Greetings (still) from Florida! Of course, just like last year, since I left Dublin the weather has been great there. I've been enjoying torrential rain here in Florida for two days, so I'm starting to think that the gray skies just follow me wherever I go! My life has been wrapped up in traveling back and forth to visit my Dad in the hospital, but I wanted to share a couple of amusing things I managed to see here.

People in Europe get this impression that people in America are getting shot on every corner. While it's not quite that bad, guns are featured heavily both fictionally in US TV and movies, and in reality on the news. Gun control is obviously a major problem here. Now, I'm from the Northeast, which tends to be more on the liberal side in terms of politics and social issues. Down here in Florida, well, let's just say it's just not what I'm used to. So imagine my surprise at seeing "Rifleman" magazine in the doctor's office waiting room the other day:


Another amusing thing I saw the other day will definitely be funnier to my European readers. It was a car's license plate that I noticed while waiting at a stoplight. In the US we have "vanity plates," which are license plates you can make to say anything you want. Well, check out what this one said:

Q4BJ

I'm not sure if he meant what I think he meant when he got that plate, but it sure made me laugh!

Remember last summer when I visited my Dad in Florida? Well, I'm back there again. And you know what? I'm still excited for all the same things I was excited for during my last visit: warmer weather, iced coffee, Target, and of course most of all seeing my Dear Old Dad. We're hanging out, and I'm trying to stuff him with food while he tries to put up with my cooking. I don't have much that's original to say about being here (driving is still so much fun, the fake meat selection is amazing, etc), so I will just say please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. We're hoping he feels better very soon. Thanks!

A new week is upon us! This is my last full week in the US before I head back "home" to Dublin. I'm excited to see my spouse and my pet, though I will miss my Dad terribly. It's been fun having this time together. But alas and alack, I must return to "real life."

Real life entails worrying about how I can find a job or making some kind of income other than job seeker's assistance. I have been doing the old job search online (for jobs in Dublin) since arriving in Florida, but there's just nothing out there, which for someone like me is kind of amazing. I think the longest I've ever gone without working was one summer -- three months. And that was really only because I started back up teaching and school didn't begin until September! So this experience of being without work for seven months is...well, it's a lot of things: discouraging, stressful, challenging.

I'm still reading the Irish News though, to stay abreast of what's going on back there. And I have to say, it's pretty bleak. Here in the US we have words like "stimulus" and "plan" and "overhaul" in the headlines. New bills are being put forth, which gives the effect of action, new beginnings, you know, things happening. Reading the Irish news, you see "abuse victims," "tax," "protests," "crisis," and all manner of horrible things. And what is this "smart economy" anyways? I mean what is an "Innovation taskforce" supposed to be? Does that sound like a made up term or what? Is that really supposed to instill confidence in the Irish people? Yeah, everything's cool folks, Cowen's got his INNOVATION TASKFORCE working on it. Is Mr. T part of this team? I pity the fool who buys any of this BS.

And while I'm at it, I am sort of appalled at President McAleese's total blame of the abuse scandal on the abusers themselves. She says, “Those who switched off the light of love and hope in your lives, plunged our country into a terrible darkness.” Come on now. These victims could have gotten help for what happened to them decades ago if the State had cared. It's not like they didn't KNOW what was going on. Complacency of abuse is almost as much of a sin as the abuse itself, in my opinion. And it's only when backed into a complete corner does it seem like anyone will acknowledge this dark shadow on the country. But it isn't anything new. Seventy years. Seventy years! And what about the disadvantaged youth of Ireland today? Has it really come that far? According to a June 11, 2009 article in the Irish Times, "There are 6,000 children [in Ireland] at risk who do not have a social worker and 8,000 children have not even had a preliminary assessment." Know where they are ending up? Psych hospitals. Why doesn't Ireland make the fostering of its children a priority? According to this article, children are dying in State care and it isn't even being properly reported! As of June 12, "a total of 6,500 child protection cases [had] not been allocated a social worker." Do you realize how many kids that is? And in a country as small as this...it's truly heartbreaking. But it seems that heartbreak is the blood that pumps through Irish history.

Greetings once again from sunny Florida!

I am officially sunburned, despite my best efforts to slather myself in 45 spf. I forgot the spot on my lower back that became exposed when I was bending over gardening! Also, even with the sunscreen, my arms are still a little pink today from being outside about 7 hours over two days. So I guess I need to refuel with the spf after an hour or so. But the "farmer's tan" has arrived, I'm afraid!

And I'm still somewhat baffled by certain aspects of the southern US. For example, here's a photo I took of a billboard off of the highway:


Lovely, isn't it?

Here's another sign, placed at a traffic intersection:

It reads, "Get a Taser. Safe Effective. Easy to Use. Police Proven." The "Police Proven" part sort of baffles me, but I wonder how many calls they get from this sales "pitch."

One of my favorite places to visit down here is this gigantic flea market called, "Super Flea." The sign always cracked me up. Here it is:


Inside, you can get your photo taken with snakes and alligators. I didn't care to do that, but I took a shot of the poor snakes:


It's hard to describe what the inside of the super flea is like, and I didn't want to take a lot of photos because it's difficult to get a photo without a person in it. While you might be amused at a photo of the people at the Super Flea (I must admit that most of the people look like they conform to the fat American/redneck/hick stereotype), I wouldn't want to put anyone's photo on the internet without their permission. But there are rows and rows of cell phone and ipod covers, leather belts, T-shirts with transfers of deer and wolves and hunters with slogans like "I didn't work my way up the food chain to become a vegetarian" on them, thousands of tube socks, moving waterfall wall hangings, tools, hats, bandanas, weapons, and SO MUCH MORE. I particularly like this one area of the super flea, which is an asian dollar store where you can get all kinds of really funny do-dads. I took a photo of the entrance:


I guess it's been warm back in Dublin! I miss it. I guess I consider it home after all, since it's where my heart is.

Oh, by the way, I can't forget to mention Iced Coffee. HOLY CRAP boy did I ever miss iced coffee. I have had three since I got here, and each one has been heavenly. HEAVEN. The world just isn't right without iced coffee. And for $2.01 I can get myself a cup of this coffee heaven.

Driving has been so much fun! Now, I have to say that the last time I owned a proper car was really in August of 2005, though I did have a zipcar membership for a year, so I drove about once a week or so. I remember in my teens and twenties, it was difficult to go any lower than 80 miles an hour on the high way -- just "go go go go go." But after not driving for more than six months, and then living n Dublin where the driving is on the left side of the road, it is now really difficult to get up even to the 65 mile-an-hour speed limit! It feels *so* fast! Compared to walking, biking, and even the city bus, 65 miles an hour on the highway is practically the speed of light.

Tonight I went off on my own and made a visit to Target. Oh, Target, how I missed you so! It was glorious. I'm sorry -- I can't help it! I know this makes me "part of the problem," but for 50 US dollars, here's what I got: two sweaters (it might be sweltering here, thus causing things like sweaters to be mere pennies) but when I get back to Ireland, I'll get good use out of those sweaters!), a t-shirt with adorable piping ($3!), a bathing suit (50% off), a can opener, and a day planner. There was of course a lot of other stuff I wanted, but I managed to keep myself in check!

Then I drove back to my Dad's with the window down and the (easy listening) music up, and enjoyed the heat lightening up in the sky.

So one big part of being an ex-patriot is, of course, the visits back to your country of origin. I moved to Dublin almost exactly five months ago, and I am on my first trip back, somewhat unexpectedly, to the state of Florida, where my father lives, in the southern part of the US. (I am from New England, up in the Northeast.) So while this isn't a trip "home" for me, it is a trip to my homeland, and has a familiar feel to it, while also feeling like a completely different country all unto itself. The southern part of the US is different not only in climate but also in architecture, and many social aspects.

But to give you an idea of where I am, here's a photobooth picture from my computer of where I am sitting at the moment, out on my Dad's lanai, next to the pool, which overlooks a small pond, and the other houses in this (gated) community:


Note the blue sky. Yes, it's a far cry from the rain and cold I left in Dublin on Saturday! I will be here for a few weeks helping my Dad get his house ready to hopefully sell so he can move back up North. So if you like what you see, hey - maybe you would like to move to the warm weather of Florida! All you Irish folks reading my blog: just think of the Euro to dollar conversion. You would be living *large* in a tropical paradise on the space coast!

Anyhoo - being in Florida for me is honestly as much like being in a foreign country as Ireland. So I already have found myself taking photos of things that I find funny and/or unbelievable. I can see how my views have been altered by living abroad even for just a short time. For example. When we walked into the grocery store, Publix, which is just like any regular American grocery store, I had to take photos of the displays inside because they are so different than anything you'd see in Dublin:



Then, next to the Publix, I took a photo of the postage/mail store and pizza place, called "Goin' Postal" and "Soprano's Pizza," respectively.

Going postal of course refers to the idea that postal workers frequently lose their sanity and go into post offices and shoot everyone inside. Not *exactly* the most tasteful name for a business, but I will admit, kind of funny.

And then of course we went into the evilest of places, Wal*mart. Most of us acknowledge the failings of wal*mart, but I'm not going to lie and say I've never shopped there and won't ever shop there. We went in to buy a toy for my niece and some cards. But in the toy section, I was completely appalled by what I saw! Bratz(tm) dolls have hit a completely new low - holy crap they make Barbie look high class! Here's one doll for sale that looks like a whore:

But if you prefer your dolls to look like they belong in some kind of brothel, well here's the toy for you:

Check out those gold lame hot pants! Batteries and Sex toy accessories not included.

So for a few weeks this will be a bit of an "ex-pat's journey to a strange land" blog. I hope you still enjoy it!