There was a Phone Call

This week Dale and I tagged along after the Fitzgeralds crowd to a pub called Cassidy’s, which was just around the corner. It was loud and colourful with writing all over the walls, and also provided us with free lollipops and board games. As it was officially Sophie and Joyanne’s birthday, we had cake, got tipsy, and made a mess with Jenga blocks. KT’s friend from Ottawa was there for the week, and I was a little jealous, but I remembered that I will have guests of my own soon enough!

Tuesday was my first day of training at what I found out is called The White Pepper Café. Anna and Richard are the owners, and they ran through typical safety and employee expectations for us. Then they had a young Irish man named Yuan come in to teach us about their expensive coffee. He told us how the beans were picked and washed, and what each type tastes like. It took forever for him to show us how to set up the machine in the morning because the espresso shot he was practicing on had to be perfect. It was a little agonizing having to sit through this opening process for a least an hour before moving on to learn how to steam milk. By the end of the day we had yet to learn how to brew a cup of coffee, but he reminded us that we were learning from a company that was able to compete in worldwide barista competitions. Who knew a cup of coffee could be so complicated. We received an hour-long lunch break in which the six of us employees went up to the Kylemore Café and had a little group bonding session. I am working with an Italian guy named Giovanni, a Polish woman named Angela, a 21-year-old completing her Master’s Degree named Rachael, another Rachael who will be the chef, and Hazel, the 24-year-old manager. Later in the week we were introduced to John, a film student who seems to have the most coffee-making experience of us all. Anna also told us that there will be an assistant manager position available soon, and since two of the group will be working in the kitchen, two more need to work only weekends, and one is already the manager, it almost sounds like that position is between Giovanni and myself. This could be interesting…

A photo from USIT of us attending Riverdance!

Immediately after work Dale and I had to hop on a bus to meet the USIT group members who were attending a dinner and Riverdance! It only cost me 15 euros as a student, but I think we benefited from a group deal. We found out from our waiter at the Italian restaurant that the dancers actually come to that restaurant afterwards to celebrate. We met some new SWAPers there who were very nice and, not surprisingly, Canadian. One lady in particular made us laugh by groaning when we said, "Canucks" instead of "Maple Leaves." Riverdance itself was amazing, of course, but I was confused about the story-line and realized afterwards that I probably should have bought a programme—it was more about the evolution of Irish dancing than it was a story. The quickness of their feet was impressive, and my favourite scene was of an evening party in the country, where the dancers held hands in a circle, cheering and laughing as the lighting slowly imitated a sunset. Afterwards we had to make the hour walk home (in a dress I bought in Vegas) since we had no money for the bus and taxis don’t accept Visas.

The rest of the work week we spent making sandwiches, practicing on the till—which is the same till I used back at MTF. Good or depressing?—learning some cleaning procedures, and slowly having our questions answered. Each day we thought we would be opening the store and were surprised by more training instead. They simply aren’t ready to open yet. The official story is that we will open for a few hours tomorrow and Wednesday, then open fully Thursday. We are not working weekends yet, though I might not have to work weekends at all. And luckily, we are paid for training, though many places here don’t do that. We also will be allowed a free sandwich on our hour-long lunch breaks. I have yet to find out how much money we will be paid, but I do know that I will be the main cashier.

I was impressed by the gluten-free options, and the fresh daily produce, meats, and baked goods. Each day the store also looked more and more complete. It is mainly black, white, and grey apart from the pink counter. But now there are also cushions, large black and white images of Paris and New York on the walls, and another tall and narrow picture of a stack of books near the front, plus a little black kiddie table in the back corner.

I have already accidentally said, “dollars,” instead of “euros,” and “chips,” instead of “crisps,” and I know that will take a little time to get used to saying. I’m a little more concerned with understanding Giovanni’s accent, to be honest. But overall the group seems very likeable, and I have walked part of the way home with student-Rachael a few times already. As usual with a new job, I’ve been fairly stressed out since the interview, but it’s nice to know we’re all going through the process together. I half can’t wait until we get into a routine, and I’m half dreading it in case it’s too boring. Rachael seems pretty confidant that the atmosphere will be relaxed and that we’ll be chatting with the customers rather than rushing around all day. I do like the fact that we get to wear whatever we want for pants and shoes, that does sound relaxed. I can’t wait to get our uniform tops though, since I only have so many black shirts from my luggage. And since it’s boiling hot in there so far, making for sweaty work days.

Enjoying Irish sunshine

We did get off work early a few times last week, and one day happened to be beautiful. Dale and I grabbed apples from the fridge and wandered over to park nearby, where we lay sunbathing in the grass with other Vitamin-D starved citizens. The park was full of toddlers and babies sprinting as best as they could around a circular flower garden in the middle. There were balls and bubbles floating around, making for plenty of little people-watching.

Kids playing

At some point in the week I received my PPS number after very little waiting, which I gave to Anna immediately. Off work early another day, Dale and I went to the bank to set up our account and are waiting to hear back from them. I’ve been doing yoga a few times a week using Jillian Michaels videos off of Youtube, but I’m still not feeling very healthy, and Dale, in the meantime, is still looking thin. So we decided to take more notice of what we’re eating now that we’re starting to settle into life here. Dale’s problem had mostly been lack of structured eating times, as well as being concerned about spending money we don’t really have on food. So it’s a good thing there was a phone call on Saturday!

It was Lenehan’s Hardware, the one shop we both walked into that was actually hiring. They didn’t even have a sign up at the time, and two weeks later, they finally called my cell. The man I spoke to mentioned both of us, and asked if I was still available. I said I wasn’t but immediately said that Dale was and asked if he wanted to speak to him. The man did, and I watched Dale make a note saying that the guy would call back on Monday to arrange an interview sometime this week. The hardware store is just down the road from the Swan Centre. If Dale gets it we may even be able to take our breaks at the same time. Both The White Pepper Café and Lenehan’s Hardware locations are prime for us, so when Dale hung up we threw our hands up at the same time and let out one cheer: “Whoo!”

We went over some typical interview questions in preparation. Then I did some writing, finally feeling a little re-energized with my novel; I haven’t been able to focus on it since getting here. But the next day we stayed in our pyjamas and I read the entire Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on the Tablet. With no regrets.