And now a few words about the Irish...

And now a few words about the Irish.  First of all they are incredibly friendly.  They are polite and interested in who you are and what you are doing.  That is unless you are passing  them while walking on the street.  In that case, do not make eye contact, do not smile, do not nod.  This is seen as a very forward move.   Ignore them and keep your head down.   Then when you happen upon these same people in a pub, or when you sit down, they are back to wanting to share with you their lives and tell you everywhere  you need to go to see the real Ireland.

The Brazen Head -  the oldest pub in Dublin.  Since  1156

They are extremely optimistic people.  A quick run through their department store lets you know that they firmly believe summer is coming.  There are sun dresses, tank tops and short shorts.  Even some sheer blouses.  But the fact that it has not been above 63 degrees for the past month lets you know that they have an unrealistic sense of the future.  We had 65 mph gale force winds on Friday last week.  To compensate, they wear those tank tops and short shorts but with black tights.  Yes, shorts with tights.   Black ones.  

School exams are happening right now.  This is a big deal.  At the end of each year you have to test out and based on your score, you are placed for next year.  This is especially important if you are changing from elementary to secondary and then secondary to college.   One person is in charge of the exams for the whole school.  One of the board members of the charity  I am interning with is the chief examiner for his school this year.  Even he is stressed.

All the school children wear uniforms through high school.   Grey and maroon, grey and navy, navy and royal blue, but all in uniforms.  Even the high school girls.   They look quite smart on their way to school.  Even the ones who try to get around the uniforms by wearing sweatpants.  They still all match and look very turned out.

He just drove up on the sidewalk and parked

But the sense of style is not extended beyond that. (See black tights above).   Unless there is a hen party happening.  This is the Irish version of a bachelorette party.  They get all dress up in short dresses and very (very) high heels, get on a bus and party all night.   It is quite humorous to see them navigate the stairs on the double deckers in those heels!  And not just any heels, but platform, 5" ones.  

Another interesting characteristic is the driving.  The road rules are more like guidelines.  In fact, the roadways are kind of guidelines too.  I can’t tell you how many times I have had to move over on the side walk because a driver thinks they need up there to pass.   They are also expecting you to move very quickly if you are crossing the street and they want to come your way.  They don’t slow down.  Red lights just seem to piss them off.

The Irish are huge sports fans except for NFL football.  In fact, they hate the f’ing NFL.  (They normally say "fecking" except when they talk about the NFL).   They are very proud that Ireland is in the world cup right now.  They lost their opening round, but are hoping to win.  The game on Sunday had all the resturants and shops closing at 7:00.  We were run out of the restaurant so that the servers and cooks could go watch the games .  They locked the door behind us when we left.  They watch Gaelic football which is like rugby, soccer and football put together.  And they have a game called hurling which while one would imagine is related to drinking Guinness and Whisky it is like rugby with bats.  Lots of action and a major national pastime.

I love Ireland.  I am already sad that I only have 3 weeks left and not enough time to do everything I want.   I get to attend the large Catholic international Eucharistic congress tomorrow for my work.   I am excited to go.  It is a big deal here.