This past week I tried to get out there and start meeting people and joining in with some activities. It’s definitely a bit of an effort to get past the initial shyness, especially with the Irish moms who seem so settled and comfortable here, but I’m trying to push myself to just chat with people. Whether or not it leads to a friendship of any sort, it’s still nice to meet people and get some adult interaction.

Every Monday there’s a play group for babies/toddlers right by our house (actually in the same building as Isaac’s preschool), so I’ve gone to that a few times with Rafi. He loves it! At home, he’s a little more clingy to me, but when we are out somewhere with other kids and lots going on, he just jets off by himself and explores. This playgroup actually has a pretty diverse group that attends — I’ve met moms from Lithuania, Poland, Spain, Japan, China, and other places. I may try to volunteer a bit with setting up for the playgroup because I’ve heard that’s a good way to meet people too.

One of the moms I’ve met in my neighborhood is Megumi, from Japan. She lives in the apartments right next to our house and her older daughter goes to school in the same building as Isaac and her younger daughter is the same age as Rafi. We would always pass each other walking to and from school, so we decided to get coffee. Even though we are from very different cultures, we can both relate to feeling new and unfamiliar with things here. We commiserated about the appliances here and how they are small and hard to figure out how to work! She’s also been trying to help me figure out the medical system and how to find a doctor for the kids, which has been super confusing and is a whole other blog post! We also went to check out together this play cafe called Little Monkeys. It’s sort of random, set up in the back of a rugby club, but it’s a cute little place with lots of toys, a small bouncy house, and some food and coffee so adults can sit and chat. They also everyday have a little class for kids like music, yoga, Gymboree that you can join in with if you want. So that was fun to check out and again Rafi had a blast.

This week I also checked out the American Women’s Club of Dublin. A neighbor (who is American also) told me about it and invited me along. They have monthly formal meetings and then also have various sort of interest group things, like mom and kids coffees in people’s homes, craft groups, book clubs, girls nights out, charity events, etc. It seems like it could be a good group to get involved with and a good way to meet people. I definitely don’t want to just be friends with Americans and want to make Irish friends too, but it’s nice to have a group that understands where you’re coming from and has been through similar experiences and gets some of your references.

So it’s been a very busy week overall! Jeff, too, has had a busy week with work social events like a trivia night and a dinner for new arrivals. So it’s been busy but fun!

Here are some pictures of Rafi exploring at playgroup and the play cafe with his friend Julie (Megumi’s daughter).