The Crucial Week Ahead

Among the many things I have learned in Ireland (other than that zucchinis are called courgettes) is that it is possible to get a satisfying caffeine fix from tea. If you drink seven cups of black tea in a short time, it does the trick. This will be shocking for some, but I haven't had a cup of coffee since I've been here. In most of the cafés a small coffee will run around €2, or over three bucks, and I'm not willing to buy a coffee maker. On the other hand, tea is so cheap it must be subsidized by the government.

Dilemmas

Our third week in Cork will be one of our most momentous, a little earlier than I expected for big decisions to be made. I'm talking about what to do in the face of no employment and no heat. As for the latter: our apartment––despite all of its cuteness––is quite cold. The main reason is that the biggest room doesn't have a heat source. There is an electric radiator mounted to the wall, but the power switch only works about 5 percent of the time. Even when it does turn on it only produces enough energy to warm a tiny closet.

According to Irish tenant law, landlords are required to provide a reliable heat source. We have reported the repairs that are needed (including some leaky windows) to the agency/landlord, but have been stonewalled by the Irish "mañana" tendency. One day a handyman did show up and had a look at the windows––he decided he knew what needed to be done, and promised he would return. Problem is, he never did. When I complained to the agency a second time they said they would have someone stop by "to look at the windows and heater." A whole lot of looking, and no fixing, has been the landlord's remedy. And tonight we were promised a repair of the heat, but it looks like we are to be stood up again.

We have a three-month lease but I believe we have grounds to break it. Absent a swift resolution to the heating problem I will have to resort to that. This isn't too big of a tragedy since we can't find work. Katherine's potential gig at the chocolate shop has died since they never called her back after the interview. She also had an interview at a golf equipment store, but for very limited hours. And no ring from them either.

Thus, we have decided that this week is an important one because if we don't hear from somebody, an important milestone will be reached: we will start to get bored. After you've applied to every open position that you're qualified for––and many more that you're barely qualified for––you run out of things to do. And our consensus is that if we start to get bored, then the whole experiment has gone defective. We can sit around and live dull existences in the States; it is a waste to do that here.

Sans employment, we will turn to the ultimate level of financial irresponsibility and travel. Willy-nilly, all over the Continent. Seriously, I'm making up an itinerary in my head right now. More on this to come...

Volunteer? What's the Rush?

Katherine's answer to long stretches of inactivity was to volunteer around the city. This is a good idea for a few reasons: we would get out and meet people, we would gain the satisfaction of "helping," and our networking could turn into employment opportunities. In the States, if you want to volunteer it takes about 37 seconds of waiting before you're sent to work in a soup kitchen or paint over graffiti. There is a fantastic infrastructure designed to get volunteers to the "front line" in a very short amount of time.

With so many people out of work it is logical to think that Irish non-profits would be desperate to mobilize volunteers. What we have encountered is more of a blasé attitude. The lady at the first volunteer agency we went to, associated with the Church, took our information and told us that they are so busy that they might not be able to contact us for a while. Ironic, no? We then stopped in Cork City's main volunteer network, where we were told, "Oh, take time to think it over. We have a volunteer fair here in a week's time, come by then and you might find something." What the hell? Is quickly and efficiently taking advantage of people's kindness only an American specialty?

On the Lighter Side

We watched the Ireland v. South Africa rugby match today in a pub, an exciting experience. Problem is, it might have ruined the NFL for me. For those who don't know (and that's pretty much everyone in the US), a rugby match is eighty (that's 80) minutes of playing time. How long from start to finish? Under two hours total, no commercial breaks. How long for sixty minutes of NFL action? Three hours, with 257 commercial breaks (which is, of course, why the games are three hours long).

Ireland won in a nail-biter, 15–10, to finish the season undefeated. (Photo credit to Katherine!)

As a final note in this long entry, I am impressed by the Christmas decorations the city has put up. There's no attempt at political correctness here! It's all 'bout Christmas, baby. The following photo is just a tiny sample of the lights around City Centre.