Blazing Trails and Other Things......

Well, we have now been in Galway for 3 weeks, but there is still so much to learn! Marco is really enjoying his job. I think he is a gem on both a personal and professional level and they are lucky to have him. Anyway, Marco's work permit is through a program that Ireland just started in October to make it much easier to bring foreign researchers to the country. They don't have to go through the normal steps for a researcher to come, and it also allows the spouse (that would be me :o)) the right to work. So, I've started looking for jobs and I have been getting all sorts of different advice about the process of actually securing the work permit. I finally called the national employment office in Dublin today to learn that I am a trail blazer! Although there have been many researchers that have come under this new program, I am officially the first spouse to ever try and secure a work permit through the program. Even the guy who was the official point of contact didn't know what to tell me. So it seems that I will be helping the country of Ireland to figure out the process! haha. I know that I can work, it's now just a matter of figuring out the right paperwork and getting the right stamp in my passport. Maybe it will just take a little more time than we planned. Oh well, for now I'm going to try and get involved in some volunteer work. I have an appointment tomorrow with a volunteer organization to see what I can do. And I'm still enjoying sleeping in and walking around the city to find all of the good shopping centers. :) Life is good! So, I thought I would post a few pics of our new apartment. The first pic shows the outside and we are the one on the ground floor. Here you can also see the living room, dining area, kitchen and the master bedroom. We have lots of space (except for the kitchen!) and tons of windows. We also have a spare bedroom that is waiting for its first visitor.