Language Barrier.. yikes

Language is weird. All it is is sounds.  It is crazy to think that Europe is so incredibly different than America.  We speak English as a whole and the majority of the American people do not know how to speak any other languages fluently.  Europe on the other hand speaks more than their own language for the most part, whether their first language is Irish or German they know  some English as well because it is also taught in schools.  In Cologne, Germany was a shock.  I was expecting signs to be bi-lingual.  But… everything was in German.  It was rough ordering food because I had no idea what the menu was telling me so I went off of pictures instead.  Kebabs were life in Germany because I knew what exactly I was ordering, especially at 2am.  

 

The second day we went on a free walking tour.  Not very many people showed up but I met an awesome American who spoke a little German.  His name is Dexter and I promise he is not a killer.  After the tour he went out for lunch with my friends and I.  He helped us a lot with communicating with the locals there.  Paying would have been such a struggle without him helping us communicating with the server, because paying separately is definitely not a popular thing. 

 



 

My friends and I also went to Sculpture Park and Rheinpark.  Getting there was not easy.  The ticket machines are all in German, everyone spoke German for the most part.  Even the workers at the information desk were not helpful in trying to figure out what ticket to purchase for public transportation.  After 30 minutes we finally figured it out.  Asking strangers is necessary and having the first thing that comes out of my mouth is “do you speak English?”.  It is quite weird asking that question to anyone who I speak too. 



One thing that stood out to me is not every young German knows English. I had to go to the pharmacy and grab medicine and every young worker I asked did not speak English.  Maybe a little bit but not enough to understand what I was asking.  Finally, I talked to an older lady who spoke fairly good English.  I thought it was strange that out of all of the people working the oldest lady knew English.  It was quite the adventure on figuring out what was going on.



Cultural Comparisons

As I boarded my plane to Ireland I did not know what to expect from this place. When I arrived everything was different but in a good way of course.  The people here are absolutely the nicest people I have ever met.  They will do anything for you with a smile and their arms out.  On the bus ride to the hotel I was terrified.  I was expecting a speed limit and speed limits do not exist here.  AND they drive on the opposite side of the road which confuses me to no end. So I literally have to look both ways when I cross the road so I am not road kill.   

 The first time my roomies and I went grocery shopping, our advisors told us to bring shopping bags with us.  I did not think anything of it until we were checking out.  Ireland is big on recycling so therefore they do not give us bags to carry our things in like Wal*Mart does.  If you do want a bag it costs 20 cents.  The other day we were in Dunnes which is the grocery store in Galway and as we were checking out I was observing the other people around me and this family beside me brought in two medium size suit cases and loaded that up with milk, juice, and other foods.  It was pretty cool.  Second thing that is different than America is that their cattle is grass fed instead of corn fed.  I thought the meat would taste more gamey but it is actually really good, and I do not think there is much of a difference.  Third, some places have their own home grown vegetables and fruits that they make into delicious soup.  Soup is the best decision I can make if I go to a small café.  Fourth, Ireland has different processing laws when it comes to food.  Ranch is not a thing in stores.  Sometimes restaurants will have it for wings but it is a little watery.  They eat healthy here and it is a lot cheaper to do so.  In Dunnes you can get three kinds of meat for 10 euro or two kinds of fruit for 3 euro.  It is a great deal! 

Also, another comparison that I have noticed which makes me love Europe even more is that everyone looks well put together when they are in public.  Pajamas are not a fashion statement at all.  Europe keeps it classy. People in Ireland are very hard working and caring.  I respect that.  They also enjoy life everyday instead of being so busy that they forget to.

One last thing that I will compare are there gardas. I figured out ride alongs with gardas (police) are not a thing at all and it disappoints me.  Volunteering in the station isn’t much of a thing either.  Mostly gardas are not in a vehicle anyways, they are mostly on foot and not armed.  Which really surprises me, it is actually pretty cool to know that they feel protected enough to not have weapons on them.  If only America was like that. 

Academic Life.

How oddly it may seem I am taking classes here in Ireland.  Although I do explore a lot there is some adulting to be done. The classes are not hard at all and quite frankly they are really interesting.  Sometimes we have homework but not very often.  I have learned so much about the Irish culture.  Classes begin from 10am to 2pm.  Irish culture and Language are on Mondays and Jane Marie who runs the Park Lodge Hotel teaches us Irish while her sister Fiona teaches us culture.  Irish language is fun to learn!  We know the basics such as hello and good-bye; what the weather is like; and hobbies.  Sometimes the pronunciation is hard to get but eventually it gets better.  I think it is bizarre that not many people know or speak the language anymore.  AND it is even taught in primary and secondary Irish schools, and English is forbidden, and still barely anyone speaks it… crazy.  Literature is on Tuesdays and that course requires reading from poetry to short stories to plays.  So far I have enjoyed all of the readings we have had to do.  History is on Wednesdays and that class is always interesting.    We have had several debates and the others who are in my class LOVE debating.  It is quite the show.  Today we had a debate about Oliver Cromwell at the King’s Head in Galway.  Let’s say the debate got pretty heated but surprisingly not out of control like I was expecting.  Oliver Cromwell is basically hated in Ireland, so never bring his name up.   The Kings Head is a historical place, and now is a pretty cool looking pub about Charles I.  What we learn in history reflects a lot on our field trips.  Ireland has so much history behind every stone.