Yes, that's right - the Irish are really fond of their crack. This is something that confused me several times during my first couple of weeks here - everyone's always talking about the great crack they had over the weekend! Turns out crack (spelled "craic") is actually just the word for "fun." I can see how it would be easy for an Irishman to get into trouble asking for craic in the states...
Week 2 has been fab. I'm finally moved into a beautiful apartment in the city center, making new friends at the office, signed up to play on a coed-rec rugby team, and getting the hang of work. One of my co-workers goes into the city center every so often, so we've met up for lunch on the weekend and she's shown me some great areas for shopping. I have one person reporting to me at the moment at work, but I'll probably be seeing less of him over the next 6 weeks because he's taking an exam soon.
They love American shows in Ireland, so it's great having people to talk to about those great shows like Teen Mom, Celebrity Rehab, The Hills, Pimp my Ride, Laguna Beach, Cribs, and Jersey Shore...you get the idea. Ryan thought I'd be devastated without my awful VH1 shows! muahahahahahaaa....
I'd post some new pictures, but I'm actually in the airport at the moment and forgot to pack my cord to connect my camera to my laptop. So you'll just have to wait in suspense...:)
Work has sent me on a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland for the weekend because I need to exit and re-enter the country to get my work permit stamped. Not a bad excuse for a weekend trip!! They're really taking good care of me here. Looking forward to trying out some interesting Scottish food - like haggis and square sausage.
Tuesday was Pancake Day in Ireland. Everyone in the country eats pancakes, pancakes are served in the canteen (cafeteria) at work, and all the grocery stores were selling packages upon packages of pre-made pancakes. So random!! It's how they celebrate Fat Tuesday over here - a day to be gluttonous and eat yummy goodness before Lent. I love that here they've decided that it's national Pancake Day - what a great idea! Pancakes are sort of a rarity here - people only have them once a year as a treat - and my co-workers found it very odd that in the states people will eat pancakes for breakfast, and it's normal to have them more often than just on Pancake Day!
Some new vocab...
lodging = depositing (i had to ask about this one during my mandatory money-laundering training at work because i didn't understand the question on the test)
hire = rent
gilt = UK issued bond
quid = slang for euro
massive piss party = big drunk-fest (i.e. St. Patty's is gonna be a massive piss party!)
slagging = teasing
how are you keeping? = how's it going?
One other interesting tidbit - the national language of Ireland is Irish, but hardly anyone speaks it except in some parts of the west coast. One of my Irish teammates is actually taking Irish language lessons at the moment.
Flight's boarding - gotta go! More pics soon!
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