Today I cried for the first time in over two months. I was in the middle of a book store.
It appears as though I can’t apply for a driver’s license here because even though they exchange Australian licenses for Irish ones, Canada and Ireland do not currently have a reciprocal agreement. So even though I have had my license for 10 years, since I originally held a Canadian one, my Australian full license is null and void in the eyes of their current law and those Irish authorities just won’t budge.
Turns out they’re ‘working on it’ with the province of Ontario, where I am from, but because legislation takes ages to get through here, I’m told not to hold my breath.
On the plus side, I can legally drive here for one year with my Aussie license, I just can’t get insured. Which means I can’t buy a car. Even though I can drive one.
Lately I’ve been feeling like Ireland is a toddler that is testing me with their finicky ways and changeable weather. Or maybe they are a senile senior using words like ‘ambiguous’ on public transit websites. Plain English people, it goes a long way in public service communications.
But I refuse to bow down to these obstacles and I won’t be throwing my towel in any time soon. Sure, I may lose it in a moment of frustration in the middle of the self-help aisle, but my optimistic outlook is here to stay. So bring your restrictive policies, Ireland, I can take it.
As an aside, it’s our one-year anniversary tomorrow, so we will be quietly celebrating before our friends arrive from Berlin and London for a weekend of festivities!
Notes From Another Land 