Things That are Different in Ireland

In my (Amy's) contacts with many of you, some have asked what some of the differences are in Ireland from Seattle or the States in general. I thought I’d devote a post to that very subject. Before I begin, I wanted to explain that there’s a look the Irish give to Americans who make some of the mistakes that are discussed below. You know those “Here’s your sign” redneck jokes? Their look is like that, only the sign is for, “You’re a dumb American.” Read on…

Words

First of all, contrary to popular American belief, they do not say “Top of the morning to ya!” They just say good morning. (Sorry to dash any Irish idyllic hopes you may have had on that.) There are quite a few other differences in words – both in spelling and in speech, though.

Anytime one of our words ends in ize you can depend on it ending in ise here. That means that in all of my business writing, authorise, prioritise, analyse, realise, and legalise are spelled differently. It’s a hard thing to remember – especially when Microsoft Word often auto corrects the words for you. So, often even when you do get it right, Word changes it back!

Many words that end in er are spelled re here, too, such as theatre and centre. Program is programme. And James has already nicely covered off the more common phrase of grand over great or awesome. Another common one is that they don’t call the restrooms restrooms. It’s toilets most of the time, and you can sometimes get away with bathroom. If you say restroom, though, “Here’s your sign.” Along those same lines, if you see en suite at a bed and breakfast or hotel, it just means that there’s a private bathroom with the room.

Craic is a new word for us. It’s pronounced like crack and means good conversation. “In O’Donahues pub, there’s good craic” you might hear. Also, people say “You are welcome” here a lot, which makes me think, “What did I do for you?” when really they mean that you are welcome to be in their hotel or resort or restaurant or whatever.

Times are communicated differently. If it’s 7:30, then you’d almost never hear someone say seven thirty. They’d say half seven. At first, I wasn’t sure if this meant it was half an hour until seven, or half an hour after seven. (It’s the latter.) And pretty much anytime it’s after the half hour mark, they say the time before it’s the next hour. For instance 7:40 would be twenty to eight rather than seven forty.

Getting Around

The Irish, along with our British friends, drive on the left side of the road. (Word of warning: Don’t ever say they drive on the wrong side of the road. This makes them very fussy.) I will say that James has taken us on two road trips driving on the left side and is doing a great job. Food for thought: Have you ever considered how difficult it could be to drive a stick shift while on the left side of the road? Not only do you have to pay attention when turning and make sure you’re on the correct side of the road, but you have to shift with your left hand! Our first car was automatic, and the one we’re using this weekend is standard, so he’s gotten used to both. The latter took a few minutes, though.

There are almost no street signs in Ireland. It’s crazy. If there ever are signs, they are always on buildings or fences at the intersection and never on posts. This makes them invisible from some locations in the intersection, rendering them almost useless. I don’t know how the map makers did it. I think the people who print maps here just make up names to put on streets, because when you get to a street, there’s no sign. Maybe I’ll make my own map of Ireland and just call streets Amy1, Amy2, James1, James2….

Anyway, when you ask for directions around Dublin, you need to have a solid knowledge of the names of all the pubs. They’ll direct you based on the pubs around. Otherwise, you’re toast. If they give you street names, you can forget it. Just head in the general direction of what you want and pray. If they tell you to walk 10 minutes up a road, plan on at least a 20 minute walk. Maybe more.

Dublin is a walking city. If you live within a 10 minute drive of the city center (which we and many others do) you walk everywhere and don’t have a car. And when I say walk, I use that term loosely. What these people do is not what the rest of us would consider walking. James and I are both tall people. While I often don’t walk extremely quickly as a general rule, I am definitely capable. When I walk home from work in the evenings, I generally walk as fast as I can as my day is over and I’m ready to change and be home. Even at this pace, I get passed – by EVERYONE! These people speed walk and sometimes I would call it a light trot. I don’t know how some of the short people can move so fast. It’s amazing, really.

Then, you know how in the States it’s an unwritten rule that you walk on the right side of the road/sidewalk/aisle? Well, I think the driving thing has confused them around here. It’s a free-for-all and yet it seems that you get “Here’s your sign” looks if you don’t guess which side you’re supposed to be on correctly as you pass someone. Ever been in one of those situations where you’re coming straight at someone and you both move to the same side, then both switch, and then realize you’re in a game of chicken with them? That’s what you do here – all the time.

As a part of the walking city theme, there are many pedestrians all over Dublin and Ireland at large. Being a pedestrian, and thus crossing streets here, is an art in itself. There are almost no crosswalks, so you’re on your own. Not only this, but Dublin drivers seem to find joy and pleasure in attempting to run over ignorant pedestrians. I’ve been in cabs when they gun the engine to scare the pants off of some unsuspecting tourist who’s just looking for the street sign! This is where the Dubliners are separated from the visitors. Dubliners seem to have a sixth sense about when a car is going to come, where the rest of us are standing stupidly at the intersection looking both ways (because we don’t remember which side the cars are coming from) just waiting for a chance to cross when we’ll have a reasonable shot at not getting killed. (“Here’s your sign.”)

Food

As a part of a traditional Irish breakfast, you may often find black pudding on the menu. Anyone out there familiar with black pudding? Sounds like a yummy chocolate pudding, doesn’t it? Think again. We are talking about congealed pig’s blood. That’s right. Congealed pig’s blood, served alongside your mashers (potato wedges) and eggs. James ordered an Irish breakfast this morning, and there was the congealed pig’s blood staring at us.

In general, food here is much more bland than what we’re used to in the US. The ketchup is more watery and sweeter than ours, so our friend Joy always adds salt to her pile of ketchup. You also aren’t given very many packets when you ask for it, either. (Mom, you may be in trouble while you’re here. Add ketchup to the list of things you’re planning to bring from home!)

There is of course more fish and chips on the menus and less burgers. Many other items are the same types of dishes, but we try to order things that sound like they have more flavor. (Or, I bet it’s flavour over here.)

Coffee and tea is a staple here. They have mid-morning and mid-afternoon coffee or tea every day at work, and I think people think we’re strange when we don’t get coffee and tea after a meal. And, for those Seattlites, we are not talking about Starbucks here. Just plain coffee and tea. I keep looking for Chai and they have no idea what I’m talking about. (“Here’s your sign.) That’s a good lead in to the food service here.

One word: SLOW! Servers here do not have the mentality that they’re working for tips. James covered this in his first post. We’re considered crazy that we actually want to pay our bill after we’re done eating. It’s not uncommon that we wait for 10 minutes after our plates are cleared before we can flag down our server to pay.

The way they use their utensils is different oftentimes as well. Many folks here use their knives the entire meal to push food onto their fork upside down and eat it off the fork that way.

Services and Shopping

There is of course the obvious that the electrical plugs are different. We didn’t get enough converters, though, before we left so I was up a creek for a few days when I got here.

We brought lots of DVDs with us for those weekday evenings when it’s raining. We learned quickly that DVD players are really cheap over here, so we decided to pick one up rather that watch them from our laptops. We found out why they’re so cheap – they don’t come with the cord to the TV or batteries for the remote! Oh, well. We picked those up as well.

Did you know there’s a TV tax in Ireland? That’s right. A tax for having – not just a TV, but a cable connection where you could place a TV. One would think that a TV tax might be administered by your local cable company. You know, because they’re the people who know if there are working cable lines going into your home. But no. Here, the postal carrier collects your TV tax. Now, mind you, we’re staying in corporate apartments, right? So, our management company should have taken care of the TV tax for us, right? Well, our friends Chad and Joy had a knock on their apartment door one day. The postman asked Joy if she’d paid her TV tax. TV tax? Yes, TV tax. (“Here’s your sign.”) I didn’t know of any TV tax. Okay, fine. We’ll send you a letter about it. So far, they’ve received no letter and we just don’t answer our door.

There aren’t drugstores over here like we’re accustomed to in the US. There are small shops they call Pharmacies or Chemists where you have the pharmacy, of course, and a small selection of hygiene products. You can forget looking for sunglasses, greeting cards, or food in these stores. See James’ first post for additional coverage on this as well as the difference in grocery stores (or supermarkets).

The post office is an interesting phenomenom here. James had an interesting experience, but our friend Joy wrote about it so eloquently on her blog, that I must copy and paste it here. (Her “Are you daft” coincides very closely with the “Here’s your sign” look.):

I am beginning to recognize that there is one expression that crosses the face of almost every Irish person with whom I interact lately. It is a look that, unfortunately, is not entirely foreign to me even in the States, although here it seems to occur with exponentially more frequency. It is a look that begs the question, "Are you daft?"

At the Post Office today, for example, I had to start by first asking the question, "Can I mail my letters from here?" as, upon initial inspection, I was not so sure. There were signs for an investment office to my left and a long line of folks leading to a counter under signs that read "Bank here with AIB (Allied Irish Bank)" and which was covered with money wire forms. These visual clues are what lead me to doubt my initial conviction the Post Office in Ireland was in fact the place to go to mail letters. Just about that time, I spotted one counter that did appear to belong in a post office and this is where I asked my question and got my first (not to be last), "Are you daft?" look of the day.

The Samuel Becket inspired conversation that ensued is captured below:[Enter Daft Foreigner (me) stage left and approaches counter. 5 minutes pass. Enter Irish Postal Employee center stage behind counter.]

DF: Can I mail my letters from here?
IPE: (Gives obvious 'Are you Daft?' expression) Yes.
DF: Can I buy some stamps from you, please?
IPE: No. This is the parcel post counter.
DF: And what counts as a parcel, again?
IPE: (Repeats obvious 'Are you Daft?' expression.) More than 2 kg.
DF: Okay, and can I buy a large envelope for these papers here?
IPE: No. You get envelopes at the corner store down the street.
DF: So, I can mail my letters from here but I can't buy envelopes?
IPE: No. You mail at that counter over there. (Gestures towards long line and counter stage right.)
DF:So, that's not a bank service?
IPE: (Repeats obvious 'Are you Daft?' expression.) No.
DF: Ok. So, I can mail my letters and buy stamps, but not envelopes, over there.
IPE: Yes.