Back from Potatoes and Beer

I have just returned from a week long vacation in the beautiful country of Ireland. And that is how I would describe it, beautiful. It was an atmosphere that I had never before experienced different from both my home in Pennsylvania and my home in Belgium.

I parted from the Charleroi airport early Thursday morning, and upon my arrival in Dublin, I was immediately taken aback by the use of English. It had become completely normal for me to overhear causal mumblings in buses and in places of business and understand nothing. Therefore, when I arrived and could understand everyone it was a striking difference. I imagine that this is just a simple preview of what my experience with culture shock will be upon my return from exchange.

One of the most striking things that I noticed about the culture of Ireland, was how openly friendly and genuine everyone was. We entered into a café a couple of hours after we had walked through the town of Dublin for the first time. The man behind the counter greeted our tired American scowls with a grand smile and asked "Now, what can I do to bring a smile to ya lasses?" This was followed by our server giving us a free map of Dublin, and not charging us full price for our coffee and pastry. The rest of the week continued on the same note. Everywhere we went we were greeted with generosity and open hearts. It was a truly inspiring moment in life to be around such continual kindness. I had not noticed before traveling to Ireland the striking difference between the openness of various cultures. In addition they were excited to know more about us as foreigners in their country.

Another difference that I noticed between Ireland and Belgium, was the view of Americans. Never once was I personally victimized in Ireland because of my nationality, however, in some cases people were a little more less impressed with my American culture. In Belgium, it is common for me to hear about how much the Belgians openly admit to loving the American pop culture. For example they enjoy slang and the music of The United States. However in Ireland they would say that America does these things well, and at the same time they have such a strong cultural presence in it of itself that that is not all they see or think of when it comes to my country of origin. I found that Ireland had a really strong diverse blend of culture. There was a lovely blend of tradition, American influence, and Irish underground culture. All of these elements made it a unique place to visit and a place that never once seemed monotonous. One day I will travel back to this beautiful land, and hopefully be able to stay for more than one single week.