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Daily Archives: March 28, 2017
Some Differences Between Ireland and the United States
A few differences that I have discovered while in Ireland:
- Mother’s Day is different: So, maybe I should have caught on when the cards starting come out in February, but I did not know that Mother’s Day was in March until about a week before Mother’s Day. It was really interesting celebrating Mother’s Day with a family that was not my own and that I have only known for a short amount of time. I have been very lucky to have such a great host mom that I am so close to. We went to her favorite restaurant!
- The paper is a different size: This might seem like something silly to note, but it really messed me up the first week when I was trying to print and I kept forgetting to change the size. The standard paper size in Ireland is A4. I also learned this week that 8.5inx11in is 215mx279m when I was trying to get things printed.
- People drive on the opposite side of the road…
- …AND of the car: I knew both of these things from the first time I was here (and from TV of course
haha), but it took me a really long time to remember which side of the car the passenger side was! I kept wanting to get in the driver’s seat!
- Shops open later and close earlier: Especially on Sundays. It seems like most shops during the week open around nine and close around six. A lot of stores are closed on Sundays or open later.
Bonus: McDonald’s is different! I forgot my keys one day when I was out exploring and decided to wait until I was meeting up with my group, so I went to McDonald’s to wait (the only thing that I could find open at that time on a Sunday haha). The food options were a lot different (no breakfast burrito, so sad!). However, they did have free WIFI! Day made!!
– Katie May, Indiana State University
St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland
I was able to mark off spending Saint Patrick’s in Ireland off of my bucket list! I was very excited to experience Saint Patrick’s Day in Ireland. We did not get to go to Dublin due to the weather. It rained the entire day and was really cold. But I spent the day with my host family! I have an amazing host family!!
The day began with my host mother making waffle fries, baked beans, and sausages for breakfast. We then went into Newbridge for one of the many parades around the country. My host brother, sister, and dad were all in the parade and it was really interesting to see! After the parade, we stopped off for some hot drinks and some treats to warm up before heading back to the house to change into dry clothes.
After getting dry we headed to the hotel that my host parents got married in for a quick drink. We ended up going into a kid friendly pub to watch the horse races and listen to some very entertaining traditional Irish music after the hotel. Everyone was in high spirits! I noticed that a lot of people were dressed up for the occasion also. I am glad that I was in Ireland to experience Saint Patrick’s Day. One year I would like to come back and experience the atmosphere Saint Patrick’s Day in Dublin!
– Katie May, Indiana State University
