Just a thought...

Yesterday marked my month since my arrival in Ireland. Today marks the fact that I haven't sat in a car in a month.

You're welcome body.

Goals and achievements for 2013

Was it only a month ago that I was heading towards the airport for my grand Irish adventure?

I still cannot believe how fast time as been going by since I’ve left Canada, and yet, I feel like I’ve been in Ireland since forever!

Between catching up with friends, making new ones, job hunting and getting familiar with my new city, I’ve had time to do some self-reflection. I am so happy that I decided to come to Ireland as the New Year started. Starting a new year in a new country, a new apartment, a new job… I feel like it’s the perfect opportunity to become the person I want to be for the rest of my life. And for that, I need to set goals and expectations so that I can keep focus of what I want to achieve.

First, what are my passions? Well reading for one, fashion, dance (even though I’m not a dancer), traveling… I believe that in order to be truly happy, you have to do the things you love. Why waste your time doing stuff you don’t like? You’ll simply end up wasting your day. Time will go by and all you will be left with is resentment.

So what goals can I set for myself that are in direct contact with my passions? Well, I’ve started reading again! It makes me so happy, to be able to loose myself in a story, to develop connections with the characters and to feel a hint of sadness when a really good book is over. I’m glad, because since I’ve been teaching, I stopped taking time for myself to simply lay down with a good book. It feels good to do so again.

As for fashion, I want to find a job in that industry. I would love to work as a sales advisor in a fashion boutique! I believe that, to be able to sell a product, you have to love it and believe in it. I have actually recently found a job in a small but busy coffee house, but I knew right away that I wasn’t meant for it because, well aside from the fact that I don’t even drink coffee, I don’t love or believe in the product, so there was no way I could be passionate about my job. So I decided to pass on the job offer because, not only did they want me to sign a 6 months contract with them, but did I really want to spend half of my year in Ireland completely miserable at my job?

For my dance passion, well that might me a bit trickier. I want to take dancing lessons, most probably salsa or ballroom. I need to start looking at different places, comparing prices and everything else. I’m going to assume it probably won’t be happening anytime soon, but over the course of the year, it definitely will.

Finally, for my traveling passion, my plan for this year is to travel as much as I can. Whether it is inside or outside of Ireland doesn’t matter. I simply want to be able to see as much of the world as I possible can!

Other things I want to focus on during my time in Ireland: My health. I want to eat healthier, makes well prepared meals but most of all, I am going to focus on having a better control on my diabetes. I also want to take up jogging once more (I actually miss it!) and Yoga. Writing is also something else I want to spend time doing. I love writing and find myself not dedicating enough of my time to it. I also love photography and have recently purchased a nice camera with changeable lens and everything so my photography skills are definitely something I want to work on this year also!

            With all this being said, I think I have a pretty full year ahead of me. I was told that making resolutions and setting goals is all good, but writing them down and talking to other about them helps you keep them. So here it is, the publication of my goals for this year:

·      Reading at least 5 books a month.

·      Working in the fashion industry.

·      Taking up dancing lessons.

·      Traveling to places including, but not limited to:

o   The rest of Ireland

o   England

o   France

o   Germany

·      Having a healthier lifestyle:

o   Tighter control over diabetes

o   Healthy eating

o   Exercising: Jogging and Yoga

·      Dedicating more time to writing

·      Develop my photography skills

My lifelong goal\dream had always been to live in Europe and I was able to achieve it, finally. I now have to find other things to focus on, and I think this list is a pretty good start, don’t you?

In the meantime, enjoy to pictures I took while I was enjoying a day in Kinsale...

My first week in Ireland

Has it already been a week since my arrival in Ireland? Really? It feels like it was only yesterday, and yet, it seems like I've been here forever.

This week has been quite extraordinaire: I got here just in time to celebrate a friend's birthday the day before celebrating New Year's Eve. I was also able to find myself an apartment and am now all moved in! It's a very small, one bedroom, but it's perfect for me! I cannot wait to fully decorate it and make it my own! I met many wonderful people who became good friends (I must say that all of my hostel roommates, and I there were 5 different ones, were pretty awesome!). I have visited many places, some of which I will certainly see again. I saw the film The Hobbit. I danced. I had a few drinks ( We are in Ireland of course!). But most of all... I laughed.

Tomorrow, I am heading towards Dublin for a week, and there will be a lot to be done (Going through orientation, registering with the Garda, opening a bank account...) but I am sure my week there will be just as grand and this one.

Have you ever had that need to be somewhere? As if a certain place simply called out your name and every particle of you is drawn to it? That is how I felt before coming back here, and every part of me now fells relief at being here once more.


When I landed in Dublin,  a week ago, I expected to have this rush, this feeling of excitement. I did feel those things, but not as intense as I thought I would. No, what I was mostly feeling was much more intense and much more relieving: I felt at home. It was as if my body was saying, "Finally, I'm here!".

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Fait-il déjà fait une semaine depuis mon arrivée en Irlande? Vraiment? C'est comme si c'était hier et pourtant, il semble que je suis ici depuis toujours.

Cette semaine fut tout à fait extraordinaire: je suis arrivée ici juste à temps pour célébrer l'anniversaire d'un ami, la soirée avant le fête du Nouvel An. J'ai également pu me trouver un appartement et je suis maintenant tout emménagée! Il s'agit d'un très petit appartement avec une chambre à coucher, mais c'est parfait pour moi! Je ne peux pas attendre d'avoir terminé de décorer et de le rendre mien! J'ai rencontré beaucoup de gens merveilleux qui sont devenus de bons amis (je dois dire que tous mes colocataires à l'auberge de jeunesse, et j'en ai eu 5, étaient superbes!). J'ai visité de nombreux endroits, dont certains je vais certainement revoir. J'ai vu le film The Hobbit. J'ai dansé. J'ai eu quelques verres (Nous sommes en Irlande après tout!). Mais plus que tout ... J'ai ri.

Demain, je me dirige vers Dublin pour une semaine et je serai certainement très occupée (assister à une orientation, m'inscrire auprès de la Garda, ouvrir d'un compte bancaire ...) mais je suis certaine que ma semaine il sera tout aussi superbe que celle-ci.

Avez-vous déjà eu ce besoin d'être quelque part? Comme si un certain endroit appelait votre nom et que chaque particule de vous est attirée vers cet endroit? Voilà comment je me sentais avant de revenir ici, et chaque partie de mon être semble soupirer de soulagement d'être ici une fois de plus.

Quand j'ai atterrie à Dublin, il y a une semaine, je m'attendais à ressentir un excitation pas comme les autres. Bien sûr, je l'ai bien ressenti, mais pas comme que ce à quoi je m'attendais. Non, ce que je ressentais était beaucoup plus intense: je me suis sentie chez-moi. C'était comme si mon corps disait: «Enfin, je suis là!".

Yours truly, Bien à vous,