How to land a job in another country without trying

Moving to Ireland was a big change for Matt and me. We had just finished up a nearly 3 year stint (yes I realize that term is normally associated with prison and still think it is appropriate) in Maryland after moving from the Midwest. Where we came from, you never met a stranger, especially if you’re from St.Louis because I’m pretty sure I went to high school with someone your sister/brother/cousin/best friend knew/dated/babysat/accidentally kicked in a sports game, or one of the same people attended your school. It’s kind of like 7 degrees Kevin Bacon except you get to be Kevin Bacon. My apologies if you don’t like the man but bear with me for a moment and remember how cool he was in Footloose...  

Ummm, Ok, maybe he's not that great, but the game is still fun!

Moving to Maryland was a big shock, especially my time in Baltimore. I used to smile at everyone and do normal things like make eye contact; I was warned that I shouldn’t do that in Baltimore. People didn’t engage in friendly banter, like they did back home though you may comment on the heroin addict nearly falling over to a nearby stranger, unless they were the heroin addict at which point you’d leave them be. So I was very homesick for a long time until I met the Fox Hunting groups in Maryland. In the hunting community we found friends and the enjoyable pastime of chasing a fox being chased by hounds, which were chased by a huntsman, and then a group or two or three of horses and riders, all the while tippling from well stocked flasks to keep you warm. Everyone was very kind, happy, and social.  This group and a few more people are the only thing I miss about Maryland. The rest you can keep! This state had too much city, snobbery, and politics for such a tiny plot of land. When we mentioned we were from Missouri, half the time people had no idea where that state was, and if they did they often associated it with rednecks, hillbillies, and the uneducated. Never mind there are 2 large metropolitan cities in the state and a high number of colleges and Universities. Not something I appreciated in the least, since both my husband and I hold higher degrees. But I digress, this is not about Maryland! It is about Ireland and how we got over here and adjusted and then what it has been like to live in a new country. 

First picture I took in Maryland. Come on folks! Even the animals need to have authorization? How the heck do they do that?!? I know I got a background check for work, but it's not the zebra's fault he looks like he's in an old prison uniform!

                Coming from Maryland and only visiting Ireland a handful of times I wasn’t sure what to expect because I was so miserable and homesick in Maryland initially. Each time we visited Ireland in the past, everyone was nice, but you always want to be nice to tourists because they’re investing in the economy, right?  We had some worries about what people would say when we mentioned we were moving over for jobs since it is difficult to find jobs over here, very much so like it is in the US right now. But boy, were we wrong!  After people got over their initial puzzlement as to why we would move here from the US they are interested and want to learn about what we do, how we like living here and often what we think of the weather, at least that’s what I think they’re asking, sometimes the accent throws me. So long as the Irish are not from the far west I can understand them pretty well, but once we go into a couple different counties I smile and nod a lot, hoping I haven’t just agreed to buy any large farm equipment,  livestock, or a house from someone.

A donkey I almost accidentally bought from a guy at the Aran Islands. I said the driver was being an ass, not I want to BUY an ass! Silly American accent gets in the way!

Now, let me go back a bit further to last November when we first were offered positions over here. Matt was attending a conference and mentioned to one of the guys from Teagasc (Pronounced cha-gah- sk) saying how much I love this country and would like to live here sometime. He was told that sadly they couldn’t hire anyone at the time, but he would keep it in mind. This interest was mentioned to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) who also had people in attendance at the conference. Actually I’m pretty sure they were the ones putting on the conference but at that time I wasn’t paying attention because this was just a fun vacation for me! So while Matt was working away in the conference I went exploring and visited the National Stud and the Kildare Outlet mall. 

The National Stud was closed for the season when I arrived, but the people were so kind! After seeing I’d traveled a bit to get there they told me I could go in and explore the grounds myself, no charge. I was thrilled! All the babies were out with their mama’s and I nearly had the whole place to myself! 

One of the first things I saw as I stepped into the Stud.

Not only are there gorgeous real horses but also these fantastic driftwood sculptures everywhere!

I showed up at nap time so lots of the horses and babies were taking naps in the sunshine

There are lots of beautiful places to sit and reflect here. Although it was built for the horses it is a wonderful place to visit even if you aren't as horse crazy as I am.

More reflection both figuratively and literally. These are some of the fall colors of Ireland

Pretty sure this guy got into the schnozberries (Willy Wonka reference, see it if you haven't already... Although I love Johnny Depp do yourself a favor and see the Gene Wilder version!). Goes to show you even horses worth more than my yearly take home pay can look absolutely ridiculous!

Sheep!!!! They alternate sheep on the pastures to keep them grazed down.

Even the sheep are a little ridiculous here! No this guy didn't just take a nose dive, this is how he chose to take his lunch, like an idiot with his face smushed into the grass.

Babies napping, yes I know the middle one looks dead, but I'm pretty sure I saw him breathing at least once

Oh crap, maybe not, everyone else is awake...

Phew! Just a heavy sleeper. What a lazy baby!

Hello random castle in the background! Have I mentioned I love this about Ireland???

One of the horses decided to show off a little. How pretty

Isn't this guy cute?!?! I was pretty sure he would have fit in my Nissan Micra, but I couldn't figure out how to sneak him out the back... Matt later mentioned that he probably wouldn't have fit in the suitcases either and what the heck was I going to do with him then. I told him I'd hook him up to the rolly luggage and he could be a chariot horse. Matt wasn't amused...

Meet Big Bad Bob! He seemed sweet to me

Why yes, this place even has an old abbey on it!

Who doesn't love a good swan picture?

Random pretty waterfall in the middle of the Stud.

Ok, fine, enough with the swans. But they are EVERYWHERE here!

After the stud I went to the outlet mall and since space was limited just bought some shoes. Some FABULOUS shoes!!! Ok, 2 pairs of shoes, but who’s counting?! They were on sale and so darn cute! I couldn’t be so cold as to leave them behind in Ireland! After that little bit of retail therapy, me and my cute shoes made our way back to the hotel and Matt for an evening with the ICBF  crew. What a fun group of people! We had supper and chatted like old friends which reminded me of how much I loved our honeymoon over here. That night I told Matt I’d love to come back in 2 years for our 10 year wedding anniversary since this was where we started our life in anger, tears, and sheer terror (if you don’t understand this, please read about our honeymoon, it will all make sense). Little did I know that not only would we be back for our 10^th anniversary, but we’d be LIVING here when it came around!

One more drift wood horse picture

The last stop at the conference was visiting Tully Bull station which is run by ICBF. It is a fantastic facility that is doing some phenomenal research and outreach. While there I got to chatting with some of the ICBF guys about my work and parasitology. I had a blast, but thought very little about it other than being happy I may have helped them with a question or two about some health and disease stuff they were just diving into.  Later on this would become the basis of why I got hired onto ICBF. Definitely the least nerve racking interview I’d been on since I didn’t know I was interviewing for a job. I was extremely impressed with how in touch these guys seemed to be with farmers and the whole organization in general.

Moo cows, the reason we're here!

After the conference we spent our time tooling around the west coast and seeing some gorgeous sites such as the Aran Islands, Bunratty Castle, Kylemore Abbey, Galway, and Kinvara. Those will be added in another blog because this one is too darn long already! But during this trip, I quickly learned that although I liked it when Matt drove because it allowed me to see more and be more cognizant of our surroundings, it also scared the hell out of me...still. I was definitely not used to the narrow roads and getting that close to hedges or drop offs! I was OK with driving on the other side of the road on the other side of the car, in fact I am pretty good at it, I was just too lazy to want to do it, so other than a few choice curse words when we nearly died a time or two (or three or four) I happily let Matt chauffeur us around. Next up, nearly dying on the Aran Islands...