Look, they already built me a castle! (No, really they didn’t. It’s just a funny-named estate in South Dublin.)

It’s exactly a month of being a Dubliner now – time to come to an interim conclusion. (Okay, it’s a bit early for that, but there are more of those to come.)

1. Left-sided driving still hasn’t made it to into my awareness. I nearly get run over every second day or so. Gotta work on that.

2. Dublin’s high prices still scare me. 10 Euros to go to the cinema – yes, for one movie –, 7 Euros for a sandwich in the next supermarket, and I’ve already mentioned the toilet paper prices… But I’m getting used to it, every day a little more.

3. I haven’t set up my internet connection at home yet – shame on me. But since I’m working in the Internet throughout the day, my motivation might be a little lowered. Plus, I have flatmates that tend to be more of the cellphone-using kinds of persons (960 texts a month! And that’s only one of them!)…

4. Getting a bank account in Ireland is almost as difficult as Wilhelm Voigt once had to experience with getting a passport in Berlin: No gas or electricity bills, no bank account. No bank account, no gas or electricity. A funny game. It’s helpful though, when one of your roommate works with one of those banks and pulls some strings.

5. Oh, what am I going to do with my first paycheck? Finally get an iPhone? Forget it. Out of stock in Ireland, for months to come, I guess.

So, what’s my conclusion? In fact: I can’t really come to one. It’s a nice place to live, the weather actually sucks most of the time, and I spend a lot of time at work. So far, so good. The next months will be filled with more experiences, I’m sure. (By the way, if you’re bored because I’m posting too rarely, check Patrick’s stories from Manchester.)