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June 26, 2007
Irish observations
Some observations from my last few days well-spent in the murky but verdant country of Ireland:
1) Irish people are short.
2) Irish people are friendlier than English people. The cab driver who took us to our hotel Friday night was pretty much the best cab driver ever, even offered to take 50p off the total price (unheard of). We also visited some distant relatives who showered us with food and conversation and let us milk a cow. But one of these relatives astutely noted, "In places like England and Germany, it's hard to find a friend, but when you find one, you're friends for life. In Ireland, everyone's happy and friendly...but once you leave, it's goodbye."
3) European tourists are just as annoying as American tourists, if not more so.
4) Dublin is full of teenagers. Advertisements everywhere announced "End Ageism" week. Apparently, the elderly feel alienated, and the young accuse the old of being too set in their ways.
5) Dublin is not nearly as fashionable as London. Not even close. But I liked that about Dublin.
6) Americans flock to Ireland because many are connected by ancestry. Last I checked, the largest ethnicity represented in America was Irish, but I could be wrong about that.
7) Americans flock to see the astounding Book of Kells because many, including me, still believe the Gospels are the Word of God.
8) Numbers six and seven were theories more than observations.
9) Guinness tastes better at the Guinness brewery.
10) The peat. Ah, the peat.
Anyone besides my sisters who can name the reference in number 10 gets some kind of prize. I'll think of something. By the way, peat is soil gathered from the bogs. I'm sure it has a magical quality to it.
| By laurajuanita | 03:52 PM
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Comments
I felt at home in England because it is a nation of introverts, but I did appreciate the friendly Irish. I stayed in a hostel in Dublin. Interesting experience, but I *think* I managed to convince a girl that NYPD Blues does not depict everyday life in greater America.
Posted by: funke at June 27, 2007 10:43 PM
I have no idea about the reference in #10, but I love peat bogs and have had my share of pushing-each-other-in-peat-bogs fights with brothers and friends, they leave everything a strange orangey color.
Posted by: linnea at June 29, 2007 03:17 PM
I guess the reference is a little obscure. It's from one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes, "The Limo." Jerry pretends to be an Irish accomplice of George, who pretends to be a neo-Nazi, and Jerry tries to describe his made-up Irish life to two skeptics who are in the limo with them. Hence the peat comment. I'd love to push you in a peat bog, Linnea, because I'd love to see you turn orange.
Posted by: laura at June 29, 2007 08:35 PM
