Giraffes, Zebras & Kangaroos!

   I think I'm in love...with Fota Wildlife Park!! We went there yesterday and I was in my element! It was a photographers heaven!! The kangaroos run wild and are used to people being around, so if your careful, you can get real close for pictures!! We brought a picnic lunch and a baby kangaroo was snuggling its mama right beside us! It was ADORABLE!!      

There were so many giraffes, and it was nice to see that they really had so much space to run free! I would say they were my favorite! I don't think I've ever seen any of these animals in real life, our zoo in Saskatoon definitely is no comparsion to Fota!! We have a seasonal pass so you can be sure that I will be back, time after time!!

I'm convinced the giraffes in the photo are hugging -at least it's what I tell myself!! The zebras were pretty far off in the grass so hopefully next time I can zoom in a bit closer!! I also really enjoyed the monkeys on monkey island! There were 5 islands in all, and they would swing on the playground, having a grand ol time!! I like how in this photo, the monkey on the top is creeping on the mama monkey below who appears to be checking out her nails! Too cute!!

This week I also took the jaunt to Midleton, and found my way to Tesco! I was nearly struck by a car...traffic here is mad!! Crossing at the round-a-bouts is a tad scary too as no one seems to pay attention to the lights. I got to walk over a beautiful bridge above the stream, found some statues and eventually found my way to Tesco!!

Tesco is much like Superstore back home. It mainly carries groceries, but has your everyday things as well, along with some electronics and decor items! Its a fab store and the prices are pretty cheap, which is definitely a bonus!!! On my jaunt back home, I happened to find "Euro store" which is pretty much the European "Dollar store" I found the best t-shirt which I just HAD to buy!! It's your average store bought t-shirt so it will most likely be a pj top but anyways I love it!!! That's it for now, I'm off to buy fistfulls of postcards!!!

Love you all, missing you in Ireland

XOXO

Kayla

Sleepless in Ireland

    Jetlegg...it's a great thing isn't it?! Moving over here I went 7hrs ahead which originially i thought would be no big deal..wrong! The first few days were pretty rocky. I would be exhausted during the day and by night when I was really tired and headed for bed, as soon as I would lay down I would be wide awake, often not falling asleep until about 5am, and waking up @ 8am! Great stuff!
   I am definitely not in Canada anymore! For one thing, we wear our shoes in the house. This is something I aim to change. So far, were off to a good start! Another thing is we drive on the opposite side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. Streets here are extremely narrow and the round-a-bouts are scary!!! All the vehicles here are "gear shift" and run on diesel. Now, I have never driven standard so this is a whole new level of scary for me!! I am studying to take my Irish drivers licence in a gear-shift, since many of the road rules and street signs are different than from Canada! eeek!!!
   The vocabulary is another adjustment. We both speak English but it may as well be a whole new language. Words like "the boot" is the trunk of a car. "Hoover" is a vacumn. "Fringe" is like bangs". "Passenger car" is a van. I brought this certain word up trying to figure it out. If you think about it, all vehicles carry passengers so why is a van called a passenger car?? Here they say "thats gas!" meaning thats hilarious, and a gas station is called a petro station! When it comes down to it 7/10 words here are different so its been very interesting learning all the new vocabulary!

   My 1st week here has been a busy one! On my 2nd night here I walked into downtown Midleton which is about a 10-15min walk and met Elena, a spanish au pair @ the main pub called McDaids. Its the only pub here open until 2am. All others close @ 12am, as it is illegal to serve alcohol after that! I have gone on many walks thru the country side, thur Midleton, just exploring and getting my bearings in check! Here is a picture of McDaids!

On Saturday, I walked into town and hopped the bus to Cork City. Its about a 30min ride by bus. I walked all along St. Patrick Street going into the different shops, and exploring on my own. They have many different stores here which is really neat to shop in, but also have the familiar Tommy Hilfier and Gap. All of the locals are very nice as well! I met Marcel, who works as a DJ and is a bodyguard for a local radio station..I think. I also saw a man who does memorial paintings of the King of Pop on the sidewalks every Saturday!!

I also visited the English Marketplace here in Cork, which is a major tourist attraction. It reminded me of the farmers market on Grande Ville Island in Vancouver with all the seafood, meats, cheeses, you name it they had it!!

    My family here is amazing!! We had a big family lunch on Sunday and Jennifers parents bought me some sweets and her sister Deb got my Champagne as a welcome to Ireland gift! They have really gone our of their way to make me feel @ home which has really helped!! My new neighborhood is so cute and quiet! My room is upstairs in the elcove, overlooking the backard with my own bathroom. It's nice to be able to escape once and awhile if I want, and they have also created a tv "tellie" room upstairs where I can have personal space.

Its off the bed for me!

I love you, missing you in Ireland

XOXO

Kayla