I don’t know if you’ve watched the movie “P.S. I love you” but I loved it, and it was one of the reasons why I came here…. We ventured to come here.
Even though my friends in Co. Clare don’t appreciate the bad accent in the movie… I do, because it was the lack of it that helped me understand the movie properly ?
When I got here, from Venezuela; I must say that the immigration process was quite simple. At that time – 9 years ago -, we weren’t required to have a visa to enter the country. Also, it was allowed to apply for a student visa after arriving as a tourist. However, to find a job was not simple at all. I remember myself delivering more than 100 Cv’s around Dublin, only Au Pairs, newspaper’s seller or car cleaner were the options that we got at that time. For some reason, despite having the documentation, the opportunities were not as many as we thought, which led us to move to Co. Clare where we found a beautiful hotel that was offering jobs and paid accommodation.
The climate feels coldest in the countryside, from what you feel in Dublin – most be the opens spaces and be that close to the see, although is a huge different from our country, being surrounded by Irish people made us feel at home… their kindness, their humanity, their patience, always making us feel welcome it was like being at home despite were more than 7000 km apart.
Things have changed a lot since then, and now, there is even an App to get a job!. If we had had an App like that one, which I am part of, things would have been undoubtedly simpler for both of us.
I still don’t understand certain things like:
- Why do they put vinegar on the potatoes?
- Cows so close to the sea
- Why so many vowels in a person’s name?
- Why do we have to pay for a TV licence?
Being here has been an invaluable adventure. Ireland is our home now, and the app is the best window for me to keep learning about the most important events in the country plus gives me the opportunity to know and interact with so many people from different countries.
This experience has been just AMAZING and me, Vanessa hope to keep learning from this lovely country and his culture!