Month: May 2016

Missed Flight

On By EmilyinEarnestIn Ireland, Travel4 Comments

Today I was supposed to be on a plane to Dublin.

I was supposed to pack my life into a suitcase and a carry on, wonder what it would be like to be an au pair, read/watch/sleep my way through a non-stop flight and meet my would-be new host family when I stepped fresh off the plane.

But instead I slept in with my dog, went on a run, ate copious amounts of Mexican food and drank margaritas with a friend.

I feel like I should be sad or feel weird about the whole thing but I don’t, mostly because I have a plan.

I recently got in contact with a program out of Dublin called Stint Ireland. Stint coordinates both internships and gap years for college students and recent grads. They help you apply for your visa, and then organize whatever you need once you get to Ireland (cell phones, jobs/internships, housing — you name it).

They had an opening in one of their houses for June 28th and after looking through their website and obsessively stalking their social media, I decided to jump at the chance. The best part is that you live with other people your age in the house, which means you have an automatic group of people to travel and hang out with (not to mention the Stint staff does trips around Ireland, excursions to other countries and outings in the city itself).

Plans for Ireland are back on and I can’t wait to start my new adventure!

Up the Creek Without a Paddle

On By EmilyinEarnestIn au pair, Ireland, Travel3 Comments

So…

This past Saturday I graduated from college with a Bachelor of Science. After four years of desperate studying, hours in the library and countless stress-dreams about sleeping through exams, I finally received a diploma (well, I actually received an empty diploma holder, but they’re supposed to send me the real thing in the mail).

The night after my graduation, in the midst of my last night of celebrations with my friends all together in our dorm, I received an email.

My au pair family had cancelled on me less than two weeks before my flight to Dublin was meant to arrive.

I was devastated. God bless my friends for not panicking while I sobbed uncontrollably into their shoulders (good thing I had already drank half a bottle of wine when I received the news, or maybe not so good of a thing).

The family had a crisis, with one member being hospitalized, and they could no longer definitively offer me employment or a place to stay. Shocking and devastating as this was, my moderately buzzed self went straight from tears to action. I re-made my au pair account on aupairworld.com and instantly sent out messages to some families that interested me.

Today I skyped with a family in Cork, Ireland and hopefully that will turn out positively, but until I have more solid plans, I’ve cancelled my flight for the 19th of May.

This has been a setback but I will get to Ireland, even if it’s not in the way I initially thought.