You Just Might Find, You Get What You Need

I am currently at the point in my sabbatical when I go the longest without a guest.  These days I am settled into a nice, quiet routine.  I work.  I eat.  I go for a walk.  I think.  I Skype.  I sleep.  I go to the grocery store.  I listen to a podcast.  My routine is comfortable and predictable.  It is also quite different from my first sabbatical in Florence, Italy. 

I have had occasion to reflect on the difference between my two international sabbaticals and I thought I might enjoy capturing my reflection “on paper.”

One significant difference between my two sabbaticals is that I travelled more in Italy than I have around Ireland and there are many reasons why this is true.  First, public transportation is easier in Italy.  The trains reach more places and run more frequently.  People use buses in Ireland quite a lot and they take more time.  Second, public transportation here is expensive.  Train and bus tickets cost less when purchased in advance online, but they are still pricey.  On more than one occasion I have thought, “I should take a day trip to…” and then I consider the cost of getting there and back and decide to stay in lovely Galway. 

One place I have travelled several times in Ireland:  the Connemara Region

One of two trips to Venice

St. Peter's Square, one of many trips to Rome

Third, I’m afraid to drive in Ireland.  People I know who have travelled here have said, “You have to rent a car.”  I see what they mean.  The thing is, people drive on the left side of the road and the driver sits on the right side of the car.  I have heard some say, “You get used to it right away” and others claim emphatically, “I would NOT recommend it.”  If I was just worried about a little fender bender, I could go for a spin.  I’m actually worried about injuring or killing somebody because I do something that has been programmed into my driving behavior for over 25 years.  I think some people have the ability to adjust naturally to the change.  I might.  I also might not.  I don’t think the risk of finding out is worth it. 

This was my bus stop in Florence, just around the corner of my apartment

Some things that were hard in Italy are easy here and vice versa.  When I lived in Italy, I used to have to prepare for every little encounter.  When I went to the post office or had to buy a screwdriver, I looked up and wrote down necessary phrases. The language barrier made simple, every-day tasks complicated.  On the other hand, my landlady paid all the bills associated with my apartment.  I had to look at the phone, gas and electric meters and determine what I owed, but Mrs. Gavilli picked up the money and that was the end of it for me.  Here I had to set up the services, deal with automatic payments vs. deposits and open a bank account.  Before I leave I have to close everything down.  On balance, though, day-to-day life is significantly easier here than it was in Italy. 

When I lived in Italy, I easily found a community of English speaking expatriates, most of the people were from Great Britain.  I have met a number of people here with whom I would say I am friendly (today one of them gave me a pair of wooden knitting needles), but I would not say I have made friends.  Yet.  Some ground work has been laid, but friendship here is taking more time.  In general the Irish are extremely pleasant and interesting and willing to talk, but they are not in need of new friends the way expatriates are. 

My expatriate friends in Florence at Angiolino's on my 36th birthday, two days before I left the country

I walked a lot in Florence, almost always to get somewhere.  Galway is significantly smaller so it’s less effort to get to the grocery store, church, etc.  When I walk here, I am often making it a point to go for a walk.

A typical scene on a walk in Claddagh Park, Galway

Technology has changed so drastically in the seven years between my sabbaticals that it almost doesn’t feel like the same kind of experience.  I had a little TV in Italy that received a few channels, but I didn’t understand the language.  When I was desperate for noise, I used to watch episodes of “Walker, Texas Ranger” dubbed in Italian.  It was almost the only show I could understand; the level of dialogue was not very high. Plus, it doesn't take a genius to understand a round kick to the face.  Ugh--not really my thing.

TV in my Florence apartment

In Ireland I was able to buy a cable/Internet/phone package for less than the same service costs in the United States.  The most significant part of this for me is the wireless internet connection.  I have constant access to email, websites, podcasts, etc.  I also have Skype and Kevin and I Skype almost every day.  It’s hard to remember that in Italy I had to walk about a half a mile to an internet café and pay by the minute for computer time. 

My closest computer and internet access in Florence

When I packed for Italy I brought a portable, battery-run CD player.  I have a vivid memory of sitting on the floor in my living room trying to decide which eighteen CDs I could bring with me for the year.  Torture!  Now I have an iPod as well as iTunes on my computer.  I can purchase new music and rent movies. 

Through technology I feel so much more connected to friends and family in the U.S. than I did when I was in Italy.  Just yesterday I Skyped with Mary and Patty Hawk and Mary was able to show me her kitchen renovations in process and I was able to give my (probably bad) opinion on wall color.  Last week I watched two different hearings (the first on an immigration bill and second to abolish the death penalty) online that took place in the Nebraska Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.  I knew almost every person who testified at the second hearing.  It blows my mind that technology “transports” me across the ocean. 

Using the laptop and phone at the same time

The most exciting thing I ever saw out my window in Italy was a disdainful cat or two.  On the other hand, Florence was filled with so many museums and churches and other works of art that I didn’t experience it all in the eleven months I was there.  My apartment on the docks provides me a constant show as well as views of Galway Marina, Galway Harbor and Galway Bay.  When I was in Italy, I used to extol the virtues of “staring at the wall.”  In Galway, I praise “staring out the window.” 

Picture of cats taken from my apartment in Florence

Activity I can see from my window in Galway

Almost everything is more expensive this time around:  utilities, groceries, rent, restaurants, transportation, coffee, cupcakes, etc.  Of course I had to watch my finances in Italy, but I don’t remember being constrained by a lack of money.   

Taken on a Dublin street

Last summer I would not have guessed that this sabbatical would be so different from my first.  Upon reflection, though, I believe I have had the perfect sabbaticals.  Italy provided what I needed at that point in my life and I believe Ireland is doing the same.  

Double rainbow over Galway Harbor