TOP TEN THINGS I COULD NOT GET USED TO IN IRELAND
1. Driving On The Left: Okay, so I'm not driving, but it is a very strange thing when you see a car moving along the road and no one is on the right side of the car. By now I've gotten used to the traffic part of it all, especially being sure to look the correct way before crossing the street, but the sight of a person only on the left still throws me off.
2. The Vocab: Sure, some of it is fun, but a lot of it is just confusing. Sometimes my roommates with say they had some good crack last night.... and they don't mean crack cocaine, but craic or a good time. I was worried for a bit my roommates were doing some hardcore drugs. :) Other stuff is minor, biscuits are scones here, cookies are biscuits, chips are crisps, and fries are chips. It certainly does take effort sometimes to decipher what the Irish are talking about.
3. Lack Of Certain Foods: It isn't anything major, but we are missing the small things from home. There isn't ANY Hershey's Chocolate, the peanut butter is only mediocre, and we certainly would never be able to find chili here (or at least the good kind). There are few Pepsi products and it isn't worth even looking for our proper American breakfast meats. It isn't even like I eat any of these things on a regular basis, but when you don't have it, you want it even more. Luckily, our families have supplied us with chili and peanut butter, so we still have some tastes from home. We just have to be sure to be careful if we offer 3-Ways to anyone.
4. My Accent Pointing Me Out: We rarely go a day without someone new asking us 'Where are you from?' It is quite evident that I am NOT Irish and as my roommate likes to call it, I apparently have a strong American Twang. [Twang does not mean southern twang though... just an American accent.] It isn't such a bother most of the time, but it can become a nuisance to have to explain why I'm here. Also, my Stats Professor just loves to point me out in class and ask how things in America are.
5. Being Ignorant of US News: It is so difficult for us to keep up on the happenings in the States. The news here is brief and mostly British, and we find it hard to find the time to read up on the Internet here. We aren't bombarded with radio news ever and there certainly aren't any American newspapers in school. Even the small stories, like how the Cats are doing this year in basketball, are difficult to keep up on.
6. The Water & Electricity: I'm not sure if it is just my apartment complex, or if it is all of Ireland, but this stuff is crazy! Light switches are either outside of rooms, or in the most inconvenient spots possible. Almost all sinks have two faucets, one hot and one cold. Even if there was just one, it is impossible to have warm water; it is either scalding or freezing. Maybe I'm just spoiled, but I am looking forward to American electricity and water.
7. Communion At Mass: Phillip and I have taken up going to mass very regularly here, but no matter how small or large the mass is, Communion is always a disaster. There is very little order to approach the alter and then once you do, every lines up surrounding the base as the priests walk back and forth administering the Host. It is a chaotic mess that I'm certain words cannot fully describe.
8. Copyright Laws: Now that we are in a different country, our computers and Internet recognize it, so we have no chance of watching anything that is posted on an American website. All major stations (ABC, NBC, CBS), Hulu, and more have tons of copyright laws which make it illegal and impossible for us to watch any kind of clip, show, or news broadcast that occurred in the States.
9. Mary I: Although this has been a good experience, I cannot wait to go back to my small classes that lack adult students. My lectures here are huge, especially my math ones and they each have at least 7 very vocal Adult students. Because they do not have night classes here, all student, traditional or adult, are in the same classes. Plus, the school is over twice the size in population of TMC, so it has been quite the jump! People here do think I'm crazy when I say its a big school though.
10. The Exchange Rate: It has been getting better, but I still feel like I'm losing money here. It is hard to tell whether the cost of living is more expensive here in general, but it certainly costs us more with the exchange rate. It is painful to look at our bank accounts here after we get large sums of money transferred over. It currently is about $1.45 to 1 Euro, and it will be even worse when we go to the UK.
All in all though, it is good to be able to appreciate the different things here. Some things are better, some things are worse, but it is all just how it is. It is all about the experience, and that certainly is what I'm getting here.
My Roommates (or flatmates as they would call it) on Mardi Gras (or Pancake Tuesday) having a night of great craic!
No comments:
Post a Comment