...because a few people over the last few days have said to me, "Oh yeah, I saw on your blog...". So thanks for following guys, I shall endeavour to keep you as in the loop as possible!
Flying out Tuesday now, barring any unforeseen volcanoes, earthquakes or giant plane eating sharks. My bag is (still) packed. I bet you're dying to know what's inside, huh? Well, I'll tell ya, since this is all I'm bringing with me for a year. Anything else I might need I can pick up there, I'm sure.
Clothes
4 nice shirts (with collars and everything)
4 pairs of pants
4 T-shirts
1 pair of shorts
Hub Hoodie (sooo comfy!)
Swimming trunks
My red jacket
2 Towels
Poncho (freshly washed and dried by my wool-washing expert grandmother)
Thai Fishermans pants (for general lounging around)
7 pairs of underwear (including my new Spiderman jocks!)
7 pairs of socks (in actual pairs- what has happened to me?)
Runners
Toiletries
(pretty much none of this stuff can be gotten over there, apparently, and if you do find it, it's ridiculously expensive...)
6 roll-on deodorant sticks (I'm concerned this may not be enough...)
New toothbrush
3 tubes of Sensodyne toothpaste (again, will surely need more...)
2 packs of Mach 3 Razors
Shower gel & Shampoo
Shaving foam & Aftershave
Sunblock
Toys
Nintendo DSi (Keep me entertained on the bus/plane)
Digital Camera
Netbook
MP3 Player
Hard Drive
Bag of cables
Books n stuff
Folder for important travelling paperwork (tickets etc)
Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener
Day to a page diary
A few little posters, photos and trinkets I couldn't leave behind
And of course, my passport!
My checked in stuff weighs less than 20 kilos, would you believe? So on Tuesday, I'm going to lug this big heavy bag to Ennis bus stop, where I will take the 8.25 (AM!) bus to Galway. There's a 45 minute wait, then I'm on the 10.30 Citylink direct to Dublin Airport. I'll wait there for a couple of hours, before getting a plane at 17.00 to Heathrow. There's another wait in Heathrow until 21.00, when I get on the big plane. This flight is 10 hours and 50 minutes, and I have to wait in Incheon airport for three hours for another connecting flight to Daegu. I'll land at 20.15 local time, which in GMT (which my body will still think it is) is 11.15. That's right, AM. Meaning from the moment I set off, until the moment I land, I will have been travelling non stop for 27 hours. I'm sure I'll manage to sleep after that, no matter what my body clock says...
Anyway, unless you hear to the contrary, you can take it for granted that I'm on the plane. Fingers crossed, my next post will be from Korea!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Still sitting at home...
I'm supposed to be on a plane now. I'm supposed to be flying to South Korea, with nothing more than the bag on my back and a fistful of dreams. Instead, I'm sitting in my parents living room, watching a movie, and wondering what to do with myself for the week.
The clouds of volcanic ash from Iceland mean that no planes are flying in or out of Ireland. No planes are flying in or out of London Heathrow, either, and no planes flying over Europe. While the airline companies are pushing to get them back in the air, the prospect of actually flying anywhere til Thursday is pretty remote, and I don't know if Sunday is even viable, either. I haven't heard back from the school yet, but I expect an email from them any minute, telling me it's all going to be OK, and I'll be on the next flight over. Or that they're doing everything they can, and to hold tight until it's taken care of. Which of course, nobody can say, because they don't know how long it's going to last. In addition, apparently the cloud will move into Korean airspace on Wednesday or Thursday, and while the authorities expect it will have dispersed enough to not cause engine problems in jets, anything can happen. Literally anything.
My bag is all packed, has been since Friday. All my remaining clothes are in it, and I don't really want to unpack, wear, wash and pack stuff again. I finished up with the job on Friday, and I've everything ready, so I've nothing really to do until I get on a plane. My going away party last night, while it was really good fun, felt a little hollow knowing I wasn't going to be leaving tonight as planned.
I know I am not as badly affected as so many other people- at least I'm still at home, unlike all those stranded on holiday across the world- but I still feel a little bit put out. Everything I've been planning and preparing for the past few months is now looking much tougher than expected. I've overcome so many obstacles and put in so much effort, and this is just another massive problem. It will sort itself out, it has to, but in the meantime its a whole load of trouble and uncertainty.
There's lessons to be learned here, I suppose. No matter how much time and energy you put in to something, there's always something that can go wrong. Things you never even thought of- things nobody thought of- can turn around and bite you in the ass. I'm learning an awful lot about international air travel, and global weather systems, and crisis management. With this much time on my hands, internet reading is going to take up a fair bit of my time I'd say!
Anyway, I'm glad I finished on a more positive note. I'll keep posting any information I recieve, and I hope I van get on a plane soon!
The clouds of volcanic ash from Iceland mean that no planes are flying in or out of Ireland. No planes are flying in or out of London Heathrow, either, and no planes flying over Europe. While the airline companies are pushing to get them back in the air, the prospect of actually flying anywhere til Thursday is pretty remote, and I don't know if Sunday is even viable, either. I haven't heard back from the school yet, but I expect an email from them any minute, telling me it's all going to be OK, and I'll be on the next flight over. Or that they're doing everything they can, and to hold tight until it's taken care of. Which of course, nobody can say, because they don't know how long it's going to last. In addition, apparently the cloud will move into Korean airspace on Wednesday or Thursday, and while the authorities expect it will have dispersed enough to not cause engine problems in jets, anything can happen. Literally anything.
My bag is all packed, has been since Friday. All my remaining clothes are in it, and I don't really want to unpack, wear, wash and pack stuff again. I finished up with the job on Friday, and I've everything ready, so I've nothing really to do until I get on a plane. My going away party last night, while it was really good fun, felt a little hollow knowing I wasn't going to be leaving tonight as planned.
I know I am not as badly affected as so many other people- at least I'm still at home, unlike all those stranded on holiday across the world- but I still feel a little bit put out. Everything I've been planning and preparing for the past few months is now looking much tougher than expected. I've overcome so many obstacles and put in so much effort, and this is just another massive problem. It will sort itself out, it has to, but in the meantime its a whole load of trouble and uncertainty.
There's lessons to be learned here, I suppose. No matter how much time and energy you put in to something, there's always something that can go wrong. Things you never even thought of- things nobody thought of- can turn around and bite you in the ass. I'm learning an awful lot about international air travel, and global weather systems, and crisis management. With this much time on my hands, internet reading is going to take up a fair bit of my time I'd say!
Anyway, I'm glad I finished on a more positive note. I'll keep posting any information I recieve, and I hope I van get on a plane soon!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Two and counting
So! Bags packed, stuff given away or put in the attic. All my things are taken care of. I'll include my list of things packed in a later post, maybe.
My visa is on the way back from Dublin with my brother. There was a moment of panic there when the embassy told me on Thursday that it hadn't been sent- thankfully I can count on Tommy!
My going away party is on tomorrow evening. Going playing Laser Tag, and then out in Brandons. Should be fun!
But the old saying "anything that can go wrong..." still holds. In this case, an unprecedented mass stoppage of flights due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland. Go figure. It would take an act of God to stop me getting to Korea. I'll prepare to head off this Sunday, but it's looking increasingly likely that the plane is not going to get off the ground. Even if it does, the airports will be mobbed, and it'll be an absolute nightmare. Oh well. Keep you posted.
My visa is on the way back from Dublin with my brother. There was a moment of panic there when the embassy told me on Thursday that it hadn't been sent- thankfully I can count on Tommy!
My going away party is on tomorrow evening. Going playing Laser Tag, and then out in Brandons. Should be fun!
But the old saying "anything that can go wrong..." still holds. In this case, an unprecedented mass stoppage of flights due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland. Go figure. It would take an act of God to stop me getting to Korea. I'll prepare to head off this Sunday, but it's looking increasingly likely that the plane is not going to get off the ground. Even if it does, the airports will be mobbed, and it'll be an absolute nightmare. Oh well. Keep you posted.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
12 days now!
Not even counting in weeks anymore- it gets a little more real every day! Today was a particularly busy. I got the number for my visa application, and booked an interview on Thursday in the Korean Embassy. Also got my tickets emailed to me. I'm leaving on Sunday week, the 18th April- the same day as Maconn Fionn, and the day after the party I had organised. Guess I can't drink *too* much that night, really don't wanna be hungover for a sixteen hour plane journey!
I spent the rest of the day sorting out all my belongings into three piles- bring, bin, and give away. I've loads of stuff to give away if anyone is interested. The clothes were the hardest part though. Throwing away what were admittedly rags, but rags that have been friends of mine for a very long time, was very very tough indeed. My mother was amazed that I could do it at all! It really is amazing, though, the stuff you accumulate that you don't need and never really use. I've a big chest full of the things I just couldn't bear to part with, and this will wait in the attic for me until I get home. The bring pile is very small indeed, and perhaps it's just aswell- I'm only allowed to bring 20 kilos with me.
The other big thing I did was visit the barber. I went in and asked her to make me look really neat. This involved cutting my (not too long, but not short) hair, and shaving my beard. Ouch! I've had that beard for a long time now, and it feels so weird to be without- the breeze blowing across my face, the smooth feel of the skin there. I still think of myself as a man with a beard though- it's just that now it's hidden under my skin. I then went into Boots' and bought rasors, shaving cream, aftershave- the works. If you're going to do something, do it right!
So here we go- 12 days and counting. But you know what? I'm going to wake up tomorrow, and it'll only be eleven! Tempus Fugit, my freinds...
I spent the rest of the day sorting out all my belongings into three piles- bring, bin, and give away. I've loads of stuff to give away if anyone is interested. The clothes were the hardest part though. Throwing away what were admittedly rags, but rags that have been friends of mine for a very long time, was very very tough indeed. My mother was amazed that I could do it at all! It really is amazing, though, the stuff you accumulate that you don't need and never really use. I've a big chest full of the things I just couldn't bear to part with, and this will wait in the attic for me until I get home. The bring pile is very small indeed, and perhaps it's just aswell- I'm only allowed to bring 20 kilos with me.
The other big thing I did was visit the barber. I went in and asked her to make me look really neat. This involved cutting my (not too long, but not short) hair, and shaving my beard. Ouch! I've had that beard for a long time now, and it feels so weird to be without- the breeze blowing across my face, the smooth feel of the skin there. I still think of myself as a man with a beard though- it's just that now it's hidden under my skin. I then went into Boots' and bought rasors, shaving cream, aftershave- the works. If you're going to do something, do it right!
So here we go- 12 days and counting. But you know what? I'm going to wake up tomorrow, and it'll only be eleven! Tempus Fugit, my freinds...
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