Today I’m flying up to Prince Rupert to see my sister & John, but mostly to visit my little nephew Lennert. Looking forward to spending some time with them. YEAH!

On a different note, I would love to finish my thesis by the end of the month so that I can edit it in July and send it off to Dublin. I haven’t been doing any work these past few weeks, but I’ll get back on it today!

Yeah, June is here. I’ve been anticipating you!

Adjusting to the new/old life is slightly challenging. Some days it’s easy and familiar, but on others I have no idea what I’m doing here. I trust that everything will slowly fall into place. Evan’s roommate is moving out today, we finally found time to get me a phone, Evan’s exams are over, my interview is over, I have started to work on my thesis again, I’ve had some time to play with my nephews, and tomorrow – for the first time since I’ve arrived – we don’t have anything urgent to do. A real Sunday treat.

The day I came back home.

I (almost) regret I won’t be in Dublin in June! I’ve been offered a couple of gigs doing fieldwork and interviewing children. I would have loved getting some more experience as a researcher. I’ll have to figure out how I can get involved in projects in Canada.

Though it’s sort of exciting to live with the uncertainty of what will happen next, I look forward to June when Evan and I should have a little less uncertainty.

May has been awesome also for so many people I know. My sister-in-law got the job she has wanted since school, my friend Olivera got engaged, my sister came to visit us in Vancouver, my friend fell in love.

Now that I have successfully forgotten about my thesis, I am going to enjoy my peace just a little longer. When Val moves out this weekend, Evan and I can take over our apartment and create a nice space for me to write.

When my parents came to visit me at the beginning of May I got on a crazy emotional rollercoaster and now I don’t know how to get off. May was such an eventful month! Trying to wrap up things in Dublin, saying good-bye. Fortunately, I am so busy that I don’t have time to think, I’m just going through the motions and that’s enough for now. Waiting for June, maybe that will calm things down.

These pictures were taken on my last day in Ireland. Ola, Kristel, and I spent the day in Howth. Had a drink with the locals, got a slight sunburn, had ice-cream, and saw a beautiful sunset. Good times.

The sun is out today in Vancouver and Evan and I can have breakfast on the deck 🙂 Afterwards, he is planning to learn his whole German text book within 24 hours just in time for his final exam.

It’s so nice to have family so close. I am loving every minute.

This week is very very busy, there is almost no time for jetlag.

I said good-bye to my Irish family already, since I won’t be able to see them again before I leave… Audrey and her dad came out to our neighborhood, Phibsboro, and we had a nice chat in one of the local cafes. Her dad just came back form travelling and had lots of stories for us! Ahhh, good times. I can’t think about it too much today and am trying to keep busy…

The photo was taken last year on the 1 day of summer in Ireland.Back then I had my first sambo, saw the beautiful Wicklow mountains, went to the highest pub, watched Audrey fall asleep in the car…

The manager of the childcare centre invited me back to talk about my initial findings at one of their staff meetings. I went this afternoon and gave an informal presentation. It was nice to see everyone and a couple of people even took notes like crazy. It looks like the excitement was mutual 🙂

Most importantly, I gave them the Grumpy Bird book by Jeremy Tankard. I hope it’s going to be one of their favorites too.

What a nice weekend! Jörg & I mastered the art of sitting in pubs and cafes when it rained, and walking around when it was sunny. Lots of good music and laughs. Howth was beautiful as usual and I’m glad Jörg got to experience the cliff walk! He couldn’t stop smiling.

On my way to the airport to pick up Jörg. He is coming to visit me this weekend!!! The weather this morning is typical for Dublin, so it’s Guinness as usual. You know where to find us.