Day 24

Picture of the day...

Another friends re-run???

What I did today...I passed my test!
So, somewhere along the line I got the impression that this was going to be it for the paper exams, but I was wrong.  We have another quiz tomorrow.  So there will be more studying to do tonight (and by tonight I really mean in the morning).  Oh, I put a picture of friends up today b/c they sure do love there Friends re-runs here.  I can turn the TV on at anytime and always find a Friends re-run.  Friends isn't so bad but I do prefer my Seinfeld re-runs. 

Days left in Ireland: 11

Day 23

Picture of the day...

What I did today...  School.  It was a very boring day of school.  We did team building activities which I'm pretty sure I've been doing that sort of stuff since kindergarten so it seemed pretty pointless.  Tomorrow we have our last written test.  (YAY.)  Hopefully I pass or it's hasta lavista baby and I get to come home early.  (Passing=90%)  Wish me luck.  It'll be fine. 

12 more days until I get to home!  Can't wait!

Video from trip to Wicklow

Day 22

Picture of day...

More snow this morning.  (View out my window)

What I'm going to do today...study

Day 21

Picture of the day...

What I did today...
It snowed!  So that kind of messed up our bus tour today.  We still made it to the Wicklow Mountains, but we didn't get to do the full tour.  It was still pretty b/c of the snow.

Snow!!! AH!

View this morning out my window!

Today's going to be a busy day.  I'm going to try to go to Wicklow today!  I hope we make it!  (Wicklow is in the mountains.)

Day 20

20 days!  Goodness!  I don't really have a new picture to post or the energy to get up and take a picture of something around my room.  Hope everyone had a fun Black Friday.  I hate that I missed out on one of the best days of the year.  :(  Tomorrow I'm off to take a bus tour of Wicklow and Glendalough (where P.S. I love you and Braveheart were filmed!!!) 

Day 19

Picture of the day...

Front Lobby of Roganstown

What I did today... Fire safety training.  Nothing practical yet, we just sat in class all day and learned.  But good news, I passed another one of my quizzes.  I have one more tomorrow and then our big exam on Monday.  I'm starting to think not all of us are going to make it.  You have to pass Monday's 60 question exam will at least a 90!  I'm sure I'll be fine.  If not, I guess I'll be seeing America sooner than I thought. 
The company did put on a very nice, 3 course meal for us at Roganstown (the hotel that keeps the townhouses we're staying at).  I hadn't been over to the hotel in a few days and was surprised to see how beautiful all there Christmas decoration were.  Dinner was pretty good and I did see a bit of American football on mute.

Chocolate peacan pie.  A little too rich for my taste. 

Kamaryn and I.

Happy Thsnksgiving!!!

Happy Thankgiving USA!  I miss you!  I miss your normal food, your wide roads, your first-run TV shows, your random weather, your normal football, and your large produce section at the grocery stores.  Of course, I miss everyone back home (but that's a given).  I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though Ireland's pretty okay I am very thankful I live in America. 

Day 18

Picture of the day...

A new necklace and hair clip I got at the mall today.

What I did today...  Well, I had class like normal.  We're learning about safety and emergency procedures which is kinda scary to think about.  Tomorrow we learn about firefighting.  Fun.
After class I did get to go to the pavillion today.  I got a few things:  navy leather gloves I can wear with my uniform, a hair thingy, a necklace, and a new shirt.  I meant to do some x-mas shopping for other people but there just wasn't enough time for that.  We're going back to the pavillion on Friday like we always do so there will be more time to shop then. 

Day 17

Picture of the day...

What I did today...Not much.  School.  Lunch.  More School.  Home.  Dinner.  Gym.  Shower (to come).  Study (to come).  Vampire Diaries (to come).  Talk to Adam (to come).  Bed (to come). 

I am excited for tomorrow.  Tomorrow is the half-way point to our training!  I'll be home in no time!  Yay.  But that does mean I only have 2 weekends left here so I really need to figure out what else I want to do while I'm here.  I'm also excited because tomorrow a few of us are going to the Pavillion to do a little shopping/christmas shopping for people back home.  And Thursday is Thanksgiving.  They are treating us all to a special 3-course dinner on Thursday. 

Day 16

Picture of the day...

What I did today...  We got our schedules today!  YAY!  I'm so excited because I'm going to be working my fam-flight (practice flights) from IAD to Madrid.  That means I'll be going home earlier than expected (and earlier than the people who will work their fam-flights from Dublin to Boston or JFK.).  So it's required that you do 4 fam-flight and then 1 line-check.  Now the line-check is your final test.  If you pass that then you're hired.  The schedule above shows my four fam-flights (indicated by the lowercase f).  Uppercase F are the days off.  I won't know more of my schedule (the next 28 day period) for a couple more weeks.  So right now I'm not sure if I'll be working (and doing my line-check) over x-mas.  I figure there are two possibilites.  A:  I work the next day Dec23 going to Madrid, layover the 24th and 25th (Madrid airport is closed x-mas day), home on Dec. 26.  or B: 6 days off.  So I'd be off the 23rd, 24th, 25th of Dec. then work the following 3-6 days. 

Day 15

Picture of the day...

Click the picture for a better view.

 What I did today...  Today we took a trip out to Howth Ireland.  It was very little town along the coast.  I saw a wonderful view of the ocean, some seals, a little run-down castle, and even got to eat some wonderful seafood chowder soup.  (Actually very good.)  A nice little Sunday.



Pier we walked out on.



Day 14

Picture of the day...

Click on the picture to see a larger view. 

What I did today... School.  On a Saturday.  Ugh.  I did get a card in the mail from my mom (and one from my Gram and Pop a couple days ago!) so that was a nice surprise.  Thank you both! 
Today was the first day wearing our uniforms.  It the picture above we're all in the classroom excited for the day.  Then our instructor shows up and nit-picks us all apart.  The happy/excited attitude dropped after that.  One girl almost cried.  I was almost okay.  She's wants my lipstick darker still and my nail polish HAS to match.  I wanted to tell her to shove it. 

Irish Speak:
They say: "She's doin' my head in" and we say: "She's talking my ear off."
They say: "slagging" and we say: "messing with"
They say: "messer" and we say "joker or class clown"

Day 13

Picture of the day...

What I did today...
So every Friday after Flight Attendant school the bus takes everyone to the Pavillion (aka the Mall).  That's where the grocery store is.  (Yes, inside the mall.)  And I swear they don't know what crackers are here!  (They don't know what a lot of things are here.)  But I did manage to find Ritz crackers today.  YAY!  I also found a big thing of Bueno Candy Bars.  Which, by the way, are my new favorite candy.  They are amazingly good!  I eat them daily they're so good!  If you ever see them anywhere you should make sure to try them!  And then after shopping I wandered off to the bookstore.  Being in a bookstore felt like home somehow.  That's my form of retail therapy.  I didn't even care about the price and I got two books.  That's a copy of Twilight there on the right.  It is a really pretty all white copy with a red back and you could tell I got it in Europe since the prices on the back were in euros.  I'll probably give it to my sister for x-mas.  (She never reads my blog so it will still be a surprise.)  Then I was happy to find that other book, Cresando, in paperback.  It just came out in the US but only in hardcover, so it was actually cheaper here for that reason.  Actually, a lot of books that are only in hardcover in the US were on sale here in paperback.  Interesting.  Well, I'm off to get ready for bed and class tomorrow. 

DaY 12

Picture of the day...

What I did today...
I got a 94% on my test.  Not a 100 but still passing.  :(  That's it for today. 

Day 11

Picture of the day...

The back of the Aer Lingus head office building.

What I did today... Well, today I took my second quiz and I got 100% on it!  (Easy)  Tomorrow I have another quiz.  I'm a little more worried about this one since it covers a lot more material--first aid stuff--and some of it is more confusing.  Hopefully it won't be an issue.  I'm about to start studying now.  I can't wait for the weekend.  Two more days!! No, wait.  Three more days.  :(  We have to come in on Saturday this weekend. 

Day 10

Picture of the day...

What I did today...
There I am in the uniform.  Today we started first aid training.  And tomorrow I have my 2nd quiz.  I don't really have much else to talk about.  Not much went on today.

Day 9

Picture of the day...

What I did today...
I was so cold today!  Frost in the morning!  I thought this would be more like Seatle weather but so far it's just cold here.  We did get our uniforms today and boy are they unattractive!  Is green really anyone's color?  That's about all we did today.  I will take a picture of myself in the uniform later in the week.  I'm too tired to try it all on again tonight. 

Day 9

Picture of the day...

Click on this picture to get a much better view.

What I did today...
Well, today I saw the lovely town of Mallahide and the little castle they have there.  It was really a pretty day with nothing but clear blue skys.  We walked down to the water and around the little village.  I ate scampi and chips which is basically fish and chips in a local restuarant there.  The food was good but I'm starting to get real sick of the food here.  I would love some chipotle!

Day 8

Picture of the day...

What I did today...

So today I went into Dublin again.  The guy who has been taking us to and from our training took us on a special tour.  It was really nice of him and it only cost us 10euro each.  (My cab ride last weekend to Dublin was 10euro each way.)  My favorite part of the day was seeing the Book of Kells.  The Book of Kells wasn't that great but with my admission to that I also got access into this really old, really cool, Beauty and the Beast style library.  That was my favorite part of the day.  I wish I could have taken a few pictures but cameras weren't allowed.  Here's a video I took today...


And a couple more pictures...

Park near Dublin.  Very pretty morning.  It was nice until around noon and then it rained all day.

Loved the St. Patty's Day stuff

A picture a found online of the Library at Trinity College.  It was very pretty.

More JibJab Fun!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Day 7

Picture of the day...

What I did today...
Today we did retail knowledge.  I leaned about all the retail items we'll be selling during flight.  Duty free anyone?  We got out of class early and then the bus took us over to the grocery store.  Now I'm just sleepy.  Time for a nap.  I did find a Starbucks.  And tomorrow I'll be going into Dublin again. 

Irish Speak:
They say "what about you?" as a greeting and we say "Hey, how are you?"

Day 6

Picture of the day...

Big Hair Day!!!  The weather here sucks for my kind of hair!

What I did today...
Another day done.  We took our first quiz today.  I got a 100% on it.  It was really easy though.  I don't have much else to say except that this weather sucks for my hair!  It was so big today and my curling-iron doesn't get hot eough to do anything.

Day 5

Picture of the day...

What I did today...
So today was my third day of training.  It pretty much dragged.  (I'm just not used to sitting still for 8 hours staight!)  We're still doing customer service and today we went over serving beverages and meals and whatnot.  We didn't actually get to mock serve anything, just sit there and watch them mock serve stuff which I've already done on every flight I've ever been on before, right?  The best part of my day was actually meeting a few of the London Gatwich Cabin Crew who are here doing a course on the bigger airplains.  (They asked for tips on what to do while in America, how to get to NYC, etc.)  Apparently they are pretty short staffed right now in Dulles and they're bringing the Londoners over to work our flight until we're all finished.  And now I'm going to take a much needed nap and then perhaps go to the pool tonight, practice my swimming for our pool drill that actually will be happening on Thanksgiving. 

Irish Speak:
They say: "jigger" and we say: "creamer (as in coffee creamer)"
They say: "cop on" and we say: "common sense"
They say: "top up" and we say: "refill"
They say: "goes in round abouts" and we say: "comes back around"

Day 4

Picture of the day...

Boo!  Clown makeup and a bun!

What I did today...
So today was just long.  And the food at the cafe for lunch was not so good today.  Mystery meat.  Brown and weird.  We did get split up to play a game and my team won!  Yay.

Irish Speak:
They say:  "Is that okay?"  and we say:  "Do you know what I mean?"
They say: "get on" and we say: "get along"
They say: "queue" and we say: "line
They say: "half 8" and we say: "8:30"
They say: "tanks a million" and we say: "thank you very much"

Day 3

Picture of the day...

What I did today...
So today was my first day of actual training.  The first week is customer service stuff so it's no biggy.  I'm most annoyed right now they that are telling us specifically how to dress, what makeup to wear, and how to do your hair.  And let me tell you...curly hair does not fit into the Aer Lingus cookie cutter mold.  And apparently business casual in Ireland really means just plain buisness.  I have one business outfit and that will be what I wear everyday now because I'm going to spend all my euros on clothes.  The rest of my day was easy.  I learned how to lift and push properly.  The best part was probably lunch when this girl in my class (Noelle) said "I'll have the Lasagna" to the Shepard's Pie.  HAHA.  I had the Chicken Cordon Blue.  It was good.  Really good, actually.  That will be my authentic Irish food for the trip.

Day 2

So for my 2nd day in Ireland we went to Dublin.  It's about a 30 minute (10euro) taxi ride from Swords.  We just kind of walked around the city center.  There isn't too much to see in Dublin but it was fun to walk around the city.  (And cold)  This is me and my roommates (Angel and Alana) in front of Dublin Castle. 

Me and my roommates Angel and Alana

 And this is a short video of O'Connell Street in the city center...

And here is a video of Trinity College...

More on Day 1

My new Aer Lingus friends!



So today was a very busy day!  I did manage to get internet!  (YAY)  We took a taxi to the little town of Swords where there is a mall.  (AKA a Pavillion)  I really enjoyed riding in the taxi to the mall, up front, where every passing car made me fear for my life.  Fun Fun.  (I'm not being sarcastic)  So their mall was just like our malls.  Then after the mall we all walked over to The Cock Tavern. 

Where I'm staying

Day 1

This has to be a quick post since I'm about to leave for Swords Ireland on a quest to find internet (more internet, this is just tempory).  So I made it!  It was a very long day yesterday.  I sat in the airport all day.  Then I flew all night.  And I couldn't sleep on the plane (maybe 1 hour).  Then we had to walk a mile at the airport with my heavy luggage.  Then we went to the grocery store for a few things.  (????)  Then we made it to our townhouse.  I have two roommates.  My own room and my own bathroom.  The facilities are very nice.  I can't upload pictures on this weak internet connection.  So more to come later. 

Bored in the JFK airport...

Today's the day!  I leave for Dublin, Ireland tonight.  Wow!  Reality is starting to set in.  I still can't believe this is actually happening.  My flight leaves out of JFK tonight at 9:55PM.  I flew out to NY this morning.  So now all I have to do is wait around the airport all day.  (Thank you to Jet Blue for your internet hot spots!!!)  And then at 3PM I can check in at the Aer Lingus ticket counter.  Then at 5PM there is some kind of introduction meeting.  Then after more waiting I'm off!  I'll arrive in Dublin around 9:50AM.  Fun. Fun. 

4 Days to go...

This is going to be me in 4 days time...


This is a video from when Adam and I went to Paris in 2008.  We flew Aer Lingus then and had a layover in Dublin.  I shot this quick video as we were landing in Dublin.  So I've actually been there once before and yes it does count because our flight was cancelled and we had to stay over night.