#001 Traffic: The red is just a nice colour

Hi!! There's something you should know about Ireland: the car wheel is on the right side, which means that they drive in the opposite direction than the one we're used to. It seems obvious and easy, but crossing the roads can become an epic adventure.

When I arrived to Dublin the taxi driver warned us about it. It seems there're a lot of accidents. At first I thought it was because unwary tourists... but no. After two months I have learnt one thing: the traffic lights are just shiny colours. Pedestrians have developed an amazing -superpower- ability to circumvent cars, bikes, and any other wheel vehicle. There's a reason (or at least I understand why we they do it): time. You can easily await seven minutes since you push the bottom to cross the road until the light turns green. The funny thing is that when  the long waited moment arrives, it only lasts 2 seconds (it must be a metaphor of life or something xD). True story.


I'm still developing the Dubliner traffic-sense, but I have learnt some tricks: red is just a nice colour -that helps you to do exercise-, the yellow is your friend, and the green... is a four leaf clover xD

Something easy to begin: Cucumber and potato puree recipe

Hi!! Are you ready to start developing your culinary skills? This course is cheap, light and easy to do. You can take a picture and show it to your mother. She'll see you're responsible and are eating healthy things (proven results).

Today... Cucumber and potato puree*.

Ingredients (for 2 people):

1 cucumber

1 potato (If you buy the baby potatoes, use 4)

Olive oil

Salt

One of these to make the puree (they call it "blender")

1. Boil water with some olive oil and salt.

2. Wash and peel the potato and the cucumber.

3. Cut them in medium/small pieces (that way they will be cooked quicker).

4. Add them to the water.

5. Let them boil until they are done. Add more water if it's necessary.

6. Remove the 'soup' from the heat and mash it. You can put a bit of pepper if you want.

Voilà! It's done. It's usually eaten cold so put it in the fridge :)

Enjoy it!!


* You will see that I cook a lot of puree. It's easy and cheap. Other reason is that they sell big amounts of vegetables in one bag and I don't know what to do with them. Actually, I did the cucumber puree because I bought one for doing Gazpacho (I will write the recipe in future posts) and I didn't use it all. I don't like cucumber much so I added potato to make the taste lighter. The recipe isn't mine, I asked my mother, obviously xD.  After boring you all with my stories, just adding that I hope you enjoy the dish. Buen provecho!!

The adventure begins

Hola (Hi)!! Here starts what I hope will be a good -or at least enjoyable- report of my discoverings, adventures and survival guide from the beautiful and rainy land of Ireland.

Being an Erasmus student is always a wonderful experience to discover new things, meet new people... and learn how to survive on your own -I miss you, mom-. Things can be very different depending on the way you look at them.

What are you going to find in this blog? The point of view of a non-typical-Spanish student with atypical likes, easy recipes* –eating fast food all year isn’t advisable, sorry-, and random stuff… I like the random stuff.

A couple of days ago made a month since I arrived to Dublin. I’m just going to say that it seems only a week ago. The city has so many things to offer! –and I don’t mean Temple Bar’s pubs… not only-.  I’m still not used to have to speak/listen English all day… I need more time to adapt. However, by June I hope to speak like a native, Irish accent included. I’m proud to say that I’m starting to pronounce ‘Dublin’ as a Dubliner.

I’m studying in a college located in the south of Dublin and living in its residence. I share the apartment with two amazing girls from different countries, it's an incredibly good experience. Actually, I have met a lot of people from different countries but… where are the Irish?

If you are considering of going to an Erasmus… do it. If you’re considering going to Ireland… do it. I know, the weather is not the best –it’s bad-, but it has a lot of good things to discover. I hope to do it during this year and I hope you enjoy discovering them with me. Clap, clap. I know, it's been a bit affected.

*Note:  The author does not guarantee results. Follow the instructions under your own risk.