I also need to come back to this post. I'm super tired (it's 5 am) and I really want to sleep. Just got back from night two out in temple bar and i think it's safe to say we're not going back out there. Well, not until after tomorrow's world cup game. Go USA!!!
Today I interviewed at CMRF and was truly inspired by them. They didn't hire me right off though, so I'm supposed to get a ring today (Friday) to find out if they wanted to take me on. Once again, a little stressful! If they do take me on I'll be using social media to reach out and make emotional connections with their potential donors and fans of their cause, which is totally up my alley. I really hope they hire me because the work they do for children and scientific research is incredible and I would be so thrilled to work in their ranks.
Like I said, I'm super tired. I will come back to these posts on Sunday to edit them and make sure I include what I did. I want to remember these days forever.
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On Thursday I had my interview at 4 in a district of Dublin called Crumlin, so most of the day was devoted to getting ready for the interview.
I got up with a little headache but went for a run with Carolyn at the park next to Dublin City University, DCU. The park is pretty large and full of paths perfect for runners. While we were running, I mostly walking because I didn't feel so hot, we saw lots of dogs off their leashes. There were cute little westies, hearding dogs, corgis, welsh terriers, everything! And they were all so well behaved. They pretty much ignored us completely.
After that lovely run, I got showered and ready for my interview. I wore a light blue button down with my gray suit and let my hair dry naturally (it's impossible to get my hair straight here with the moisture and voltage difference). I felt pretty confident, though very tired, and headed out for the interview.
I left the DCU and Santry area at around 2:30 and hopped on a bus that went down to St. Dame Street, right next to Trinity and the Old Bank. From there I had to walk down to find the correct bus to take me to Crumlin Children's Hospital, which was kind of difficult. Though I spent time trying to figure out the bus system on Wednesday, the only way I was going to learn about their public transit was to just go out and get on a bus. I finally found the right stop and the right bus and asked the driver to "call" me at Crumlin, since I had no way of knowing what the building or stop looked like.
While I was on the bus I changed my shoes to my heels and put on knee highs to cover the large bruises and cuts from my Georgia tubing adventure. I asked the people sitting behind me if they would help me identify my stop, which they were very helpful about. After getting off the bus and wandering around to find the building, which is totally unmarked and hidden by a large wall of hedge, I found the right place.
It's a rather new brick building that's a few floors high, but I had to circle the building a few times to find the door. It probably looked hilarious to the receptionist watching the closed circuit television, some random, dressed up girl, hobbling around in heels, trying to get in. I did get in though, and sat in a conference room until my interview started, arriving only 20 minutes before my interview. That's at least an hour of commuting in just one direction!
My interview went really well. I met Adele and Sarah, who will be my "boss" at CMRF. They told me all about the company and their current needs. What I'll be doing for them is connecting with the people who have become fans of their facebook page, listening and establishing relationships with them. CMRF has a unique perspective of their donors, looking more to establish real relationships with communities of people who care about the hospital, developing small and large fundraising events to fit the needs and interests of these communities. So while they'd like some of their facebook fans to donate and support the hospital monetarily, mostly they're looking to interact and empathize with them. I feel like I'm a fantastic fit, and I'm so excited to get started getting to know 60,000 fans of an amazing hospital.
My homework for the weekend is to become a fan and witness what they're up to on facebook. Also, I'll need to start learning about the healthcare system here in Ireland and the prevailing political atmosphere. If I want to listen to people, they need to know that I understand them and the issues they're facing. I'm an outsider, a foreigner, and I need to gain their trust.
I start at 930 on Monday and I'm so excited! My office is with Sarah, and they office place has a lot of people. I think my internship will be amazing and I'm looking forward to Monday.
After my interview I went down to St. Dame Street to waste some time before our special EUSA arranged dinner. I was feeling lost in the hustle of central Dublin, so I ducked into the nearest Starbucks. I was immediately comforted by the familiar smell and taste of a pipping hot soy latte. I ran into some friends from Arizona who were on their honeymoon (Hi Jeremi and Erin!!) and talk to them for a bit.
The coffee was just what I needed. I set out for the Brazen Head, walking along the Liffey and feeling on cloud nine, some thanks to the coffee and other to the excitement about my internship. At the Brazen Head we had a three course meal and listened to a storyteller speak about Irish history, Irish superstitions and a few traditional Irish folk tales.
The food was great, but listening to this man speak was the highlight of the evening. A major difference between Ireland and the US is the sense of living a history. In Dublin people interact with history daily: living in older buildings, walking in ancient Dublin, driving on old cobblestone streets, worshiping in old churches and communicating using old words for ancient villages. For instance, everyone knows where we live in Dublin when you say Santry or Crumlin. They're part of Dublin, but are the names of old villages that have been incorporated. The streets are straight, they change names and they have no grid, which frustrated me at first. But I've come to appreciate it because its a way to live the history of Dublin while I'm here.
I feel like my "people" in the US have a different sense of an emotional connection to history since it's much shorter and we don't live amongst our history in the same way. We, at least in Phoenix, like to build new things and plan perfect, predictable communities further and further away from the old. The potato famine, the 1916 rebellions and the 1918 Gaelic shootings are as big of the identity of an Irish person as 9/11 is to Americans. It's the struggle, the chaos, the fear, that gives a people a reason to come together and appreciate each other.
I'll have to write more about the cultural differences between the US and Ireland due to the affinity for oral versus written tradition another time.. I'm getting hungry for some lunch.
A few of us went out after the Brazen Head, this time sticking mostly to the Quay Bar in Temple Bar. Again, it's a tourist trap but we had a wonderful time!
I'm really loving it here in Ireland, but I miss you all in the US a bunch too!
