January's Last Day

On our way to school tomorrow Maggie will announce to  me that another week has gone by. She definitely prefers the weekends here. Tonight at dinner when announcing her "highs and lows" she talked about her low being going to school and her high being coming home. Prying parents that we are, Sheila and I probed. She doesn't talk about school at home like this, and it certainly isn't harder for her. She insisted that it's just school and that everyone would prefer the weekends over the weekdays. We still worry some.

 It was a fairly normal day today with the three of us heading off to school. Sheila had to go into Dublin today to pick up a particular French book for Maggie at Trinity College. She then poked around town a bit.

I grabbed a few pictures of UCD for the record and headed home after class. Here's the view from my office on a sunny day.

Here is the Geary Institute:


The campus is not particularly beautiful. Mostly 1970s buildings, with a few more postmodern types sprinkled in (pictures to come). They are making a "lake" in its center which will definitely be nice.

These photos are taken outside the building that houses the economics department (a total 1970s cement monstrosity made of four or five buildings that look like blocks put together haphazardly--pictures to come):

I grabbed lunch at the Centra across the street, standing in "queue" with all of the students for a sandwich. I know that this is a Western European country with quite similar food, but it still took me a while to understand what the sandwich options were and I still don't quite know what I got or what the options were to make it better. It looked like breaded chicken with various toppings to be put into a baguette. The toppings included all the usual suspects, but you could also add french fries, ketchup or potato salad.

I biked home and ran by a little corner shop near Maggie's school to pick up some bread and the best chocolate chip cookies in the town.

I got caught in a short shower right after this and then met Johnny and Sheila at tennis.

We are starting to plan a few getaways since the kids have a short break mid-feb and then our back-to-back long spring breaks happen in March (and the flights are unbelievably cheap-$70 to Paris round-trip). I have two weeks off and then the kids have another two weeks off directly after that. Our big trip will be to Greece to see my cousin Jeanne (and the sun). We are looking at heading to Athens and then around to her on the west coast in Arta or to fly into Corfu and head south to her.

Here's our bucket list:

1. Paris (I've never been)
2. London (kids have never been)
3. Rome and Asisi (this is Sheila's bucket list but I'm certainly game)
4. Scotland (my sister-in-law is coming and we're planning to take the ferry from Belfast)
5. One hurling game in Croke Park
6. One "football" game against Liverpool (see yesterday's post)
7. One rugby game in Aviva stadium (four stops up on the Dart)
7.5. I'd love to see some Belfast Giants hockey but their season may run out faster than our ability to get up there
8. Lots of touristy things around Dublin
9. A trip to Galway with Sheila's folks
10. Back to Dingle and Inch Beach, with Cork and Kinsale on the way home

Suggestions welcome!

James Joyce's Pub

I thought I'd give you a better sense of our everyday with some pictures today. Mandy reminded me to make sure I take pictures of even everyday stuff so that we would remember.The time is already starting to speed by, so I can no longer wait to document the everyday.

I was going to take a few pictures across campus, but got caught in a downpour, so I waited until I was safely inside my office:

It is a lovely office. I can facetime and/or skype there for "free" (i.e. not soak up our rationed internet), so that's where I tend to call family (or at least those in the US willing to wake up between 5 and 7 a.m.!). My brother noted that the office looked like a cell block. It is empty (I brought only a couple of books) and the walls are made of cinder blocks. But it is in a new building and it has a window that overlooks a little park with a red sculpture!

This is a million times nicer than my windowless office at home whose back wall abuts the economics department office door that slams continuously, shaking my bookshelves, all day long.

The rain came and went all day long and I hardly got wet!

This was my short day, so I headed back to town at 1ish ("half one") to have lunch with Sheila. I picked her up at Starbucks. Here is the outside of the building. I included the same link here as I did on a previous post because one of the comments is about the fantastic old postal building that houses the coffee shop. Here it is from the front. It reminds me of the Bruggers Bagels in our Minneapolis neighborhood that occupies an old firehouse.

We are working our way through the restaurants in this little village. Today we decided to dine in a pub frequented by James Joyce, called Jack O'Rourkes.
 
I can't seem to avoid the man (I'm not sure anyone can avoid him while visiting Dublin), but I've always had this ambivalent feeling about him. A mentor of mine from college did her dissertation on him and I've always wanted to read Ulysses, however, despite the fact that Sheila's mom gave it to me for one birthday, I have yet to do so. I must have some sort of mind block because I love difficult writers* and don't generally shy away from their challenging texts. Maybe while sipping a pint in his pub, living a few blocks from one of his childhood homes (in 1892 his family moved to a large semi-detached house in Blackrock called Leoville at 23 Carysfort which now appears to be an office now for a few lawyers**), and teaching where he spent a few college years, I will finally get through it.***

Colleen Rourke Werle (an Annunciation mom-friend of ours) spent some time in Dublin after college working at SuperQuinns and has set us up with a good friend of hers! He's taking us to Howth on Sunday. We promised to enjoy a Carlsberg in her honor. Here's to you Colleen and thanks for the hook-up! We're psyched to meet someone new and see a bit more of the area.

(As an aside, check out those women in the background. You can't believe what these people eat for lunch! Granted, statistically, the Irish tend to weigh more relative to other Europeans, but NOT compared to Americans... The two women at the very back seemed to be sisters meeting for lunch. They had some kind of curry or lasagna in a bowl, french fries, a huge latte and a piece of chocolate pie. The older gal in the middle had a huge portion of "casserole" -- beef in delicious gravy with mashed potatoes. None of these women seemed to be heavy. Seriously. I've never seen an American woman eat like that at lunch. Sheila and I split an order of fish and chips which, along with the beer is a decidedly non-American lunch, but seemed reasonable alongside these hearty women.)

On the kid front, Maggie came home with this "maths" result:

 I wish I could be so casually good at something as she is at math. We are keeping up with the Annunciation math homework as they are working on a different subject here. She's doing basic geometry (as you can see above) here and we can't ignore the algebra they are getting back home. We spend about 20 minutes per day working through the Annunciation text. She seems to both come by it easily and despise it.

Johnny literally walked out of his shoes today (they fell apart) so we headed into the town after school and picked up some new tennies ("runners" here) and a set of Match Attax cards for 80p. He's jumped right in to collecting these cards with soccer ("football") dudes on them, claiming his favorite team is "Liverpool" (no idea where that came from. The only sport we usually have on television is ice hockey). We even learned the real game tonight (pictured below). This was far better than his made-up game in which he would simply play his "best" card (i.e. one with highest combined values for "attack" and "defense" thereby winning every single time). 

At school both kids are learning from a distinctly Irish perspective, while at home, as I said, I am increasingly becoming interested in Irish history (both ancient and modern). Maggie is learning about the Romans ("did you know that the Romans didn't colonize Ireland because it was too cold?" -- She's right. Here's the Wikipedia quote: "It is likely that the Romans saw a connection between these historical names and the Latin word hibernus meaning wintry. In any case, the Roman historian Tacitus, in his book Agricola (c. 98 AD), uses the name Hibernia.").

Johnny is learning some Gaelic but also about Irish explorers like Tom Crean. Nicknamed the "Irish Giant", Crean was an Antarctic explorer from Co. Kerry who through his bravery and endurance won three polar medals. Here he is:

Tom Crean, in full polar travelling gear.

Tom Crean with sled dog puppies, Feb 7, 1915.

For those of you anticipating a post from Sheila, I am urging her and I know ideas are brewing. Keep patient!


*My current favs are Jonathan Franzen and David Foster Wallace.

 **If you look at this map of his old house we are literally around the corner on "Brookfield Terrace." For those of you interested in maps, you can see how close we are to the little village and the sea. Maggie's school is north on the map off of Sydney Avenue and Johnny's is southwest before you get to Newtownpark Avenue. You can't see the park that we ride through on the map, but you can see there are no roads there.

***I just bought the complete works of James Joyce on my Kindle for $1.49.

This Just In: the Burkes and the Kirwans... Cousins?

In my readings of the Dublin area I explored the land that is in view from the gorgeous Starbucks on the Sea.

The land is called Howth (pron: "Howt" as told to us by the cab driver on our very first morning. I was completely exhausted and barely understood anything he said, but I do remember his insistence at explaining how to pronounce the place).

According to Wikipedia about Howth:

"A popular tale concerns the pirate Gráinne O'Malley, who was rebuffed in 1576 while attempting a courtesy visit to Howth Castle, home of the Earl of Howth. In retaliation, she abducted the Earl's grandson and heir, and as ransom she exacted a promise that unanticipated guests would never be turned away again. She also made the Earl promise that the gates of Deer Park (the Earl's demesne) would never be closed to the public again, and the gates are still open to this day, and a place set at table for unexpected guests."

I think we will have to make an unexpected visit.


Just North of Howth, however, is Ireland's Eye.

According to Wikipedia, the island was called Eria's Island during Celtic times. "Eria" was a woman's name and got confused with "Erin" (which happens to be my nephew's baby daughter's name!), which is derived from Éireann,the Irish name for Ireland. The Vikings (there is no history of Ireland that is not rife with Vikings stories!) substituted the word Island with Ey, and so it became known as Erin's Ey, and ultimately Ireland's Eye!

But here's the really good part:

In September 1852 a woman named Sarah Maria Louisa Kirwan was killed on the island; her husband, William Burke Kirwan, was convicted of her murder. Matthias McDonnell Bodkin claimed in Famous Irish Trials that no murder had taken place, instead that Sarah Kirwan had drowned accidentally as a result of a fit.

My mother's dad (the guy from Ballyshannon) was John Francis Burke.

Sheila's family (from Galway) name (changed on American soils) was originally "Kirwan".

Cousins (by marriage)!

A New Bike!

We broke down and got a second adult-sized bike today from Belfield Bike Shop (located on the UCD campus!).

We figured that the weather can only get better and you can simply get around more easily with a bike (see earlier post on how both Sheila and I got to hurling and you'll see why I bought another bike).

I think the guys at the shop know me by now and even gave me an extra bike tool set, so it was easy to find a bike. I just went in and said "what's your cheapest, best used bike?" and walked away with one (I didn't recognize the brand or take a picture. That will have to be forthcoming!).

I literally drove it out of the driveway and it started pouring.

I think I've become immune to it though, and really, it was about 50 degrees, so it is just not that bad. Also, it was after class, so I was heading home.

With the wind at my back, I think I was home in ten minutes -- I'd take that over waiting for the bus any day!

So now we're set for transportation!

I met with experimental economist Orla Doyle for lunch. It was great. She's working on a fascinating project on early childhood interventions for low socio-economic families in Ireland. The project involves James Heckman (he's the economist who is all over the place talking about the importance of "soft skills" and how to help disadvantaged kids get them. There was a recent This American Life that interviewed him). This project is not completely, but relatively new to economics in the sense that they are essentially doing a random clinical trial of two interventions to scientifically test if the treatment causes an effect -- if the interventions improve the lives of the kids.

It is definitely a goal of mine to collaborate on a project with one of the researchers while I am here, or at least get a collaboration going.

Sheila had a huge day (and I'm hoping she will chime in on her own about this). She headed out to Dundrom to take a writing class! Really, she just wanted to get out and meet people, and there was a place that offered several classes for adults. This one worked out in terms of timing and availability for her. Honestly, she'll have to tell you her experience, needless to say, I'm jealous. Dundrom sounds interesting but it's difficult to get to even though it is probably only about ten miles away. I'm reading up on a bit of Irish history and the term "Dun" essentially meant outpost, usually the Normans against the Irish tribes. There was a castle built in Dundrom (which was rural and remote at the time) as early as the 13th century. From Wikipedia: "The village clustered around the original Dundrom castle and was considered a rural defensive outpost against assaults and raids from Irish tribes and families such as the O'Tooles and the O'Byrnes." It is now home to (and this is according to Sheila) a shopping center that would rival the Mall of America!?!

I'm looking forward to it.

Johnny and Maggie had great days. We are taking Sheila's sister Kathy's advice and inviting a few girls over in a couple of weeks (Maggie has trimester exams next week and then an ENTIRE week off after that) to bake Valentines Day Cookies and watch a movie. We treaded lightly in our encouragement of this, but she seems interested and it sounds like she even mentioned it to a few girls today. What a relief. She seems to be settling in a bit. Reluctantly, perhaps, but settling none-the-less. She is also getting to sleep at a reasonable hour (to her chagrin--her friends at home are just getting home from school when she's turning out the lights) and we are seeing a correlation between increased hours of sleep and decreased doors slammed.

Johnny starts tennis with Oscar on Thursday after school. The courts are right behind our house in the park. He's always wanted to play and is now trying to con me into buying him a racket. How are we going to get all of his new-found sporting paraphernalia home?

Test Results

For those of you interested, check out this term's test results with discussions.

What I am doing over here, an Interactive Post

For those of you wondering what I am doing over here, I am teaching a course on Behavioral Economics.

It is really a "soft ball" of an economics course.

That is to say, it is relatively fun and easy. It is not econometrics, or microeconomic theory.

Here is a "pre test" that I give students -- try it! I take the results from the class and use them ask examples throughout the term.

I'll give you my results in the next day or so, but here's the exam if you're interested.

Introductory Quiz (not for a grade. The answers you give as a class will be used in examples throughout the term)

Spring 2013

Instructions: Please answer the following questions to the best of your ability. 

(My first question is just an introductory one).

2.      Please write down the last four digits of your mobile number:

3.      Is the number of doctors in the Dublin Metropolitan area higher or lower than this number?

4.      What is your best guess as to the number of doctors in Dublin?

5.      A bat and a ball together cost $1.10.  The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

6.       Do you expect to perform above or below average in this course?

7.      Imagine these are four playing cards laid out in front of you, each of which has a number on one side and a colored patch on the other side. The visible faces of the cards show E, 4, K and 7. Which card(s) should you turn over in order to test the truth of the proposition that if a card shows an E that it has a 4 on it? 
(This picture didn't copy. It is four cards. One with an "E" one with a "4" one with a "K" and one with a "7").

8.      Suppose an unbiased coin is flipped three times, and each time the coin lands on heads.  If you had to bet $1,000 on the next toss, what side would you choose?  Heads, tails or no preference?

9.      If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?

10.  Imagine that Ireland is preparing for the outbreak of an unusual disease, which is expected to kill 600 people.  Two alternative programs to combat the disease have been proposed.  Assume the exact scientific estimates of the consequences of the programs are as follows:

If program A is adopted 200 people will be saved.

If program B is adopted there is a 1/3/ probability that 600 people will be saved, and a 2/3 probability that no one will be saved.

Which program do you choose?

11.  You are offered the following bet.  On the toss of a fair coin, if you lose you must pay $100, what is the minimum amount that you need to win in order to make this bet attractive to you?

12.  In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Everyday, the patch doubles in size.  If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half the lake?

13.  The same disease from question 9 is back.  Only this time the two programs now have the following payoffs:

If program C is adopted 400 people will die.

If Program D is adopted there is a 1/3 probability that nobody will die, and a 2/3 probability that 600 will die.

Which program do you support?

14.  You are on a game show.  You are offered a choice of one of the three doors.  Behind two of the doors there is a goat.  Behind one of the doors there is a car.  Upon your announcing which door you choose, the host of the show opens one of the two doors not selected by you, and reveals a goat.  After he has done this, he offers you the opportunity switch your choice.  What should you do, stick or switch? 

15.  You are now going to play a game against others sitting in this room.  The game is simply this.  Pick a number between 0 and 100.  The winner of the game will be the person who guesses the number closest to two thirds of the average number picked.  Your guess is:

The Importance of Sample Size

What I'm about to post is a theory I've developed starting inspired originally by watching The Voice of Ireland. Note that I am not trying to be snarky here, it's just an observation, and something that only increases Ireland's charm.

My theory is that in almost everything having to do with popular culture  (except high heels -- Irish women cannot wear high enough heels no matter the occasion) and in perhaps business culture, Ireland is at about 80% of the US.

And,  I mean this in a very positive way. Seriously.

Let me start with The Voice of Ireland.

One of the first things that I noticed about the contestants is that they, on average, weren't very good, and they certainly weren't "tv good looking" in the US sort of way. Of course, this is why The Voice does the awesome blind auditions (which, again, I think is awesome. I am not endorsing the comment in this post, I am just making the observation!). As an aside, the third episode we watched had loads of great singers, so this was not always the case.

The deal here is that they are pulling from a smaller sample size -- there are about 4.6 million people living in Ireland as compared to over 300 million in the US. As a rule, when you draw observations from a small sample size, you will get outcomes with greater variance (in this case more very excellent singers--far above the average, and more very terrible singers--far below the average). In the US it seems that even to get to the level where we would see you on television (unless it is a joke by the network) you would have nearly already been vetted by Hollywood.

Again, I am not saying this is a good thing.

The morning shows (equivalent to the Today show or CBS This Morning), particularly one of them has an old guy wearing jeans cross-legged on a couch clearly reading notes for his quite casual conversations. Again, I am not criticizing, but it is just a far cry from polished Matt Lauer with his suits and prompter (and or very discrete references to notes). It just seems more professional.

On more than one occasion I've seen a commercial where the people onscreen are looking at the wrong camera.

Today Sheila and I worked at Starbucks for a bit to avoid the rain and headed over to the Bank of Ireland to open up an account (transaction costs are killing us) and were told we'd have to make an appointment with a banker later in the week.

Can you imagine having to wait for a banker to open an account in the US? Of course, we didn't mind at all -- Ireland for us is all about slowing down, waiting. We waited for the rain to stop, for the wind to die down, for the sun to come out. But the Americans in us were stunned. A bank would put of potential business for a few days??? Imagine the lost profits!

I will blog more of my "80 Percent Observations" as they come.

In the theme of being okay with all things Ireland, here's a positive side to all the rain (in addition to it being FIFTY degrees here today):

And an update on the minutia: hurling got cancelled tonight due to wind, TT got out safely at 4 a.m. (I saw a fox on the street walking her to the bus stop!) and is probably arriving in Minneapolis as I type this (3 p.m. CST), Maggie is studying for second trimester finals here and after a good night's sleep is in a much better mood. We are heading to another "table quiz" (fundraiser for Johnny's school) but this time it'll be adults only and at a pub (!).

Third Sunday

This Sunday was lovely.

We woke up to a beautiful, real sunny day. Maggie and TT slept in and Sheila and I took Johnny to hurling.

This was a little tricky as we have only one adult bike, but I ran alongside Johnny since Sheila had not been there before and didn't know the way. Needless to say, by the end of the round-trip, we decided to get a second adult bike. The weather can only get better, as they say, and we can sell them upon our return (Johnny has decided already that he needs to bring his bike back home with him!!).

It was really windy heading there and then, at the top of our only major hill in the route it started raining! There were literally no clouds to be seen! It is as if Ireland is lonely without rain. Somehow rain is made, even where there are no clouds.

Once we got to the pitch it was lovely again. Bright sun and boys warming up running up and down the field.

The pitch is a great place to meet people. Sheila got to meet one of the boys' mom, Sarah. She gave us advice as to where to get cheap rain pants for cycling and we discussed how Ireland has as many words for rain as the Eskimos supposedly have for snow. How when actual rain is foretasted, then you are really doomed.

All the way home Johnny wanted to test him with words that he would repeat with either a "heavy" or a "light" Irish accent. He's got it down, I'm telling you. He can repeat any word in an Irish accent. His favorite is the number three ("tree") and I always want him to explain how the Irish would say "three trees"!

Here's the road home from the pitch:

Once home Sheila, TT and Maggie headed out for a little shopping and movie in Dun Laogherie while Johnny and I got ready for Abbie's party. Luckily we had arranged for a ride from Dylan's mom (I've never been so grateful for a ride because at that very moment it literally started sleeting). I had planned on staying near and walking home with him, but she insisted she'd bring me home first and him after the party. I had two glorious hours alone in the house to read, check in with Jackie and start a roast we had planned for the night.

Here's where I spent my time... Look at the sun shining in. It was really appreciated today.



Little did I know that the roast was corned beef. "Although the exact beginnings of corned beef have been lost to history, it most likely came about when people began preserving meat through salt-curing."

My apologies to all who love the stuff, but this was a major mistake. Neither TT nor Sheila finished their meat (for those who know Sheila, it was a far cry from "the best I've ever had"... Seriously, I think one single bite was gone). Here's our plate:

Gross.

I am not much of a cook, but my meals are usually at least utilitarian. They do the job.

To any future visitors: this will NOT be part of the menu.

Hopefully, Sheila will be enrolling in the Cookery soon.

Johnny had a great time at the party. Other than singing Happy Birthday in Irish, it sounded pretty much like a party at home, a clown who made a banjo balloon, a lemon cake and a little gift bag.

Maggie was happy to enjoy another episode of The Voice and TT enjoyed her last night in Europe.

It almost made everyone forget my corned beef. 

Johnny on Grafton 2010

Check him out here, trying to get strangers to kick the ball to him.!

A Tourist in Dublin

Today we got a late start and did a bit of the touristy thing in Dublin.

We had to take TT to Grafton and Maggie was itching to do all things One Direction. Well, at least ONE thing One Direction, that is, to go eat at Nandos. (Apparently no actual member of the band has been seen at this location, but tons of fans show up regularly. Maybe I can get them to mention this blog in a song or two and watch the number of hits rise exponentially).

It was good!


I was teasing Maggie because she'd get all giggly and silly whenever she even considered going to Nandos (apparently Niall enjoys Nandos from time to time). I expected it would be the equivalent of a chipotle--that is to say quick food but not some burger joint.

It was probably a step up from Chipotle, but with a much different (and lovely) twist:

Here's a description from Wikipedia: Nandos specializes in chicken dishes with either lemon and herb, medium, hot, extra hot or extra extra hot Peri-Peri marinades (properly known as Galinha a Africana). 

And then it was Grafton for a bit. We split up (the "cleaning morning" left us all a bit touchy with each other so it was nice to head our different ways for a short while. TT went looking for souvenirs, Sheila went exploring and listened to street music, while Johnny and I went to grab a gift for Abbie. We ended up at a bookstore which was right up Maggie's alley. We finally picked Paddington for Abbie -- hope she doesn't already have it!. 

And then came Murphys -- what Johnny had been waiting for!

We have fond memories of http://www.murphysicecream.ie/Murphys (maybe if I provide enough links on this blog they'll give me a coupon for a free cone???) from two summers ago for my nephew's wedding. Afterward we headed West and South, eventually ending up in Dingle for a few days where we explored the coast, the bay and eventually found ourselves at Inch Beach during some of the hottest days Ireland had ever seen. Maggie and I swam in the ocean until our digits were frozen rushing hand-in-hand against the North Atlantic waves. 

We headed back to the little city famished and nosed our way to the best ice-cream joint in the country. (As an aside, Laura -- the nephew's Irish wife -- claims that the milk, cream and butter here is so good because the cows are happy and graze on green grass year round! I believe it to be true.). At Dingle we vowed to come back to Murphys and taste their seasalt ice cream again. 

 The kids and I headed home (we were out of steam) as TT and Sheila went to find great deals at "Pennys."

Here's an Irish saying* up at Murphys

 

Translation:

May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings,
Slow to make enemies,
Quick to make friends,
But rich or poor, quick or slow,
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.


*Gaelic is all over the place in Ireland: on the trains, on street signs, at the university etc. etc. But no one seems to speak it. Another irony is that it is taught in schools. Maggie gets to avoid official Irish lessons, but in Johnny's class it seems to be sprinkled throughout the curriculum. One of his little books has a bunch of Gaelic words and he says that the teacher uses the language regularly throughout the day. I asked the Murphy's dude to translate for me and he looked at me as though it was a ridiculous thought, then he pulled out a little laminated card with the phrase translated. He (and a coworker) said that since the language was "forced" on them at school, most kids end up hating and resenting it, thus never learning it, but then regretting that later in life. He also said that it is a difficult language to learn with loads of different dialects.

A Change Will Do You Good

There is probably another factor that has not helped with Maggie's adjustment to our new life in Dublin.

We took this as an opportunity to provide her with more opportunities to take care of her room.

Yes, we were those horrible parents that never really gave our kids chores. We didn't even make them regularly clean their own rooms or pick up their own stuff.

We always had the best of intentions. Particularly with Maggie. We'd attempt to instill a routine -- clean up your room on Saturday mornings--then we'd get busy and let it go until Sunday, then Sunday night. Eventually would forget or just let it go.

Then it seemed that Maggie's homework just took up all of her time. And then I thought (literally I thought this) why add more work to her already over-worked life? In her spare time I'd rather see her playing some sport or hanging out with friends. Or reading.

I'd love to hear from some Annunciation parents about middle school homework. I do think that Maggie has a tendency to succumb to Parkinson's Law, so I would see her time spent on homework ever-increasing. She'd often start at 2:45 or 3 p.m. after school, work until dinner and maybe even do more homework after dinner. It is really difficult to tell if it is her or if it is the workload.

Ugh.

Just a different rat in a different cage spinning on a different wheel.

So once here, we found that each room had its own separate bathroom. What an opportunity to base an argument clearly and cleanly on fairness: why should anyone else have to clean YOUR bathroom?

So here we are, Saturday morning. Nothing good happens until chores are done: clean your room, clean your bathroom, vacuum, put away laundry and do any homework you might have. 

It is easier for Johnny as he is younger and a bit more flexible in terms of changing routines. He's also a bit neater, so his room is really never messy. Maggie's had a tougher time adapting (its only the second week). Today I asked her to vacuum her room and she responded "why?"

The bathroom floors have carpet (yuck). Can you imagine not wanting to vacuum?

So that might be another aspect of her difficult adjustment: more responsibility.

On the positive end, the house is small and we don't have much stuff. It's amazing how you don't lose socks in the dryer when you only have 10 pairs, total!

Off to Dublin for the afternoon. I will let you know if:
1. Nandos is just the UK version of Chipotle,
2. Nils of One Direction is spotted there scarfing chicken,
3. How a seasalt sundae from Murphys tastes
4. How busy Grafton is on a Sunday in January!

Future posts to come: our plans for Croke Park!

When In Rome

Today we decided to do something that the kids would rather NOT do since TT was here and the kids were at school. A museum perhaps? Maybe the Gallery of Photography? The Book of Kells? St. Patrick's Cathedral?

But TT was all museumed out after her three week J-term in London so......

We went to the Guinness Factory!



 

It was a great museum in the old factory (parts of the property still brew beer) that has been modernized and walks you through a tour of how the beer is brewed, a history of Arthur Guinness,


 
leading up to different advertising schemes. 



At one point you could check to see if any of your ancestry has ever worked for Guinness.

I won: 8 pages of "Burkes" to 3 measly pages of "Kirwans"!

You end up at the "Guinness Academy" where you learn to pour a pint:

... and after you get to take it up to the "gravity bar" where there are 360 views of Dublin. This is actually a picture of the window facing Trinity College (the glass has a description in it).

 
The pint and the view were well worth the entrance fee, plus the sun poked out, which added to the excitement of it all. The Wicklow Mountains were covered with snow and we could see all the way back to the Irish Sea.

We headed back to grab Johnny and his new friend Oscar from school (by then the rain and wind had whipped up, but I'm not complaining -- a little sun is all you need).

Boys are boys, as it turns out, regardless of where they live. Give them some Legos on a rainy day, and they are fine for hours.

Oscar is a good fit for Johnny. I asked what he liked to do and he responded with one word: "Sport."

He taught us two card games -- "Sevens" and "Beg your neighbor" which were great.

Oscar will definitely be over again.

Maggie and TT spent some time down in the village and Sheila and I got ready for Maggie's school's fundraiser for a new all-weather pitch.

I will let Sheila blog about it but I will include just a few descriptors and adjectives to entice you to read (and her to post): a hotel, walking, rain, sweat pants, high heels, trivia, Guinness, another professor and his wife, and some terrible, AWFUL, live music and ... getting lost with a full bladder!

Travelling with Kids

Some family friends of ours from our amazing preschool just moved to Hawaii. They literally left a few days before we left, but they really moved (ostensibly they are returning, but their stuff is IN Hawaii).

Anyway, Dawn sent me this great article "Why You Should Wander the World With Your Kids". The author, Domini Hedderman, took her family of six to Belize (kids are ages 11, 10, 7 and 2":

We come from a safe, comfortable mid-size city in Pennsylvania. We lived in a comfortable house. We belonged to a great, close-knit community – working, worshipping, volunteering, and socializing alongside people we’ve known for years, some for our whole lives.

But something was missing. We were growing bored with the mundane schedule and felt like robots moving through colorless days. We felt stuck in a mindless, monotonous routine – not a life of our choosing. We wanted more than the cycle of work, kids’ sports schedules, buying stuff, and working hard to pay for it. We wanted to create our life. We wanted to break out of the expected and jump into the desired. We wanted to fly away on the wings of our dreams.
So we moved to Belize. With our four kids.

She goes on to give ten reasons why it's a good idea.

Here's her blog if you're interested.

We didn't take the same leap they did. Ireland is an English-speaking country in (relatively) rich Western Europe. We can turn on the tv and see Spongebob. (But we've never been huge tv watchers --well, Sheila can be--and Maggie is hooked up on instagram, probably too much, keeping up with friends.

But life is fuller, slower, and more connected. We've all taken big steps out of our comfort zones and I am definitely--as Cousin always jokes--not "driving around and buying stuff." Johnny came with one Lego set and a few Skylander figures. Maggie came with a book and her ipod. Its nice to have less and need less. To have the things you do have feel more special. Johnny knows that his bike was a huge pain in the arse to get, so he'd better take good care of it. We have just enough fresh food in the fridge for a couple of days and know that it is a heavy walk back, so there's no need to waste or buy what we won't use.

The other thing this trip has done for us, already, is it has made us appreciate the people in our life. Prior to our leaving friends made time for us to say goodbye, to help pack, to drive us to the airport. There's nothing like scarcity to get you to value something (yes, I'm an economist). When people contact us here, we all know that it is special -- there's a six hour difference and it's expensive. My sister-in-law (mother-in-law to our Irish gal, Laura) and my cousin Jackie are waking up early to catch me at work where the internet is not rationed.

This has been lovely. What a great perspective.

The New Normal

The past couple of days have been disturbingly normal.

Firstly the weather was beautiful.

Secondly, I could seriously get used to this life. It is in some ways more difficult than life at home, but in most ways, mainly because life is so much slower, it is better.

Yesterday, for example, I walked Maggie to school and missed the bus to my school. It was 8:20 and the bus was early. No big deal - I went to the schedule and realized that the next bus wasn't coming until 9:05. I'm listening to the newest Kay Scarpetta from Audible.com and just decided to walk.

At home I would never consider doing this. The days seem too short. I've got too many errands to do. I have no time. (What do we have to DO all the time? Why do I seem to have to go to Target weekly???)

But here, since I had to wait for the bus anyway, I figured, why not just walk? I'm not exactly sure how far it is, but it really isn't too far. I ended up beating the bus (which would have taken 10 minutes after 9:05, assuming it was on time).

So before I even stepped into the office, I had walked for about an hour. I work out regularly at home (hockey, weight lifting, running etc.) but there is something somehow easier to exercise with a purpose, like instead of being in a gym, walking TO somewhere. Of course, the weather was not horrific, so that's certainly part of it, but it wasn't perfect (is it ever PERFECT in Ireland? As some guy put it to me the other day "we are stuck out in the middle of the Atlantic!").

Today I rode my bike to work. It took literally 15 minutes each way. And, again I get that time with the kids. It is not that much different than how people talk about getting their kids to talk while in the car -- a captive audience of sorts. If you can get them to stop for just a minute to talk. I love this time. I try not to say much. Just to be open to what they have to say. Johnny, of course is usually pointing out a strange Magpie on the way, or trying to race me. But Maggie sometimes just talks. It is lovely.

It is great to be able to go to the office and not feel frantic. To not have to build in a serious commute time. To know that the kids can get home by themselves if they had to. To know that Sheila is there for them if I can't be and if she is not there, she could get there quickly. Somehow it just seems less complicated. Well, I suppose it feels less complicated because it IS less complicated. Sheila is only working about five hours per day compared to 10 or 12 and I am not commuting 10 hours per week. And the kids don't have a million activities to go to, and when they do, they can WALK. Wow.

Also, nothing seems to matter as much. Grades, homework, practice, bedtime. We all know it is temporary, and though we're not blowing things off, we are just taking it all less seriously. Last  night when TT was a bit late, I still asked Johnny if he wanted to walk down to the train station with me (it was about 7:40). He was up for it, so we got on our coats and mittens, pulled the bike out of its little storage space, turned on the two new lights I got for him and headed down--he rode and I jogged behind--and we made down past the village to the train stop by the sea in just short of five minutes. We were back all together in less than one half hour.

Johnny had Dylan over today. That seemed normal too. Having a couple of boys around, playing inside. Then outside. Then inside again.

Maggie is so focused on the next episode of The Voice of Ireland that she hasn't bothered complaining.

And we've got a guest to distract us for a bit.

Our First Visitor!

TT Peters came today!!!

We got a text from her about 5:30 saying that her ship had landed! But we hadn't quite worked out the details about how she'd get here. Sent an email at some point but weren't quite sure she had received it and then she could text me, but I couldn't text her so by 7:30 we were somewhat terrified that she was lost and unaccounted for! Then in came a text -- At Conolly station, hopping on the DART!

At that point we knew she was close. Johnny and I ran downtown to the station and waited not even 30 seconds before her train headed in the station!

She just got off a three week J-term in London and some parts of Scotland so she told us stories over dinner and a Smithwicks (fun having of-age neighbor girls around!).

I'm teaching tomorrow so Sheila's in charge, but on Friday we're headed to Dublin while the kids are at school and Saturday back again to a few soon-to-be standards: Nandos and Murphy's. Nandos because (this is all Maggie) one of the One Direction kids supposedly likes it and Murphys because we discovered it in Dingle a few years ago and have dreamed of "seasalt" ice cream (made literally from the salt in Dingle Bay) ever since! We might have to introduce TT to Guinness as well (yes Mike and Cath, we are planning on spoiling her!).

I spent my first day today at the Geary Institute. I am officially splitting my time between the Economics Department and the Geary Institute. I'm hoping to make some connections with some experimental economists here and give a seminar. Today I mainly just met a few people and worked on my online class about online classes.

I came home around 1:30 though to have lunch with Sheila. It is so fun to be in a smaller place that is so easy to get around (by bus or foot) and be able to just walk and meet Sheila and not be quite so busy. Sheila works more at night (during US business hours) and so is free during the day to meet me and to pick up kids after school. This is such an amazing gift we have to spend together!

Maggie is doing better (complaining less) and actually made her way home by herself today, which is really a first for her. At home she doesn't have to even care about directions, so this is a great skill.

Johnny, naturally, has made his own social circle. Dylan (the new best friend) is coming over tomorrow after school, another kid, "Oscar" invited him to play tennis after school on Thursdays and Abbie asked him to her birthday party on Sunday. Whew. His social life is and has always been way more active than mine. His hurling team is heading down to Wicklow in March to play a match against another team on the road, and then watch an "NHL" game in Wicklow (I only wish that NHL stood for hockey!). Should be a total blast. Here's the email from "Diarmuid"

This year we are going to Wexford, bussed there and back, we will play a local opposition on the way down, meet up in a hotel where the lads get a bit of grub and then taken off to the NHL game v Wexford. Cost TBD. A great day out and I imagine our lads will be well up for it so we are expecting good numbers. More details to follow when we have them...


We ran into my new best friend "Emer" at the SuperQuinn the other day and I told her we'd have them over for drinks to which she replied (as I hoped) that they'd have to do that for us. Maybe we will be able to break into social circles soon!

So, question of the day: what sort of birthday gift does a seven year old Irish girl want?

The Professor's Wife

Lisa isn't kidding about what a non-issue it is to be "out" here in Dublin.  However the immigration bureau was a bit tougher for me.  Unlike Lisa who is in this country for a legitemate purpose, I am merely a tag along...and not connected to her in any legal way. When it was my turn at window number 4 of the immigration counter (they would not let us go up together), the gal behind the desk wanted to know who I was and why am I in Dublin for an extended stay....I was trying to explain that my partner was down at window number 13 with the important paperwork from UCD and the GNIB.  I was holding the folder of irrelevant documents that we had concluded would never be necessary. As the government worker continued to look confused, it struck me finally to pull out our Minneapolis Certificate of Domestic Partnership (which conveys no legal benefits whatsoever but looks pretty) and she said "ah, so yeh had a wedding then"....to which I responded..."Yep"....and she said..."well, isn't that Grande!"  I had my Registration card within  few minutes (after a complete set of fingerprints were taken.)

So, here I am just the professor's wife....all paperwork related to the kids' schools is addressed to Professor Giddings and me.....Here is a photo of the letter from Sion Hill that arrived today....Note how hilarious this is because it is so not how we see ourselves at home.

Signed, "Maryann"

"I'm Crap!"

I forgot to describe two of the funniest parts of Hurling practice yesterday.

First, there is one darling coach (Dermott -- but I think there's an Irish spelling and pronunciation of that name... Laura? Can you clarify?) hustled me over to roll balls (Sliotars) to the kids so that they could practice striking them while in motion. 

This was awesome as I got to know the kids a bit better. One asked me if I was from America and was surprised at the coincidence that "there was a boy here YESTERDAY from America too!!!"

They were all hilarious but I noticed one particularly small boy. I started talking with him before their little scrimmage and asked him if he was also a "first class". He clarified that he was in preschool but that his brother was on this team (apparently his dad is also a coach). They were about to start the scrimmage when he realized that he was playing against his brother: 

"I HATE playing against him. I'm CRAP and he's, like, BRILLIANT!" 

You can't believe how funny that was with a) him being so SMALL and b) that crazy accent. 

Second, at the end of the practice they all meet in the big goal of the pitch where Dermott gives them this awesome pep talk. Yesterday's was cool because apparently all other sports had been cancelled due to the cold, but the hurlers were still working hard. At the end he pulls one kid out "Who wants to give the cheer today?" And one kid comes out, faces the other kids and screams:

"WHO DO YEH PLAY FER????"

and they scream back (unintelligibly)

"KILMACUD CROKES!!!!!!!!!!"

So awesome. I will get this on video for you soon.

 As an aside, I picked up a hurley for myself as well so that Johnny and I could practice together. That sport is AWESOME. Hockey, of course, will remain my love, but wow. We practiced out front tonight with a small soccer ball. Our "driveway" has loads of little stone pebbles, so I didn't trust myself trying to hit a little ball without spraying Johnny's face with the pebbles and causing some sort of Dick Cheney incident. There is nothing like swinging that stick up above your shoulders like a baseball bat, but hitting the ball on the ground like a hockey puck, but with a bigger fatter stick. Unbelievable. When I get home I'll invite anyone over for a try, particularly if you have some aggressions you want to assuage!

Oh Captain, My Captain!

Today was my first day teaching at University College Dublin (UCD).

But, firstly have to mention the weather (as is becoming customary). I am honestly grateful for the weather today because were we home, we'd be suffering -12 F (which, sounds like it actually felt like -40). Unbelievable. It was actually relatively warm here--a balmy 26 F--and, although, Johnny took a few spills today on the way to school (who can avoid the temptation of riding over little iced-over puddles???) I'd take the Peanutsesque snow (remember the kids in Charlie Brown's Christmas with their tongues out tasting those little flakes coming down slowly and softly when Lucy says she waits until January when they're ripe??) over the frigid tundra any time. At least we can comfortably be outside.

Johnny on a frosty morning's ride to school.

I was warned about teaching at UCD.

Not by Americans, mind you, but about the Irish Professors! "You're going to experience a real difference here in Ireland!!!" "Oh -- it's really different here!"

Firstly, the class I am teaching is offers five credits for an upper-level (300-level) course. We meet twice per week for fifty minutes for a TOTAL of twelve weeks: seven weeks, two off, and five more.

Seriously. That's it. That adds up to a grand total of 20 hours.

This is in contrast to a class at the University of Wisconsin-La Cross where an upper-level course worth three credits meets for three hours every week for 15 weeks (with one week off in only the fall semester, so it covers 16 weeks). That adds up to 45 hours total.

I usually teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays for one hour and 25 minutes, so I don't even know if I can cram my regular amount of information into that little time! In fact, today, that's how I started my "lecture" as the Irish students wandered in, smelling the roses all the way.

And about the students (again, this was a warning from the professors!), firstly they said that I have a "small" class. At UWL, I taught this course last semester (Behavioral Economics) to 18 students, so I'm thinking, small? Will it be 6 or 7? No. Small is 100. I actually have 120 students in my course.

Before I came, the department head warned me that Irish students are reticent and rarely speak in class. When I asked how to notify students about which books to purchase, he told me that they probably wouldn't purchase them anyway (so, I interpreted that as "why bother even notifying them then?"). They initially said not to worry with any essays or exams with questions other than multiple choice because there are so many students in every class ("Make it easy on yourself!").

Once I got here the new department head* who took over for the old one who is now on sabbatical, when asked if I should attempt to learn their names (at UWL this is a requirement if you want to get a decent student evaluation) said that by the end of the term they would probably not even know MY name. He said that only a small percentage would show up for class, let alone participate.

I was shocked.

I guess the idea is that their grades all along don't really matter. Certainly not until the third or fourth years (Laura Giddings -- our real Irish gal -- please clarify if you can on this because I am still shocked). They end up taking an exam at the end of the four years which is supposed to be cumulative, and afterwards are conferred a degree based on this exam. So, really, what's the point of showing up to one individual class? The guy who teaches trade told me that he regularly fails 70 percent of the students.

Also, they never come to office hours.

My "lectures" occur in "Theatres" Q and P (yes, a different room for each day).

Lecture Theatre Q Minus an "L"

The inside of the "theatre" made me imagine my students standing up in the middle of one of my "lectures" (jumper, tie and all) reciting "Oh Captain, My Captain!"

View from the entry downward.

My perspective of 2/3 of the "Theatre" -- I should have taken a panoramic for your viewing pleasure. I'll try to do that on Thursday!

I'm not sure if the photograph captures the intimidating feeling of this room. Those stadium seats are incredibly steep and the room, while compact, is enormous. I was nervous as hell.

The kids (and a few adult students) wandered in at about 1:50 (and kept wandering in well past 2). But as soon as I started talking, and even got a few of them to talk, I relaxed and it went well. I think they can understand me fine (I speak about 1/100 slower than they do) and, well, it's not Econometrics (i.e. horribly hard and boring for most). They'll have one essay (that will be exciting to grade -- 120 students!) and one final exam.

I hopped on the bus and headed home, arriving near Maggie's school a few minutes before she got out and sent her this text "My bus just dropped me off, want company walking home?" (She doesn't have a phone yet at home and I am quickly becoming used to it!).

Maggie and I on our walk home from school today.

Before I met up with her, I had to pick up my "first day treat":

Cheers All!

Oh, and we saw two "old friends" on the way home:

The Sun AND the Moon.

*I would be this exact guy if I were to be chair. Although happy to see that I was in the country (when we went to see him last Thursday he was visibly concerned that he had no Behavioral Econ professor for a class that was to start the following Tuesday), he had no idea how to find out WHERE my class was, how many were enrolled, where my office was, what the college's requirements were for me in terms of assignments, and how I would get on to the University System. We promptly went to the 22 year old office assistant who knew everything about the ins-and-outs of the department. At one point he could have quoted me "There are so many different computer systems for each piece of information, I've just never bothered to learn any of them!" That's totally how I feel. Just let me teach and do research ok? Tell me where and when my classes are and I'll show up!