Irish Summer
My promise of updating you throughout the summer fell through quite quickly! I've been very busy over the summer period and now that it's coming to a close I'll use the next couple of blogs to fill you all in on what I've been doing with my life over the past couple of months.
I decided after the Olympics that I would move to Dublin until my return to the University of Utah at the end of August. I was able to line up two jobs, one at a pharmacy and one at Paddy Power, the bookie giants of Ireland and most of Europe. If you haven't heard of them or their antics, be sure to look into them - they are quite entertaining. As I have been off university for the past two years I was not able to secure an internship in Dublin, something that I was hoping for. However, there is always next summer.
This summer was the first time I actually lived by myself in Ireland, working and being on the day to day grind. Usually, it would be summer holidays down in Kerry and Limerick, just completely free from responsibility. It was a good experience - finding my own place and meeting new people in the nation's capital. I can see myself living there permanently in the coming years. However, I wasn't expecting my schedule in Dublin to be that packed with work. I barely had any time to train or to visit my family in Limerick or Kerry, although I did make it down occasionally to keep up with all of them. All in all, it has been a good Irish Summer.
Brandon, Co. Kerry, is where I consider home. As you can see from the pictures above, it is my happy place. I was able to take my girlfriend down there to meet all of the relatives and see where I 'grew up' over the years. She used one word to describe it all, one that I've been using when I tell everyone about this place: Magical.
It was a busy couple of weeks after that in Dublin. I had constant work, as well as organising this upcoming season's plan with the Olympic Committee and the Snowsports Association. There have been some new developments with all of that, things I'll let you know about in the short future. It should be an exciting season, especially with the World Championships coming up in February of 2015, right across the Utah border in Beaver Creek/Vail, Colorado.
Although my schedule was quite tight, I was able to squeeze in a weekend with my girlfriend in Zurich, Switzerland, where she's working for the summer. I had flown in and out of Zurich quite a few times before, but I never spent time in the city itself, so it was nice to see the city with her. I was taken aback by how efficiently it ran and the amount of infrastructure it had for the size of its population - just over 400,000. There were about 20 tram lines, an underground metro, and plenty of suburban railways, all for such a small population. Dublin has a population of 1.2 million, and only has one suburban railway, and 2 tram lines.
Zurich is a really young city, with a lot of young money. It would be tough to make it in Switzerland, but I believe with the right idea this culture can offer a lot of opportunity. If it ever came to living on the main continent, this would be the place.
It was back to work after that, right up until the second week of July. I'll leave what happens then to the next blog that I'll post in the next two days. Talk soon!
/CL