Fair well Ireland!

This trip has opened up my eyes and allowed me to see the cultural differences between the USA and Ireland. One of the things I do not really understand about this culture is why the roads are so narrow! There is plenty of land to widen the roads. Multiple times throughout this trip our bus has had some kind of tight situation with another bus. One time the bus even scrapped the side of another tour bus! I was pretty scared. Especially since the roads are so whindy and located on a steep cliff. Also a majority of the cars on those roads are huge tour buses so I think it would be both a resourceful and safer way to travel. Next, I realized how big of an impact brand recognition has on our decision making skills. For example, tonight myself and billy went looking for dinner and we saw what we thought was a Quiznos. We recognized their distinctive "open" sign that is red and green and looks like a word bubble. When we walked in, we realized it wasn't Quiznos. It was a Chinese restaurant. We were pretty disappointed because we were really looking forward to Quiznos but that made us realize how much we rely on visual aid to help us choose and make a decision. Lastly, it bothers me how little this culture has to do for themselves. At almost all the restaurants/fast food places I have gone to, the workers cleared our plates and tables for us. Even at a place like McDonald's! When one is finished with their meal, they just leave the trash on the table to be picked up. I felt really bad doing this, like a pig almost. It is becoming such a habit now to leave my left overs on the table to be cleaned up, I have to make sure I don't do it when I'm back home in the states! I am do grateful to have had the opportunity to come visit over here. It has truly opened my eyes to th cultural differnces, many of which I learned about in my multinational marketing course last fall. I will continue to relate back to these differences I have learned and noticed to my future courses at WNE!

Final days

Today ended our 10 day trip with the school but also started the second part of our trip. It was very bittersweet leaving everyone but now we are forever connected by this trip. We made so many memories that I will never forget. Last night was our last night out all together so we went to a local pub in Dublin center called Flannerys. It was a lot of fun and a few girls that normally didn't go out with us decided to join us. Again we socialized with the locals and other tourists. It's great to learn about others through their habits and culture. One of the bartenders said he loves Americans because we leave tips. Tips in Ireland aren't expected, unlike in the USA. We are obligated to leave a server a tip because that is how they make a majority of their earnings. I also noticed that most of Ireland's advertisements involve sex appeal. Whether it's s half naked girl or sexual objects. For example, there are sex toy vending machines in the bathroom of many clubs and bars. I am not used to seeing them because they aren't acceptable in the USA. Our government isn't as lenient as the European government. I personally think they are putting the wrong thoughts in people's head by making these machines seem common. Common machines in a restroom is normally tampons or pads. However I do think that a machine with condoms in them is a good idea. It's advertising safe sex, especially if someone is drunk at a bar. They usually aren't thinking and can make a mistake, hopefully having this accessibility will help prevent unprotected sex. Next, we had Irish Chinese food to compare it to what it is like in the states. I have to admit it was basically similar except the porportions were smaller, which is common in Europe. In the states, we are used to having large portions or having the option to supersize a meal. In europe, you don't have that option. The serving sizes are smaller and I think that is why more people are healthier and slimmer over here.

Pub experiences

It has finally hit me that in a few days the trip I've been waiting for since November will be over. Everyone will be leaving but myself and billy will be continuing our stay. We have a two day tour to Blarney Castle, Dingle Peninsula, and the Ring of Kerry. I cannot wait to see these historical areas! Every time we go explore the city, we realize more cultural differences.  For example, European people call a waiting line a queue. I have no idea where they came up with that jargon but it is used throughout Ireland. We first heard it at Trinity College when our tour guide was like, "the queue will hopefully go by fast." We all were confused but later found out. At the Guinness factory there was also a sign that said "queue here." I actually kind of like it, it's unique. Another difference I learned here was that their bathroom stalls are much larger than ones in the USA.  I think it's funny since I barely saw any large, over weight people. The USA is full of obese, unhealthy people and our stalls are smaller. The thing that surprised me the most was how they never put ice in the water. They enjoy warm beverages such as milk and water. Im the complete opposite. I love ice, put it in everything. When I had cereal, they had their milk just sitting in a pitcher and it tasted so gross. I was not expecting them to drink warm milk, they even advertised "hot milkshakes" at some restaurants. I've acquired not only business information and Ireland history, but also friendships. I came on this trip only really knowing two people really well and I'm finishing with nine new friendships. We all bonded right away and our group was inseparable every since. We go to the pubs and dinner every night together. It may seem like we go to the pub every night to drink but it's really one of the biggest things in their culture. By going to the pubs, we've talked to a lot of locals about a variety of things. We talked about their education and what they did for fun. It was very informative and a lot more fun then just reading it in a book. We experienced the real thing.  All the advertisements around town are alcohol related. Even being of the USA legal age, I never got carded. Yesterday we visited Shannon Airport and the guy who gave us the presentation briefly asked us if we went to the pub to watch the soccer game. We said yes and he talked about how drinking in young kids in Ireland is so common and everyone's just used to it. Unlike USA, they have a drinking age of 18. Tonight seven of us got concert tickets for Blink 182 and The All American Rejects! I can't wait to see how a European concert differs from one in the states. I have a feeling it will be a great time, I'm so excited!! 

Cultural experience: Bunratty Castle and the Cliffs of Moher

Ireland has been such an experience! I've learned so much about the culture by socializing with locals and attending the business presentations. Today was by far my favorite day of the trip. We visited Bunratty Castle" the Cliffs of Moher and the Burrens. It was fascinating to see how people hundreds of years ago lived. The tour guide told us about how people were treated and we got to visit the dungeon. People were thrown down there and broke body parts. We noticed the stairwells and doors were very small and narrow, making it to difficult to walk up and down. We had a beautiful day to visit and walk around the property. It reminded me of walking around Sturbridge village with all the small houses around and the little shops. Next, we traveled to the coast and visted the Cliffs of Moher. I've seen pictures before but they didn't do it justice. The view was incredible like nothing I've ever seen before. There was a lot of walking that definitely helped me work off all the food and drinks I've been consuming! The last stop of the day was the Burrens, which was also so cool. The millions of rocks around the land is out of this world. I took some awesome photos that I can't wait to show my friends and family back home. It's a nice environment to take in the culture and see what Ireland has to offer. It astonishes me that trees still havent grown on this land since the British burned all the trees. Ireland is truly beautiful. At night we went to a local pub called Symths and watched the Euro Cup soccer games- Ireland vs Croatia. We were all so happy we had the opportunity to be in Ireland watching the game with the locals. They were all so proud of their culture and supported the team. Myself and nine others went to the pub all decked out in Ireland gear. We drew Ireland flags on our cheeks and wore lots of green. At the bar they handed us even more appeal such as down fingers, shirts, hats, and wacky wigs. I have never experienced such a rush as I felt the entire time rooting for Ireland. Even though they lost, we all had a great time. There was a lot of smiling and laughing The locals were not sore losers and still had a fun time after. Symths' provided a live band and everyone celebrated the accomplishment of Ireland making it into the games, being such a small country and all. I truly got to witness all the pride and respect these people have for their country. In my opinion, I think limerick natives are a lot nicer than people in Dublin because of their small town. We talked to a lot more people at the pubs and actually felt like we fit in. On the first day we met this group of young adults about our age and they shared some of their culture with us. They mentioned how the news here makes USA sound like we're horrible people (luckily we changed their minds). They shared some wise words that have been embedded into our heads- when it rains, we drink cause we're sad and when it's sunny, we celebrate the sun. This simple minded attitude is why I believe people in Ireland are a lot nicer than people In the USA. They are genuinely happy and appreciate the little things in life.

Arriving in Ireland

Greetings all! It's our fourth day in Ireland and it has been amazing so far! We lucked out on the weather with only one raining day! The first day we arrived, we realized a bunch of cultural differences. One of the most major ones was driving on the wrong side of the road! It was completely different from what we were used too. I have to admit I thought we were going to crash a few times. After wandering around the city, I noticed how simple they lived. They did not have the latest technology like we have but it's newest to them. Their grocery stores carried a different selection than ours. For example, they have A limited selection of candy bars but with older logos on them. They did not sell cereal with sugar on them- which is very popular in the USA. Ireland seems like a healthier place to live and with skinner people. Next, I learned that in Ireland, nothing is free. I was talking to a convenience store worker and he told me they charge for water cups, and even plastic bags. That really astonished me. I could not believe it when I was charged 22 cents to carry my groceries in. There is such a cultural difference compared to the US. The lingo here in different. Locals use the slang "crack" to describe having fun or the phrase "bucketing" as pouring rain. I did not expect such a big difference in the living here. Lastly, they do not tip in Ireland. Not even at bars or restaurants. The other night we found this tiny Italian restaurant on the streets of limerick and had an amazing dinner. We had a bill of 80 euros and it felt so wrong not tipping that we ended up leaving money. In the states, it is rude not to tip someone. With the tax and minimum wage being so much higher, I understand we don't need to. However, tipping is part of our culture and is something we learned to do. This trip has really opened my eyes and realize how similar yet so different our cultures can be. I am having an amazing time and I cannot wait to continue the journey. Stay tuned folks!