Good and bad news

Ireland: "Gardai has a new suspect in Dublin murder case"
South Korea: "Kim Han-Neul to tie the knot with Lee Seo-Jun next month"
Finland: The government planning a rise in income tax percentage during the next reign"
Poland: Probably something similar to Finland
Australia: Something very similar to Ireland

Some things really cause the blood to boil

As you may have guessed, these are some examples of news headlines in different countries. When I first moved to Ireland I started to suspect that the country is full of madmen and an Irish mafia hit man is waiting for fresh victims around every corner. I left the office only after reading the news and making sure there wasn't major mayhem happening in our neighborhood. Then my roommate told me it's not so much about Ireland being a dangerous country than about media attention. In Ireland murders are the most interesting thing. And actually, that seems to be right. Statistically Ireland is even a safer place than Finland but still the Finnish media is much more focused on suggested changes in taxation, proposed cuts in salaries, etc. Who cares about a human life or two when there is a potential financial crisis lurking in the shadows. And maybe Finnish murders are too boring to hit the headlines because we're still a country where it's more likely to be stabbed to death by your family members than by a random guy on the street. Probably that's the origin of the common question "is this a family fight or can everybody participate?" (to be asked when you see a group fighting) By the way the Irish murders were usually connected to gang fights or drunkards taking it outside with fatal consequences. (Well, we have enough of that latter kind of shit in Finland, too).

So, all in all, in Ireland half of the area of the country is permanently isolated with crime scene tape and in Finland people are debating about a 0,00001% change in income tax rate, unemployment benefit or student aid. In South Korea people are always interested not only in the newest installments of the neighboring country but also in who are dating and who is about to settle down and be married with whom and live happily ever after, of course.

In Poland I never watched or read the news but I assume it's all about politics just like in Finland. And in Australia it's Ireland all over again. Murders, weather forecast and MasterChef. I think I'm going to move to Sweden. Their news are the most versatile.

Doctoral studies

The title doesn't refer to a university degree. This is a short empirical research on health care in Finland, South Korea, Poland, Ireland and Australia. Yeah, I've been sick all over the world. Not sure if it's something to be proud of. So anyway, here's how I got the idea for the story: I went to see a doctor yesterday because my ear was aching. It's nothing to be worried about so basically it was waste of time to go there, but at least I got the inspiration for this post.

Let's start from the beginning, namely South Korea. Korea is a paradise for the ones suffering from minor ailments. Koreans are in the habit of going to see a specialist no matter what kind of health problem they seek advise for. If your ear is aching, you go to see a doctor who specializes in ear related problems. You can make an appointment by walking into the health center, there are at least two of them in every block. The only problem in this approach is that you can't be sure if your doctor speaks English. But in general that's nothing to be afraid of. I didn't want to pay the international rate for the services provided by an international hospital and I never had any problems finding an English speaking doctor who had studies in the States.

So you don't necessarily need to book the appointment beforehand, just waltz into the health center when you need the services. I often did just that to get a prescription for whatever medicine it was that I needed. Usually I had to wait 15 minutes or so. How this is made possible- well I don't know but the system is working from the consumer's point of view. In my experience you'll lose 10,000-20,000 won in the process, roughly speaking 7-14 euros. You'll get your neatly packed medicine from any of the billion pharmacies. See example below. We couldn't read Korean fluently so we had no idea what kind of medicine they gave us. We used to joke that it was powdered dragon tail mixed with powdered clay pot but it sure as hell kicks in fast. Makes one wonder if there's something slightly opiatic involved.

In Finland I need to book an appointment beforehand, and I still need to wait 15 minutes, because at least 2 people are going to have parallel appointments with the same doctor (well at least you don't need to go into the examination room with that other 11:15 person.. yet), and the standard fee for seeing a GP is 20 something euros. To be fair to Finland, at least you get your prescription renewals for free (most of the time).

In Poland I had a private health insurance sponsored by the company I was working for. That means I got my sick leave certificate for free. The doctors spoke English and I didn't have any negative experiences with health care in Poland except maybe for the fact that once I had to sit 3 hours in a bus to get to the health center because an English speaking doctor wasn't available in the nearby health center. A big plus for Luxmed was their online booking system. By registering you were able to browse the available appointment times and even select your preferred doctor. Information technology makes being an introvert so much easier. Say goodbye forever to calling the customer service. "You are number 56 on the line".

Well then, hello Ireland. I went to get my sick leave certificate and asked if I can travel to Amsterdam when I've got a flu. The doctor said that there's no problem, just go for it but avoid taking too much drugs while you are not feeling well. What the heck? A doctor is supposed to advise against using drugs in any circumstances. Feeling a bit worried about the state of the Irish nation I left the place, being 30 euros poorer for this excellent piece of advise. Luckily I got to claim half of it back form the company sponsored health insurance.

And what about the price of consultation here in Australia where all the prices are inflated by default? Consulting the GP didn't cost me anything. Nada. Nix. I'm covered (limited coverage but still a coverage) by the national Medicare scheme so I didn't need to pay for the consultation. The bill goes to Australian government or whatever authority is providing the service. By all means, I'm not sad about that. It saves me the trouble of claiming the money back from my travel insurance. I guess I don't even try to claim back the 6 bucks I used for painkillers.

You know you are in Ireland when

Just decided to introduce Ireland's quirks. No offense meant.

1. Weather forecast is like a joke- it's raining anyway, especially in the winter, so why bother? Sometimes we might have an occasional storm. Like once a week. No wonder people are talking about the dreadful weather wherever you go.

2. There are so many pubs in your city that one year is not long enough to visit all of them. And one liver is not enough to live through the visits even if you somehow manage the challenge.

3. If the bus is on time there's something seriously wrong and you should be worried. Or maybe there's something wrong with the driver. Like, he knows how to read the time on a clock.

4. Every house is more or less moldy.

5. There is a hot water tap and a cold water tap in your bathroom. Separate taps! Try to get some lukewarm water. Yeah right.

Even Grandma's house is more modern..

6. The washing machine is in the kitchen and waste water goes to open sewer in the backyard. You don't have a hallway in the house where to leave your shoes and jacket, because it's quite all right to march in your muddy shoes on the fine carpeting.

7. The sweet smell of weed is thick in the air. That's OK, too.

8. There a re 2 doors in your bathroom. First one leads to your room and the second to your flatmate's room. Why should I be able to access her room from the bathroom? Anyone can explain?

9. Christmas is deadly serious business. Unless you want to risk a fine, you'll need to fix those ridiculous antlers to your car, preferably also a red nose to make it resemble a reindeer. If reindeer are not to your liking, you can choose a miniature Christmas tree instead.

10. No one knows your address but when you say you live quite close to Sober Lane, people can immediately place it on the map. All this in a country where zip code is not used. Why should we anyway.

11. Water is heated in a boiler, heating is on for a couple of hours a day. So forget about afternoon shower unless you need a cold one. The central heating is also on only for a couple of hours. Feeling cold? We have those small heaters we can use. Or just drink tea. Or buy a hot water bottle and name it George.

12. Try to rent a studio. Not gonna succeed, those things just don't exist and that's the beginning and end of it. All the houses are big and roomy as mansions and usually at least half a century old.

At least we are not living here

Occupation: rich

I was holidaying in Dublin about a month ago, considering my future and taking care of some errands. There, in the capital city of my new home country, I was sitting in a Starbucks, drinking my Christmas coffee (gingerbread latte) when a sudden thought struck me: I could actually include some posts about other topics than sight-seeing in my blog. At the same time, I thought of one of those other topics I'd like to write about: my future occupation.

Seeking inspiration in Temple Bar

Lately I have been extremely fed up with my own mediocrity. How is it even possible not to be good at anything or interested in nothing? A healthy person should have something in her life to be enthusiastic about. No wonder the days feel so gray and dull. What's the point of your life if everything is like Finnish summer: cold, short and gray? But then I just knew the one thing I'm good at, maybe even perfect. I would make a damn good rich.

In case I'll become rich today, I already figured out it might be a good idea to invest in arts and antiquity. These treasures can be found at National Museum. By the way, admissions free.

I wouldn't be mediocre at being rich. I could easily spend my days sitting on my ass on the peach-colored sofa in a nice living room, watching the sunset in Southern Europe through deadly expensive designer curtains. I could spend my days in shopping malls, causing my credit card to scream in pain purchasing Vuitton handbags and other girly must-haves. I could (if I'd like to) participate in charity events and dedicate my time for study of East Asian languages and cultures ( probably without any success whatsoever but it wouldn't matter as I would be rich).

My Mom always remember to remind her greedy offspring that money can't buy happiness. Of course it can't buy happiness, you silly, happiness is not a commodity. But dear reader, the more numbers you have on the account, the easier it is to survive. Think about it, seriously. Wouldn't it be nice if you didn't need to worry about rent and other living costs? If you didn't need to go to work everyday except if that's your hobby? Instead, you could have time to develop yourself and enjoy the life. Yeah, money won't bring happiness, it's only numbers on the account but the crude fact (that doesn't sit well in the protestant ideology and work ethic) is that the more numbers you have, the easier it is to survive in this capitalist world where almost everything has a price tag. Yeah.

In a park in Dublin

Blarney Castle

In order to prevent Monday depression, the evil, from attacking already on Sunday it's a brilliant idea to make a day trip to a neighboring town. You'll feel like you're on a holiday and holiday makers are well known for being less stressed than their working fellow creatures. Some time ago we decided to visit Blarney Castle, which is known for the Blarney stone. The rumor has it that if you kiss the stone you will be given the gift of eloquence. But because such gifts are not fore the scaredy-cats or those with a weak spirit, the stone is placed at the very top of the castle on the wall so that you'll need to lie down on your back and lean over a gap in order to accomplish the task. So no thanks, I don't mind about the gist of speech that much, I'm perfectly happy just writing my thoughts here.

The castle itself is in quite a shameful condition, only a skeleton of a castle has survived the times and because in Ireland we are not in the habit of building anything new (and I plan to write another critical post about the housing situation and financing construction of apartments in Ireland, so keep following this site), nothing has been done to better preserve this particular piece of history.

Blarney Castle

The castle is surrounded by beautiful gardens, druids' coves and there's even a witch's kitchen and stairs that will grant your wish, certain terms and conditions being accepted and met. Standing in a druid's circle you'll be safe from the evil spirits for a while. There's much to explore, so be sure to book a whole day in your calendar for Blarney. These crazy Finnish immigrants spent hours walking in the forest and taking photos of impressive trees (yes, trees, as we don't have forests and trees in Finland :D ) Anyway, in Finland you hardly ever see a palm-like fern or massive trees imported from North America, so Blarney garden was an exotic experience for us.

Flowing water has a good feng shui

Next to the castle there's the best tourist attraction ever called the poison garden. At least I felt an instant relief thinking about the plant that could possible solve all my problems in no time at all. In poison garden you can make friends with everyone's favorite, marijuana, poison ivy or foxglove. Poison ivy and marijuana had been isolated in their own little cages as they are generally seen not suitable to be a part of the society but foxglove was allowed to freely grow on its own little flowerbed. Just pick a couple of leaves and cook your own medicine.

All time favorite

Marijuana in a prison

Poison ivy can cause a nasty rash..

Cobh

10:30, Sunday morning, coffee at the railway station. What the hell has happened to the plan to sleep late? Well, I'm on my way to Cobh and I really wish to maximize the time spent there.

St Colman Cathedral in Cobh

To begin the story with a short introduction to Cobh: former name of the city is Queenstown and the city is well known for 2 incidents, neither of them pleasant. Firstly, Cobh was the last harbor Titanic visited on her first and last voyage to America. Secondly, Cobh is the city where victims of RMS Lusitania accident were buried after the ship sunk, being struck by a German torpedo during WWI. I'm not going to quote Google any longer, so so don't worry. It's time I described the trip itself.

Cruisers keep visiting the harbor despite its sad reputation

Traveling to Cobh from Cork is easy enough, all you need to do is to get to the railway station and buy a ticket. Return ticket costs around 9 euros and there are several connections a day, so no worries if you happen to miss your train. When you finally get to Cobh, probably the best way to start the day there is to visit Titanic Experience, which happens to be very close to the railway station. Titanic Experience Museum is located in the original ticket office of White Star Lines, where (and in vicinity of which) the passengers about to board Titanic were waiting for the ship to take them to better future. The entrance ticket to the museum looks like the authentic ticket of the passengers. Even the information on meal times is included. (See picture below). During the guided tour you will hear the story of Titanic in short, see the pier where the passengers said goodbye to their lives in the old world and even experience the evacuation to life boats when Titanic started to sink, women and children first. (At least this time it was beneficial to be a woman).

Bridget Mary O'Sullivan's third class one-way ticket to an early grave

While in Cobh it's easy to visit Spike Island, an island that has served e.g. as a fortress and a prison. The island made it to the news in 1985 when a riot broke out in the prison. Prison was closed in 2004 as it was not deemed suitable for the purpose anymore.

If we ever run out of money and can't afford the rent anymore..

Instructions for those with a sad lack of common sense

A visit to a prison is a very interesting experience but I was relieved to know my sentence was only a couple of hours. It was time to board the boat that took us back to the city and continue to the old cemetery where the victims of Lusitania rest. (Mind you, the road to the graveyard is not easy and most of it goes uphill). 

Lusitania memorial

And here is a tombstone providing me my daily fix of black humor. The symbol on it does look like a dollar sign, right?

Here lyeth the rich, hit by a drastic inflation

All in all, if you are interested in the history, visiting Cobh will be worth your while. Do check the weather forecast before planning your trip as most of the sights are outdoors. Now I'm officially tired of writing so I'll close the business for the day. See you next time!

Come rain or shine- most likely rain

If you happen to be made of sugar and are afraid of melting in the rain, don't come to Ireland. As a matter of fact, steer clear of the British Islands. You'll understand what I mean after reading through a typical day in our live:

Around six o'clock in the morning you are cruelly awakened from a pleasant slumber by the persistent alarm clock. It doesn't matter so much, however, as you notice that it's sunny outside. You are feeling great and energetic and run downstairs to get your clothes from the drying rack, only to notice that your jeans are still damp. Hmmm that's funny since you did the laundry three days ago.. Well, anyway, you've never let small things depress yourself. Instead of worrying about the clothes you decide to eat breakfast, greedily grabbing the bread.. that is green because of mold. Never mind, you've always preferred yogurt anyway, so you finish your breakfast and run for the bus. In a hurry you forget your umbrella, but it doesn't matter since it's going to be a sunny day.

Forgetting the umbrella starts to get on your nerves when you walk to the bus and the first shower catches you unprepared. Well then, this is Ireland, it's supposed to be rainy, so no worries. At least you won't get rained on in the bus.

The next shower catches you when you walk from the bus stop to work. Never mind, you have the entire day to dry your rags at work. You feel lucky because you can sit inside and watch the rain fall every fifteen minutes, hoping that your bus will arrive during the non-rainy 15 minutes. It's your lucky day so you get home relatively dry.

Evening walk a moment before the rain

The beautiful sunset tempts you outdoors. You locate your sneakers and .. it's raining again. You wait for a couple of minutes and the rain recedes. You decide to run in order to maximize your exercise. All in all the day has been a success. You are going to bed but decide on a shower first. You are not even surprised to notice that the towel is still damp from yesterday's shower.

From Ireland with love, Cathy

Working to end homelessness

Apartment hunting in Cork was really a challenge or how else would you describe a situation where a myriad number of students and other immigrants like myself are all fighting to get one shoe box-sized mouldy room. After countless hours of despair we finally managed to force our deposit on a unsuspecting house owner who had no choice but to let us in in this 3-storey lovely apartment in the city center. I'm so never moving out of this house.

The first weeks here have been so hectic it feels like I've been living here at least a year. We have applied for PPS numbers, bought prepaid phones, opened bank accounts and even the health care has been taken care of. So life seems pretty secure, right? Time to get to know the new home country, right? Kinsale is a nice place to start exploring Ireland.

Atlantic waiting

We arrived in Kinsale during the low tide. Poor river looks so sad without its water.

Low tide

Charles Fort was really worth visiting.

The day was really sunny and would have been even warm without the wind. The weather has been suspiciously nice ever since we arrived. I wonder if I will ever be strong enough to live through the rainy days when the weather changes :D But at least it won't be snowing here in Ireland.