Thursday, March 22, 2012

Greetings from Ireland!

Well, after 2.5 weeks, I am more or less settled in here. It would be nice if I had a clothes dryer that didn't merely make my clothes less damp, but I'll survive.

Assuming I don't get hit by a car because I have been looking the wrong way before crossing.

Since I don't belong to a gym here yet, it's been back to ye olde running exclusively for me. I live in a cute little stone house right alongside a canal that goes between the ocean and campus and has a nice path alongside it. I haven't yet run down by the ocean because it is damn windy here, even away from the ocean.

You know, in the US, I always assumed that bike/pedestrian paths should follow the same rules as roads - you keep to the right and pass on the left. So in theory, here I should keep to the left and pass on the right. But these people! There is no rhyme or reason at all to which side the walk or bike on. THEY ARE DISRUPTING THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. Just like the Germans who cut in the Portapotty lines. Europe, you are whack.

America! Fuck yeah!

7 comments:

Jon (was) in Michigan said...

The hardest thing for me was trying to find someplace using my GPS because there are no street name signs and nobody knows the street address of anyplace.

But at least the weather is mild. :)

BrianFlash said...

That car thing is a serious hazard. Everytime I've been in the UK, I've nearly been run over.

Black Knight said...

Everytime I go to Great Britain I risk my life while crossing the roads. Enjoy your time there and run through those beautiful green places. Have you already met any leprechaun?

Danielle in Iowa in Ireland said...

Oh maps are totally useless here! None of the streets are marked and no one knows any street names. Everyone gives directions by landmarks!

An no leprechauns yet. I assume I will encounter them once my long runs are long enough to get me out of town!

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

When I visited Ireland with my brother and sister-in-law back in 1989, we toured BY CAR and it was a stick! Everything was opposite where it should be, Bizarro world! Yeah, and we noticed the lack of street signs, too.

Two good things, though - my brother always drove, so I never had to; and where we went, there were approximately 6 other cars in total. (When we were in Dublin for two days, we didn't drive.) Which was nice because the roads we barely wide enough to accommodate one car, much less two.

Of course this is part of what I loved about Ireland. When I get back there, I hope it's just the same.

Anonymous said...

You've been busy! Berlin Marathon, moved to Eire. Keep up the good work!

Mark said...

Well, I am sure way behind on blog reading! I hope Ireland is going well and you have gotten the pedestrian and bike traffic stuff figured out.
I have very vague recollections of Ireland since I was about 6 years old when I went but I do remember my parents always being stressed out with the roads and I do remember about the directions being landmark based.
But, what a beautiful place to be!