Christmas in Ireland and escaped chickens

23/12 - As I lay here in bed, my sleeping pattern all jacked up from the time change, I figured I should start this post off with a little bit of education.

Ireland is not part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England are. Instead of British pounds, the Euro is used in Ireland. That's good for me because the exchange rate for USD to Euros really isn't that large. And according to a taxi driver this morning, about 10 percent of the population speaks Irish, a language whose letters are not pronounced like their English counterparts. Most people study it in school, but since few people actually speak it in everyday life, important aspects of the language such as grammar are forgotten. It's like Welsh and Gaelic in Scotland.

Here's an Irish phrase: "Nollaig shona duit." Merry Christmas. Don't ask me how to pronounce it.

The day started off with yet another snag. While charging something in my hotel room, I was packing my bag when suddenly there was a loud pop and a flash of light. All other lights in the room switched off and would not come back on. My first thought was of panic because I thought I'd have to pay a heavy fee to fix that problem.

But after a few moments, I realized it was probably just a blown fuse; a simple fix. Other than the fact I had to go find another new wall adapter because the first one turned black after blowing up, I was fine. From that point, I just shook my head and laughed; It's all I can do at this point. I just let the front desk of the hotel know what happened; they were understanding.

After a three-and-a-half-hour bus ride on which I fell asleep several times, I've arrived at the farm of Mary and her daughter Anna. It's not really a farm; more like a house with several acres Mary and her daughter utilize to their own advantage. Mary (maybe in her 60s?) picked me up at the bus stop in Swinford. She walked right up to me and asked if I'm Michael, somewhat surprising me.

The house is in a rural area, several miles from Swinford. If I want to go to town to get a pint, it'll be a bit tricky. There are three dogs, several cats, four horses (one of which is a mini), two cows, goats, ducks, chickens and pigs. What Mary expects of me is to work five hours a day for five days, but that work basically entails giving her a helping hand - nothing too strenuous. In return, Mary is giving me accommodation and meals (she used to cater; she's a very good cook!).

Jessica, a 22-year-old Canadian from Toronto who recently graduated with her Bachelor's degree, is also here for the next few days. She's been traveling since September and will go on until February, and it's good to have someone around my own age here. It doesn't even feel like I'm so far away. The fact I'm staying in a comfortable house helping take care of animals and getting home-cooked meals makes this feel normal, routine.

One last thing here for today: Stella saw my scathing WhatsApp message last week. There was no reply. What she did to me is beyond rude; it's shocking. But I'm not angry. How can I be if I still got the opportunity to do cool stuff while traveling? I'm not going to stress about it because I know karma will come back to haunt her. Doing something like this is not what a decent person would do to a fellow human being. Though I was screwed, I still squeezed value out of a bad situation.

25/12 - Merry Christmas all the way from Ireland!

My first full day of work yesterday followed the theme of my trip up to this point: snags, snafus and fuck-ups. While helping Mary clean the horse stables, I left the gate open, thus letting one of the horses out. Thankfully, it just kept close to the stables, munching on grass.

Later, I didn't do a complete job cleaning the yard and the garage. After that, I accidentally let four chickens and guinea fowl escape the coop. I thought the door was closed, but apparently the birds can squeeze through tiny openings. Yes, chickens aren't the smartest of animals, but on that occasion I was outsmarted by one. Hearing the news she had chickens loose, Mary was none too pleased with me and said I needed to improve or I was to catch the bus out of Swinford on Monday. I also nearly let a couple of goats escape too.

After the work was finished, Anna took Jessica and I to Swinford for a few drinks at a pub. I can now say I've drank in an actual Irish pub, and my Irish buddies kept buying me pints of Guinness. Six pints later and an hour after closing time, I think I held my own with my hosts. However, it wasn't the smartest idea to get tanked the night before an early morning start, as Mary actually had to come into my room and wake me up. I'm really making a good impression on her!

The thing I've noticed so far is how this trip doesn't even feel like traveling. The benefits of home-cooked meals after a couple hours of manual labor gives it a totally different vibe; it feels like I'm just living with a family (which I am). The work has me tired, and I got an amazing night of sleep last night. The fact I'm enjoying this "vacation," and all of the work that comes with it is one reason I'm one strange dude. It makes me feel like I'm doing something positive for another human being, and it's something I can look back upon and be proud of doing it.

After all, how many people can say they spent their vacation working on an Irish farm? At the very least, I've learned to lock gates behind me. Animals are escape artists. But, I guess I always seem to learn the hard way.

26/12 - My first Christmas away from family is in the books. Though I didn't spend it with my own family, I spent it with my Irish family. Mary can really cook! It was a full Christmas lunch, complete with turkey, stuffing, potatoes and carrots and other foods, such as bread sauce. To make bread sauce, you take some bread and mix it with milk and butter. But the turkey was the best I had in a very long time because it was juicy and perfectly cooked.

Anna took Jessica and I to a Christmas party at her friend's house, which was at the end of several miles of one-lane roads through the countryside. Dave and Lisa have a baby, and their house is incredible. It looks new with a modern design. Behind the Christmas tree was a two-story window. The same people we drank with at the pub the other night were here, and we just played party games.

Being included in that social group has made me feel comfortable right away. Anna and Mary do make their guests feel welcome in a warm, family environment. The only other time I've experienced this homey feel while traveling was that month in La Almunia with Felix and Rosa over the summer. The fact it doesn't even feel like visiting a different country is still stunning.

Los Angeles and a difficult trek into Ireland

21/12 - Los Angeles is a massive, smoggy, traffic-infested metropolis. There's trash everywhere, Spanish is prominent and lots of murals on building walls. Thankfully, Stephanie and Juan have given me a place to stay and are showing me around for the day I'm here.

They live in a small studio behind Juan's mother's house in San Fernando. You have to walk up the driveway, open the gate to the back and dodge the barking German shepherd (it bit a burglar, so the burglar sued the family for not having a Beware of Dog sign. The burglar won). Inside their studio is a cozy loft that makes excellent use of what little space there is, and a young, male cat that loves to run around the room and play fetch with a ball. I'm basically Couchsurfing, but not really. 

Today I walked for miles in an unglamorous part of West Hollywood. Stephanie and I wandered around, got some Guatemalan empanadas and rode the bus and subway (which I didn't even know LA has). It's been a while since I pounded the pavement of a strange city, so both of my knees are a bit swollen and sore, maybe because of slight tendonitis. 

I dislike Los Angeles. There are too many cars and sitting in traffic is a large chunk of your day. But on the way back to Stephanie's place, life got a little bit slower as we walked on the railroad tracks, something so simple yet so powerful when having an adventure. 

But for dinner, I got a taste of eating with a Mexican family. You'll continually be served chorizo tacos and quesadillas until you waive them off, unable to eat more. But our meal time was fast paced, as we ate while cooking more at the same time. So thanks to Juan and Stephanie for making my short stay in Los Angeles enjoyable. Both were great hosts and I hope I left a good impression.

As for LAX and Ethiopian Airlines...shoot me. The system for that airline crashed, so all of the tickets and information was processed by hand. I don't know exactly how long I was standing in the check-in line, but it was easily 90 minutes. I've never experienced anything like that, and I'll try not to ever use this airline again. Imagine that kind of frustration! And imagine the only time you ever arrive at the airport about three hours early, this happens.

22/12 - In hindsight, Ethiopian Airlines is fine. They did the best they could do with a crashed system. The plane was clean and the food was quality for the most part. It was a chilled out flight. I can't talk trash about the airline now. But...

I'M IN IRELAND!

My trip seems to be hitting more snags than usual, as I was held back at customs because I don't have a work permit for this WorkAway adventure. The customs officer had to walk away with my passport twice to verify information. At one point, he asked me how much money I have and what I'd do if I had to catch the flight back to Los Angeles that night. The thought of possibly getting deported back to America made my head explode.

But after verifying that I have a return flight back to America on Jan. 2, a place to stay in Dublin for the night and that I work for the Porterville Recorder (the officer pulled up one of my stories on his computer), I was free to go, but not before I had to take a mugshot. The Irish government is watching me now.

Because of that, I had to stop in the airport pub and have a Guinness, which tastes much better in Ireland. I've heard more Irish accents in the past few hours than I have in the past year in England. Besides the accent, though, it really isn't that much different from the United Kingdom.

Walking around looking for basic supplies, I had that stupid smirk on my face again which usually is the result of being in a new country. I'm stoked! This is the 16th country I've visited in 2015, and it's already started off with a great story. The next 10 days should be a blast. Not even my right knee, which feels a little bit stiff and swollen, will ruin that. I'm also looking forward to blogging regularly again. Hopefully it inspires others.