Happy (International) Birthday!

What do you get when you combine nine females, six languages, three bags of pasta, and two cartons of ice cream? The answer is one roaring birthday dinner party! I have just arrived back home after attending a birthday get-together for my lovely friend Claudia.

Her dinner guests tonight came from all over the world. Multiple representatives from Italy, the birthday girl’s home country, Spain France, Germany, and America were present and “Happy Birthday” was sung in every language. I do not think I have ever once before attended any other dinner party like it. For some reason, I just never get invitations in America to attend trans-continental get-togethers like the one I was a part of tonight.

This evening was certainly an example of the major perks a study abroad experience provides. What continues to amaze me though, is that the rewards of experiencing other people’s culture are two fold. I not only want to learn more about others’ cultures, I want to learn more about my own.

The night began when Claudia greeted Lindsay, Nina and I at her door “Italian-style,” with kisses on each cheek, gosh did I feel cultured! We were then all introduced to five other girls, none of whom I had met before. I have to admit; I was feeling rather nervous as I sat down to eat with so many people I did not know well and felt I had little in common with. Thank goodness everyone was speaking English, a language barrier may have pushed me off the edge!

Conversation was halted at the beginning, but you might be pleasantly surprised to know it was the delicious food and not the shortage of conversation topics that kept us ladies quiet. Once our plates were a little less full though, it did not take long for spirited and lively discussions to develop that made the night fly by. By the time I left Claudia’s I had forgotten that I had only met half of her guests only hours before.

I will remember this evening fondly long after my time studying abroad has ended. At times I forget that although the thought of meeting new people may sometimes terrorize me, it is never as bad as it seems. I had such a wonderful time tonight with people whose names I could not even pronounce when I first met them…Virginie (“Like you’re state of Virginia, but French”) and Estrellas (“It is Spanish for ‘stars’”). I always seem to forget that we all have more in common with one another than we think we do.

Yes, this blog post may sound cliché and, dare I say it, “cheesy”, I do not care – look at how bold my international experience has made me! It still contains important lessons of appreciating your own culture and being open to meeting new people and learning about their lives. So dear reader, for now I bid you: Buonanotte, buenos noches, gute nacht, bonne nuit, and good night!

You've Got Dirt on Your Face.

That’s not dirt – it’s Ash Wednesday! Last night the topic of Lent led to a discussion in Apartment 19, my home here in Ireland, of what people would be giving up for the Lenten season this year. Lindsay jokingly declared that she would be giving up being American. Even if we attempted to seriously do that though, I doubt either of us would achieve much success. It did not take very long here in Ireland and especially on the UCC campus for me to realize that my “Americanism” is innate and not easily hidden.

I have come to see that people of all age groups who are not American tend to generalize and stereotype the red, white, and blue in a few different, and pretty simple ways: dress, political beliefs, and lifestyle. I know, these three categories seem dreadfully vague but I will explain them further to help you see what I mean. I would also like to note that not every person I have met here has held false, stereotypical views of Americans. There have been enough however, that I feel like this topic deserves some attention in my blog.

I make my comments about American clothing styles with a few limitations that cannot be avoided. One, I am a female, therefore I only feel qualified to address the way American girls dress here at UCC and how we are viewed by those who are not American, both male and female. Two, although I like to believe I have some fashion-sense, you will most often find me in jeans and friends have described my sense of style as “mom-ish.” I know, they’re so kind, but it’s true – I love a nice cardigan and this morning I wore loafers to church, they were red patent leather though and I think they are quite stylish.

If someone had informed that it is common for Irish girls to wear dresses and heels to class, I may have thought differently about what to pack in my suitcase. At Mary Washington, jeans and sweatpants are what I would say a majority of students wear on a day-to-day basis. At UCC, I have gotten strange looks for wearing sweatpants to class. There is also one item that screams “American” – a North Face jacket. The effect of this jacket is multiplied even further when it is worn with a North Face backpack. One Irish boy told me that he does not understand why all the Americans have North Face jackets and backpacks because there is no way everyone who has one is also an avid rock climber or hiker. While he is correct with the assumption that not everyone who wears a North Face is outdoorsy, the jackets are warm! I honestly think that if the girls who walk to class in skirts and sweaters when the temperature is below freezing tried one on, they would start wearing them all the time too! As a creature of comfort, I stubbornly refuse to put away my North Face until it has warmed up here, no matter how American I look when I wear it!

My comments here on political beliefs here will be brief. Unfortunately, my grasp on politics is weak and I am not qualified to do too much in-depth analysis. What I would like to say is, not every American is a liberal Democrat. That seems to be what every person here assumes Americans are though. While not every North Face wearer hikes every weekend, not everyone with a US-issued passport voted for Barack Obama.

A few weeks ago, Lindsay and I ate dinner with two German students and two Irish students. After dinner we watched the movie “Juno.” During the movie one of the German girls commented on the housing development in one of the scenes and asked if that was what all of America looked like. Lindsay and I did our best to explain that not every home in America looks like a cookie-cutter replica of the others. When we got back home we discussed how both of us could not believe that people might actually watch an American film and be led to believe that it was an accurate depiction of what all of America is like. I shudder to think about what Europeans might believe the American college experience is like after seeing a movie like “Animal House”…

Culture Shock, Literally!

“Is something burning?” Those are three words one never wants to hear, whether it is in regards to the hair clamped in your curling iron, the last piece of bread in the toaster, or the new shirt on your ironing board. Lindsay and I can now say that this phrase is also not a good thing to utter when you are watching a movie on a laptop that’s charger is plugged into an adapter.

You would think the burning smell would have stopped us, but no, we just gave the adapter a “rest” before plugging it back in. Don’t worry; we knew enough was enough when we saw sparks and heard loud popping noises being emitted from the socket. It was official, we had completely fried Lindsay’s adapter. Luckily her laptop and charger were fine. Perhaps if we’d had it on the high voltage setting instead of low…I guess we’ll never know though.

Along with different 3-pronged sockets operating for 220-volt appliances (www.irelandexpert.com), electrical outlets in Ireland also have wall switches. There have been numerous times now when I have wondered why the water in the electric kettle was not heating up. Although the kettle has seen better days and can be quite finicky, it always helps to actually have the outlet turned ON – oops! The switches make me think of the power strips “green” Americans use. These gadgets provide the ability to completely turn off the electricity supply to multiple appliances when they are not in use. Irish outlets have the same ability; the only difference is that it is built in to every outlet.

The Irish also seem to be more eco-friendly with bathroom hand towels as well. While it is rare to find a bathroom in America without paper towels to use after washing your hands, in Ireland it is the complete opposite. I have only been in one public restroom (although if I was being true to Ireland, I would call it a “toilet”) where paper hand towels were provided. It had become so uncommon for Nina (the un-named, map-owning German from my previous post) and I to see these in a public toilet, we both noted how absolutely, unbelievably remarkable it was to one another! Well, maybe we did not get that excited, but we did both notice this rarity. Every bathroom here has hand dryers. My impatient nature yearns for the convenience of paper towels, but my inner tree-hugger has accepted that the amazing reduction in paper product waste may be worth the extra twenty seconds required to blow dry my hands.

The inner tree-hugger has yet to convince me that the Irish system of heating water is adequate though. The apartment complex I live in has a set water-heating schedule. This means that the water is hot in the mid-morning to early afternoon hours and after that, if hot water is needed, a “boost” button must be used. There is a boost button in every apartment of my complex. All would be fine and dandy if only the boost button did not take a full hour to heat water that only remains hot for 12-15 minutes if a shower is running. The heat also seems to be lost even faster if two people try to take short showers but in different bathrooms on after the other. At times, this can be a little frustrating but at least I have become a pro at 3 minute showers (my inner tree-hugger is happy and hoping this will become a habit once back in the States).

I thought I had come to Ireland prepared. The woman at the Apple store had helped me pick out the best adapter for my computer charger and assured me I would not have any problems upon arrival. Little did I know that I would need to do some adapting of my own. I would like to say I have made a full and smooth transition to my eco-friendly, electrical-conservation, water-saving routine here in Ireland. Deep down though I know, and my lovely curls (not quite, but they’re there somewhere in the frizz) know the truth as well: I miss my hair straightener and its electricity-consuming ways.

First Entry!

Welcome to my blog! This internet journal will serve multiple purposes while I am studying at University College Cork this semester. It will help me keep track of my study abroad experience, help keep you, faithful reader, informed of my adventures, and fulfill an Experiential Learning credit that is a general education requirement at Mary Washington.
For my first entry, I thought it would be nice to start off by giving a bit of an explanation as to why I chose to study in Ireland. After all, there are so many other amazing places in the world, each offering so many unique opportunities. So why did I choose Ireland? I suppose to put it simply, the answer would be: heritage. Defined by Merriam-Webster, heritage is, "something possessed as a result of one's natural situation or birth." I am studying in Ireland to discover the "something" Merriam-Webster neglects to define in their definition.
According to Cindy, a German student I met one of my first nights in Ireland, heritage is more than a genetic link to a place. She stated very assertively that she would not accept any American who came to Germany without a knowledge of the language and culture as German, even if their ancestors were from the country. She believes that one's "heritage" is an active part of their life. It is not just something passively accepted and acknowleged from time to time.
For the three Irish girls I share an apartment with, heritage is an everyday experience. It is a requirement in schools here to take Irish language courses. They have taken so many Irish history courses, they know of the events of their country's past like they know the back of their hand. When one grows up surrounded by her heritage it can be difficult to ignore it. One of my flatmates, Fiona, told me she would be hardpressed to find an ancestor of her's who was not Irish. Although, after one of her aunts married an Italian man, she did spend some time in her youth believing that made her half Italian...
As of yet, my own definition has expanded with the knowledge of exactly where my great-grandmother lived in Ireland before immigrating to the United States. Nana Galvin lived in the small town of Callinafercy. Upon my arrival to Cork, I began asking locals if they had ever heard of Callinafercy. The most promising response I received was from a taxi driver whose answer was, "Possibly. Is that a person or a place?" No, he was not the one who showed me Nana Galvin's town on a map. It was actually a German student studying at UCC who led me to locating the town. Her GIANT map of Ireland came with an extremely helpful index that informed us that Callinafercy was located in box D20, near the larger town of Killorglin in County Kerry.
Now that I can locate the home of my great-grandmother on a map, I'm ready to go a little further in learning about my Irish ancestry. Two classes I am taking here at UCC, "Introduction to Irish History" and "Language, Literature, and Culture of Ireland" will surely aid in this process. My weekend travels to different areas, to be blogged about at a later date, will also add immensely to my connection with my homeland. Of course, the Irish people I meet here will be an essential element of my experience on the Emerald Isle. That's all for now. I look forward to sharing more with all of you about how my understanding of my heritage grows as I spend more time in Ireland!