In a span of 5 days i took over 1000 photos, so in that sense i was the true tourist. Any chance i got, i busted out the camera and was trigger happy. Overall i had a great time and i even came home with a tan and a sun burnt nose. I thought Germany was pricey but Ireland is super expensive!
It's crazy.
On Friday there was some communication breakdown between us and them - them being J's ex and the ex's current boyfriend, but eventually that was cleared up and we all got on like a house on fire.
The very fact that i could converse in English made it so much more easier. Apart from J, my sister and my parents, i don't really speak English to anyone else. So being able to have a long conversation and to be understood felt sooooo good. Simple things like being able to leave the room and still being able to understand what's going on on the TV because it was in a language i understood, made me feel so much more comfortable.
Anyway, back to Us & Them, it was strange at the start.
I would imagine i had been flung back into J's past and i was in fact watching his past life with him and his ex. There we were sitting in the kitchen and our daily lives going by.
Not sure how to explain it but the whole situation is still very strange and new.
But we even went to the extent of all of us sitting down at the dining table and having meals together. Like one big happy family. And from the outside everyone seemed to be getting along just fine. We got along with the boyfriend and although the standard breaking-of-the-ice questions about the weather did come up, there weren't any uncomfortable silences. If all else fails, just talk about how great Little L is improving in English or how cute Baby A has become.
But we all agreed at the end of the day, all this effort was for the sake of the children and that that we all have to make this work.
But i have to say it was an exhausting trip but worth the visit. Basically from door to door it took about 12 hours. (Düsseldorf > Dublin > Waterford). Why is it that we're so close on the map yet so far in real life?
Oh and can i add, that i think it should be compulsory for all, especially children to cover their mouths when they cough! I curse that red-haired leprechaun child who insisted on coughing non-stop without covering her mouth throughout the whole plane journey back home.
I'm surprised there wasn't an announcement on the plane. On our flight from Düsseldorf to Dublin, the stewardess informed the passengers of Swine Flu and that should they need to cough or sneeze, they should do so in a tissue. And then continued on to informing us of ways of preventing the spread of germs - which i thought was good.
But what about the flight from Dublin to Düsseldorf? NOTHING! There was no such announcement.
Apparently this little girl and her mother hadn't heard of common courtesy and manners. And because of her, she is probably now spreading her germs in the city that i live in. In fact, i've heard most of the swine flu cases in Germany are here and it's only those damn travelers to blame!
Seriously, my paranoia made me even move from my original window seat to the vacant aisle seat. J even directed the air flow to blow in her direction, in hope that the germs would backfire and fly back into her face.
Seriously, it was so disgusting, i kept saying out loud, "COVER YOUR MOUTH CHILD!", hoping that she would hear or that her mother would get the idea. I kept turning around and giving her the evil stare. I didn't care. I don't want to be sick.
And the minute we were allowed to disembark from the plane, J and i bolted out the door. Her coughing kept following us. I swear, it was like a living nightmare. You should have seen the paranoid faces of the passengers who sat near her. Everyone looked quite stressed out each time she coughed.
All i can say is, please let me NOT be sick in the next couple of days.
Anyway, give me some time to sort through the pictures and collect my thoughts. I'll be back soon...
It's crazy.
On Friday there was some communication breakdown between us and them - them being J's ex and the ex's current boyfriend, but eventually that was cleared up and we all got on like a house on fire.
The very fact that i could converse in English made it so much more easier. Apart from J, my sister and my parents, i don't really speak English to anyone else. So being able to have a long conversation and to be understood felt sooooo good. Simple things like being able to leave the room and still being able to understand what's going on on the TV because it was in a language i understood, made me feel so much more comfortable.
Anyway, back to Us & Them, it was strange at the start.
I would imagine i had been flung back into J's past and i was in fact watching his past life with him and his ex. There we were sitting in the kitchen and our daily lives going by.
Not sure how to explain it but the whole situation is still very strange and new.
But we even went to the extent of all of us sitting down at the dining table and having meals together. Like one big happy family. And from the outside everyone seemed to be getting along just fine. We got along with the boyfriend and although the standard breaking-of-the-ice questions about the weather did come up, there weren't any uncomfortable silences. If all else fails, just talk about how great Little L is improving in English or how cute Baby A has become.
But we all agreed at the end of the day, all this effort was for the sake of the children and that that we all have to make this work.
But i have to say it was an exhausting trip but worth the visit. Basically from door to door it took about 12 hours. (Düsseldorf > Dublin > Waterford). Why is it that we're so close on the map yet so far in real life?
Oh and can i add, that i think it should be compulsory for all, especially children to cover their mouths when they cough! I curse that red-haired leprechaun child who insisted on coughing non-stop without covering her mouth throughout the whole plane journey back home.
I'm surprised there wasn't an announcement on the plane. On our flight from Düsseldorf to Dublin, the stewardess informed the passengers of Swine Flu and that should they need to cough or sneeze, they should do so in a tissue. And then continued on to informing us of ways of preventing the spread of germs - which i thought was good.
But what about the flight from Dublin to Düsseldorf? NOTHING! There was no such announcement.
Apparently this little girl and her mother hadn't heard of common courtesy and manners. And because of her, she is probably now spreading her germs in the city that i live in. In fact, i've heard most of the swine flu cases in Germany are here and it's only those damn travelers to blame!
Seriously, my paranoia made me even move from my original window seat to the vacant aisle seat. J even directed the air flow to blow in her direction, in hope that the germs would backfire and fly back into her face.
Seriously, it was so disgusting, i kept saying out loud, "COVER YOUR MOUTH CHILD!", hoping that she would hear or that her mother would get the idea. I kept turning around and giving her the evil stare. I didn't care. I don't want to be sick.
And the minute we were allowed to disembark from the plane, J and i bolted out the door. Her coughing kept following us. I swear, it was like a living nightmare. You should have seen the paranoid faces of the passengers who sat near her. Everyone looked quite stressed out each time she coughed.
All i can say is, please let me NOT be sick in the next couple of days.
Anyway, give me some time to sort through the pictures and collect my thoughts. I'll be back soon...
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