Can I Have Your Number?

Tired and jet-lagged from not sleeping on an overnight flight, myself and a few others finally arrived in Dublin. It ended up that there was a large group of us on the same flight, which made sharing a cab and getting to the apartments very easy. As I crawled into the left hand front passenger seat of our crowded taxi (this is where the driver typically sits), this is when our arrival in Ireland finally became real. I was then excited to experience other aspects of technology that are different from at home.

The sidewalks tell you which way to look for traffic. This is very useful.

Just as the cars are different, the cell phones are also different in Ireland. To some extent at least. The devices are the same, but the way they work is much different. For only 20 Euros, you can get a phone that will call and text with no limits, but will use the 20 Euro credit for calls outside the country or the network. And everyone here is on the same network. Then you top up you phone when if/when it runs out of credit.

You don't need to sign anything. There are no contracts or anything. This wouldn't be cool in the United States. Companies like AT&T make sure they have you legally bounded for two years to pay a fortune for messages.

I'm sure there are companies in the United States that offer simplified cell phones. Although no one uses them so they can't be that great.

Photo: Darin Boutet

Before I got my iPhone about almost two years ago, I remember the texting with t9. My cell phone here just has a simple keypad. Although I won't be texting that much, it is still interesting to use t9 again. And it's scary that I'm still good at it. Even though the phone doesn't do anything besides call and text, this has one benefit. It has an endless battery.

On a completely different topic, if I could go back to freshman year, I would change my major to marketing. My professor for digital marketing seems to be an interesting person. He works for marketing for O2, the cell phone company. This seems like it will be a good class.

Paper or Plastic?

Debit cards make purchases everywhere very easy. I've found myself using it for almost every expense from restaurants (the tip is easier to write on paper) and filling up the gas tank (that just requires too much cash anyway) In fact, I find it more useful to swipe the card for outrageously small purchases so the cashier isn't stuck turning your large bill into small amounts of change. In the United States, carrying cash is not necessary most of the time.

This is not the same in Ireland. I was thankfully prepared by others who have spent time in Dublin. I have yet to see the Irish accept an American card, not to mention they usually have a minimum cost if they were to even to let the customer use it. One of the first things I did upon arriving was go to an ATM and withdraw the maximum amount of cash.....and then keep track of the Euros.

Photo: photoeverywhere.co.uk

It's interesting how Ireland has not adapted the cash-less society that the United States has. But they are so far advanced when it comes to simplifying cell phone plans. I'll tell you about my Irish cell phone later.

We started classes today. One week after the Champlain College Burlington campus. I'm getting used Euros and the fact that I can't just swipe my card everywhere I go.

Grinding Gears

Who wants to hear about all the things I am doing in Ireland?

I wouldn't. A lot of us already have blogs.

However I would like to share something interesting about my trip once in a while. So I have decided to continue the overall theme of this blog from MCM 315. I want to share my media experiences in Dublin and throughout Europe, with some other updates thrown in as well. I'll do something similar to the "media revelations" we did in Contemporary Media Issues. Although expect more typos :-D

This is Grafton Street, one of the two major pedestrian malls in Dublin.

I've been in the city for almost a week now. It's crowded. It's loud. I've almost been run over. I'm loving every minute of it.