Edit
Well, I'm in Ireland. So far, it's been exciting in a few ways that I really would have rather avoided, but overall it's great.
About one of the first things that both Kinna and I got to experience upon arrival was discovering that our ATM cards that were PROMISED by our respective bank branches would work abroad? You guessed it, utterly useless. So we get online, have a cordial little chat with the online support(as there wasn't really a way to call their U.S. free numbers without paying international fees), and figured out the problem. Their promises that it was perfectly fine to have a savings account with an ATM card on it, only works in the U.S. Wonderful, when your only real way to check if the card works or not before you get to another country is to trust your bank representative, and check on a U.S. ATM. Turns out that if you want to go abroad, you have to have a checking account. You can also imagine the joys of trying to force your bank to switch the account over to a checking account, and give primary control to a person in another country, who cannot sign any documents within the time-frame before they starve, and/or get kicked out of their apartment. Fun stuff, finding this problem out with your ATM card about the same time that your landlord informs you that they only take cash, no credit cards. Yee haw.
So, on the bright side, we both managed to get money wired to us from our bank accounts via parents. My brand-spanking new ATM card should already be on it's way over here, and I got to scare the living bejesus out of a help-desk woman who was willing to waste an hour of my time trying to pass everything off as simply being unfortunate on my part, instead of fixing it.
Really other than that, things have been going pretty well. The apartment is actually rather nice, could be considered "cozy." Granted when we first got here, it had a rather strange smell, thanks to a couple of things that the previous residents forgot to clean out, but now that everything has been cleaned, it's pretty nice. Bed's comfy, it's actually at a temperature that I enjoy, and everyone is friendly. Hell, you walk down the street and people will just merrily share a couple words with you while passing by out of nowhere.
By the way, any of you that have had Guinness before, and declared it too bitter? Part of the problem may simply have been that you were having to drink the bottled stuff. You go to the country of origin, have a pint, and it's far better fresh. Currently, it's been considered that Beamish is at 3rd place in favorites behind Murphy's, and Guinness.
I think that's what I'm going to leave it at for now. Need to make sure I have everything ready for a trek out to campus to look around, and make sure I'm ready for once Kat gets here. Kinna has pictures posted on her LJ, if anyone's interested.
About one of the first things that both Kinna and I got to experience upon arrival was discovering that our ATM cards that were PROMISED by our respective bank branches would work abroad? You guessed it, utterly useless. So we get online, have a cordial little chat with the online support(as there wasn't really a way to call their U.S. free numbers without paying international fees), and figured out the problem. Their promises that it was perfectly fine to have a savings account with an ATM card on it, only works in the U.S. Wonderful, when your only real way to check if the card works or not before you get to another country is to trust your bank representative, and check on a U.S. ATM. Turns out that if you want to go abroad, you have to have a checking account. You can also imagine the joys of trying to force your bank to switch the account over to a checking account, and give primary control to a person in another country, who cannot sign any documents within the time-frame before they starve, and/or get kicked out of their apartment. Fun stuff, finding this problem out with your ATM card about the same time that your landlord informs you that they only take cash, no credit cards. Yee haw.
So, on the bright side, we both managed to get money wired to us from our bank accounts via parents. My brand-spanking new ATM card should already be on it's way over here, and I got to scare the living bejesus out of a help-desk woman who was willing to waste an hour of my time trying to pass everything off as simply being unfortunate on my part, instead of fixing it.
Really other than that, things have been going pretty well. The apartment is actually rather nice, could be considered "cozy." Granted when we first got here, it had a rather strange smell, thanks to a couple of things that the previous residents forgot to clean out, but now that everything has been cleaned, it's pretty nice. Bed's comfy, it's actually at a temperature that I enjoy, and everyone is friendly. Hell, you walk down the street and people will just merrily share a couple words with you while passing by out of nowhere.
By the way, any of you that have had Guinness before, and declared it too bitter? Part of the problem may simply have been that you were having to drink the bottled stuff. You go to the country of origin, have a pint, and it's far better fresh. Currently, it's been considered that Beamish is at 3rd place in favorites behind Murphy's, and Guinness.
I think that's what I'm going to leave it at for now. Need to make sure I have everything ready for a trek out to campus to look around, and make sure I'm ready for once Kat gets here. Kinna has pictures posted on her LJ, if anyone's interested.