Who says it’s never sunny in Dublin?

Wow…we’ve been talking about it for about two years…planning it for 12 months & now it is here…we are in Dublin! Although a bit jet-lagged to say the least. Won’t be able to provide a coherent update of our day, but thought I’d give you some of the highlights…

• Tuesday night, Liz’s dad dropped us off at JFK, and in about 2 hours we were on a plane…for me it was somewhere mid-flight where it hit me that we are really doing this.
• We landed around 9 am in Dublin, and got through Customs, & baggage claim with no problems (or so we thought). When we got into the main area, Melissa Garza was waiting for us, took us outside where her husband James, and  Ann Marie Kerr were waiting to load our luggage and drive us to the Garza’s.
• We went for a walk around the village of Lucan where they live. We got some introductory lesson of things not to say in Ireland…and then had lunch with the Garzas, Kerrs & Liz’s sister Kathleen (& Danny & Emily, who were flying out of Dublin later in the afternoon.)
• After dropping them off at the airport, stopped by the rental place to have them look at the check engine light, and got a free upgrade to an Audi…
• Shortly after that we headed to the store so we could get phones. Liz quickly decided that she was too tired to think about a phone at this point while James Garza & I shopped around. One company told me I could only do a pre-pay phone, until I was in the country for 3 month. Another was all set to get me hooked up, when they saw that my credit card was not a “chip & pin” card, as most European cards are. So while I learned something through the 90 minutes I spent on that little venture, I am no closer to getting a phone.
• I also learned earlier in the day, that while Liz can set up a back account tomorrow…we cannot have my name on it. She has her name on a utility bill at her dad’s farm…I have nothing. So I can’t have a phone or a checking account.
• After that we got home and were mapping out rentals we’ll be looking at tomorrow, when Liz went up to get some clothes out of her bag…that is when she realized she had the wrong bag. (This is a bag I bought at a store in Seattle in 1991…what are the chances someone has the exact same bag? Pretty good I guess.) We called the airline to see about turning this bag in & getting the correct one, but they close their office at 6 pm.  So that has also been added to our list of things to do.
• Brenna has had a great day hanging out with the Garza’s daughter!

Speaking of tomorrow…we’ll start off the day calling the airline & try to resolve our baggage issues (we’ve got enough baggage issues of our own without picking up someone else’s…:-)

After that, we’re heading downtown to begin working on my residency and obtain PPS (think social security #) for all of us.

Following lunch we’ll try to set up a bank account for Liz and then head over to Clontarf to see 2 or three properties.

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So, if you’re wondering what you could be praying about:

– That we get our bag tomorrow,

– That all goes smoothly with immigration & I get a Type 4 stamp.

– That we find a place to live that is in our price range & has 4 bedrooms.

– That we can set up bank account with no issues and that they even decide that they can add my name to the account (and give us a “chip & pin” card),

– Liz and I have both been feeling a bit sick that past few days…healing would be great.

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Thanks for taking the time to read this…and although it is still bright outside, it is 9 pm here, and I think it is time to get some sleep.