewhere this weekend but never got around to it. I am getting a lot done at home though! long weekends are great.
Last week I finished my 2 night classes: Reiki and Pottery. Reiki I was a great class and very interesting. I am glad its over though because now Id like to read up on the concepts to really let it all sink in. Do I believe in it all? Yes, but I still need to master the techniques before I can start ranting about it. Apparently a picture of my class with our certificates will be in the local paper, I'll look for it to keep it...
Pottery was a bit too much with taking the Reiki class and all. I felt a bit rushed each class and barely finished all my pieces on the last day. I rushed them and as a result they're not all as well-thought out as I'd like. I enjoyed learning the techniques though and I have a new appreciation for pottery now. Things that look easy are not necessarily so! Ive posted pics of the better ones on flickr...

Cashel etc.

Last weekend was beautiful weather finally which has lasted all week. On Saturday we went to Rock of Cashel in Co. Tipperary, a rather frequented tourist site. We saw lots of schoolkids from elsewhere in Europe and a few Americans. Pics from this with explanations are on my flickr site:
www.flickr.com/photos/yvoinireland/

At the end of last week the weather started getting strange-very mixed sun and rain. We heard thunder, apparently rare in Ireland. It was followed by a gorgeous triple rainbow but noone had a camera to capture it! Yesterday it hailed twice and today a little as well. Now its sunny again!(at least to my right)

ALSO, the good news is that I received my residency card for Ireland last friday. This gives me the right to work, live, etc. in Ireland for one year. I can come and go as I please now. HURRAY! However, Fabien and I will soon submit the papers for the Green card for him in the US since it could be a long wait, possibly. It seems to be a faster procedure if we apply from outside the US since they are dealing with less applications on this side. When we get that settled we can start planning our return to the US to work. Fingers crossed...