Technology Bites The Dust

No technology for 48 hours, no mobile, email or internet!

That didn't last long!

I embarked on this endeavour with a “sure that’s no problem” mentality. It soon became evident that it was indeed quite a problem. I don’t drive and it was a few hours after class when I realised I couldn’t use my phone to call home for a lift, not only that but I was feeling a bit detached from the world and so I began to walk in the freezing cold thinking to myself “stupid assignment”.

Me! haha

When I arrived home I remembered it was my dad’s birthday.  I picked up my phone to call him and realised I couldn’t do that. My father lives a bit away from me so once again I embarked on a walk in the cold, except this time I was accompanied by quite a large present to carry. I finally arrived at my father’s house and knocked on the door, there was no reply. After 10 minutes my frustration began to grow and I turned on my mobile to call my father. He said he was at the driving range and would be back in an hour. “Why didn’t you text me" he stated. So that’s the story of how I only lasted 6 hours without my phone.

Reaching for the dial!

It wasn’t all bad though when I went home the assignment sparked up a very interesting conversation with my Mother.  The main focus being “dating in the old days” She explained they had to do it without the use of mobiles or the internet. The idea of arranging to meet someone a week before and standing waiting and hoping they would come was a situation I could simply not imagine.

Wonder if this is what Dad looked like!

As for the internet that didn’t go very far at all, In fact I dint even attempt that one. Are class had a few assignments due that week and let’s be honest it’s not impossible to do assignments without the internet but it is very hard, and in 4th year I don’t think the risk was worth the experiment. I enjoy using Facebook





Andrea Coffey

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And of course my email, watching videos on YouTube and reading funny stories on my favourite sites but they are defiantly not something that I could not live without for 48 hours. I will be sure to test this one out in are January break and I will make sure to let everyone know how I get on.

NAMA

When NAMA was first mentioned in class to write a blog post on, the first thought that
came into my head was
‘’ I’m defiantly going to have to Google what that is’’.

This link helped me trough it

www.nama.ie

I don’t like what I see! I knew all the facts already I just didn’t have the name ‘’NAMA’’ attached to it. Basically banks aren't as willing to lend to businesses anymore and as a result spending is going down and so are employment rates. So Mr.Goverment whatever shall we do?

Two years ago the banks began to really suffer, so the government decided to introduce a new scheme. If a bank hits rock bottom the government would refund depositors (aka bail the banks out!). Sounds great doesn’t it?

What angers people about NAMA is the fact that the government will overpay for the assets it purchases, paying €54 billion for loans worth an estimated €47 billion. So we (the taxpayers) will overpay the banks by at about €7 billion euro!

Let’s make this simple! Were paying for other people mistakes to the tune of millions, I may not understand this fully, but hey I’m just a taxpayer the government obviously doesn’t care what I think. Maybe if I was a banker my opinion might count.

My Year In A Nutshell

My 22nd Birthday In Germany December 2009

The day I set off for Germany on my Erasmus was one of the most exciting experiences of my life. To find out more about the Erasmus programme and what it is please follw this link www.uhi.ac.uk. I knew I would miss my family and friends, but you can’t let little fears hold you back from great adventures. It proved to be a wise decsion, before I tell you a little about my year have a look at the video I made for my Erasmus friends at the end of semester one.

        

There were eight of us going to Germany from DKIT six of which I knew quite well. One of the main reasons I picked Germany was because of its great position in Europe, I knew it would be a great point from which to travel, and academically it has a great reputation. There were so many places I was eager to explore because of this I worked two jobs in the previous summer.



Map Of Europe



This extra money subsequently lead to me travelling to Berlin, Hamburg, Portugal and France as well as camping in the black forest and an inter-railing trip between semesters to Poland, Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna and Prague, This doesn’t include the countless day trips around Germany to picturesque towns and villages such and Nuremburg and Heidelberg which host breathtaking Christmas markets. Heilbronn itself which is the name of the town I stayed also has a renowned Christmas market. Of course I didn’t forget the famous beer festivals such as Oktoberfest and Frühlingfest.

oktoberfest In Munich 2009

I lived in a ten bedroom apartment. It was big and had two kitchens, the people were very nice, especially one German boy name Sven who became one of our best friends.

Myslef and Sven

He considered himself adopted Irish and came to the train station our on last day with his eyes filled with tears. I was told when I moved in that three others girls lived there, after a week of only seeing boys around the apartment I asked were all the women were. It was then I was told actually it will be nine boys living here. If this year thought me nothing else it defiantly thought me how to put up with boys. I have to say they were all lovely ( well most of them ) but if at least one of them had of looked like David Beckham that would have helped!

My NOT-flatmate

My experience in Germany was not at all what I expected it was better than I ever imagined. You will meet German people that fit into their rigid and strict stereotype but the majority of people will surprise you. All the other students on Erasmus are there for the experience and they want to make friends just as much as you do so don’t be afraid to talk to new people they might even end up becoming your best friends. The German people were also a lot more fun loving than I imagined, and I never realised just how beautiful Germany would be, Especially at Christmas when the snow begins to fall and the extremely hot summers. I would defiantly recommend the year abroad to anyone. You will come out of the year a well rounded and confidant person. It will look excellent on your CV and the academic activities and experiences will give you not only the ability but also the confidence to work with people from a wide diversity of cultural and social backgrounds.