• l:47905 #

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• Just got on the bus to Shannon airport. Going to Chicago via Dublin. Will be in America for a month. #
• Free WiFi at Shannon Airport (SNN) Ireland, WOOT! L:Shannon, Ireland #
• Boarding time now delayed by 45 min, thankfully I have the WiFi. #
• Boarding has been delayed for another 20 minutes. #
• Location: cabin of an Airbus A 330…finally! #

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Northern Ireland Assembly

Yesterday marked an historic day in Irish history marking the start of a power sharing agreement in the Northern Ireland Assembly which devolves, or restores home rule, the government of the region. New First Minister Dr. Ian Paisley (left in picture), member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said, “I believe that Northern Ireland has come to a time of peace, a time when hate will no longer rule.” Sinn Féin member and new deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness (right in picture) and Paisley were not seen shaking hands during the swearing-in but according to the Irish Times, “their relationship appeared relaxed and cordial.”

Peace in the North long in the making

As one of my Irish friends once told me, the struggle between Ireland (the Republic) and “The North” is one of the longest wars in history, dating back to the 12th century during the rule of Henry II. A journalist I met while on a trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland this January suggested that there will never be peace in Ireland until the six counties in Ulster are restored to form a full 32 county Republic. Since the beginning of The Troubles from 1969, over 3,500 people have died through 2001. The Good Friday agreement, signed on that day in 1998, established the Northern Ireland Assembly and devolved government. There have been several suspensions of the Assembly since 1998, and yesterday’s restoration marked a new era with agreement in the Executive to share political power amongst both Unionists and Nationalists.

As I’ve said before, I’m not in a very good position to form an opinion one way or another about the Northern Ireland Assembly, but I do know that May 8 is an historic day that hopefully will restore peace to Ireland.

I took this while in Belfast, Northern Ireland and submitted it to the “America” theme on JPG magazine.

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I was at the beach this weekend with my son flying a kite and realized I needed some new sandals. My basic Teva sandals have served me well for for over 4 years, but they are showing their wear so I think it’s time to think about investing in a new pair. I was surfing around (sorry for the pun) and found a great site with loads of deals on men’s and women’s Reef sandals, among other brands. Active Sandals features a big selection by Reef, Rainbow, Chaco, Keen, Medium, Cobian, Crocs, Birkenstock and others. They also have a clearance section where I found some sandals to be nearly 50 percent off regular price.

The site is designed to shop primarily by brand within men’s or women’s styles, so you have to know where to start somewhat. However, a nice feature is the ability to see recently viewed items at the bottom of each page. I liked the ability to see relatively large photos of each sandal style as well as to compare different brands. I’ve had good luck with Keen shoes so I might give their sandals a try. The flip-flop style Reef sandals look great too and would be nice to have around for trips to the beach here in Galway.

Chances are that whatever style of sandal you’re looking for, Active Sandals will have them. Currently they have a big clearance sale as well as free ground shipping on all orders over $75.00, which is great if you’re ordering more than one pair. Active Sandals ships to US addresses only and is rated 5 stars by Yahoo Stores.

DISCLOSURE: This was a paid review.

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This list of monthly top ten posts is much more timely than last month’s. So here goes…

1. Review of Inis Mor, Aran Islands
2. Calling all Americans: Act on global warming today
3. Jimmy CraicHead TV visits Galway
4. Global warming likely caused by humans
5. Boycott bottled water
6. Irish slang and St. Patrick’s Day
7. Hacking the New York Times: Times Select
8. Hot Fuzz movie review
9. About the author
10. Beer options in Galway

I want to thank all of my readers and encourage you all to subscribe to my blog.

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Here’s to many more top ten lists!

What a relief! Exams are done and I can stop studying!

Exams in Ireland

Exams in Ireland, and I think in most European institutions for that matter, constitute the bulk of your grade for a course. In most cases, the 2 or 3 hour exam accounts for 100% of your marks! Talk about pressure… I had four exams in the past week, two of them counted for 100%, one was for 70% and the other for 60% of my course grades. Needless to say, I think I got a few more gray hairs and a few more wrinkles around my eyes from studying, on top of my research.

It’s been a huge challenge for us this year: moving the entire family to a foreign country, selling our home in St. Louis, taking out student loans to pay for 100% of our expenses, moving to a new apartment after the first 3 months of living in overpriced hell (make sure you do not agree to lease a place without physically examining it first like we did!), managing a three year old that gets sick all the time because of the Galway water problem that was only announced about 1 month ago but was apparently kept secret for most of the time we’ve lived here. This certainly has make it difficult for me to boycott bottled water lately…

Great Craic

Sorry for the rant, but not all was bad about our first several months here. We’ve had some great craic in the Galway pubs. And, we’ve met some fabulous people from all over the world right here in little old Galway City. I had to say goodbye today to a German girl that shared the same passion, perhaps even more so, for economics as me. Best of luck Fran! I’m also going to have many more goodbyes in the coming days as many of us will part ways. So tonight, I will celebrate with some great craic, pints, and a football match at The King’s Head tonight.

Thanks for your patience during my blackout on this blog for the past several days.

Slainte!