Ireland: Gap year turns into grand adventure

North Coast family Janice and Kate Lund, together with their three-year old daughter are experiencing lockdown in Dublin, Ireland.

The Lunds left for Ireland a few months ago so Kate could pursue a once-in-a-lifetime job in the medical field.

“We decided late last year that 2020 was going to be the time for a grand adventure – our ‘adult gap years’ as such, while our daughter was still young enough, madness in its own right! We packed up and made the move with the idea of seeing a new country every few months, Paris, the Northern Lights, skiing in Switzerland and of course St Patrick’s Day in Ireland. However, Covid-19 changed that for us,” said Kate

Within a few weeks of arriving at their new home, Ireland went into lockdown.

“We are still able to leave the house for essentials, and are allowed to exercise within a 2km radius from our home, but our biggest challenge is our daughter who hates the cold.”

The Lunds home container that was shipped over from South Africa is still sitting in the UK docks with no timeline on when it will be released – so they have to make do with the bare essentials.

Kate continues to work from home using the modern tools available such as Zoom and virtual webinars to make conference calls.

“As they say we are not working in a crisis but we are in a crisis trying to work, but we have a home, TV, a roof that does not leak, running water, which many at home in SA do not have!

Kate said they had been inspired by the Irish people.

“The community here in Ireland have swarmed around the elderly and vulnerable. It is an awakening reminder to all of us, about how and what is important in life.”

Do you want to receive news alerts from The North Coast Courier via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.