-The money. As one who has never seen euros before, they are somewhat crazy to interact with. It's like someone decided to combine Monopoly money with a bunch of little girls in princess dresses and it resulted in huge bills with shiny rainbow stripes all over them. I can't believe it's actual currency. Also, coins are actually worth something here! There are 1 and 2 euro coins that are useful for all sorts of things including bus fare and the conveniently priced 2 euro stores that are pretty much the European version of the dollar store. All of this has resulted in me investing in a coin purse.
-Taking "going green" to the extreme. Ireland is all about environmental friendliness and pretty much forces you to get on board. Plastic bags at the grocery store cost extra and there are signs everywhere saying "Litter is disgusting, so are those who leave it" (not to get personal or anything). Heated water is always on a timer and requires some excellent timing shenanigans to get a hot shower. Ireland also doesn't really have dryers, everything gets air-dried. Dublin is known as the walking city so everyone here, including us, walks all over the place. Crazy foot traffic for such narrow sidewalks.
-Weird expressions. People in Ireland have all kinds of crazy phrases that make me smile at how ridiculous they sound. They like to say things like "What's the craic?" and "How was the craic last night?" Craic is pronounced like "crack" (which makes the above phrases much more interesting) and basically refers to enjoyable conversation or goings on. They also like to say "your man" when they don't know someone's name. Like if you spot someone across the street making giant bubbles you'd say: "Your man with the bubbles over there is really cool and awesome!" It gets changed to "your one" for ladies. I like it because it feels like you're calling a random stranger someone's manservant or boyfriend or something.
Your man bubbles guy is real and ridiculous.
-The weather. Obviously, Ireland is fairly rainy, but I didn't quite realize how back and forth the weather can be. It can be bright and sunshiney one minute, cloudy and windy the next, and downpouring a second later. On our first day we experienced bright sunshine, rain, hail, and then sunshine again (which resulted in an amazing rainbow!) We pretty much have to bring a sweater, sunglasses, and an umbrella everywhere to be prepared for all weather.
-Food differences. Besides differences in cuisine, there are a few things that look normal but actually aren't. Ketchup is much more vinegar-ey than it is in the US and the coke is a bit more bubbly and sweeter because it uses natural sugars. Also, most pubs and restaurants have bowls on the tables with little tubes of sauce including ketchup, mayonnaise, and something called brown sauce which apparently tastes a bit like BBQ sauce. Taste tests will be done, no doubt.
-People know you're American. If taking a lot of pictures and milling around confusedly didn't do the trick, apparently people can tell you're American just from looking at how you walk. I don't really get it, but I guess it's something about our strides and posture. Also, it's interesting to note that most Irish people will walk on a different side of the sidewalk...matching the traffic oppositeness of the Irish roads.
-Street action. Graffiti seems to be much more accepted here and we've come across a lot of big examples of it. It's also much more beautiful and arty: pictures instead of scribbley names. Also there are a MILLION street performers everywhere. Musicians, people doing random tricks...everything. It's very entertaining. Additionally, the cross walk signals make lots of beeping sounds which makes you feel like you're constantly playing a game of Frogger.
Artsy alley way!
Lady playing a harp very beautifully!
Anyway, that's all for now! I've also started posting more extensive photographs to my facebook (including some of our house which I might post on here later) so check em out!
This is the scruffy cat that frequents our street.
I have named him Sir Ian McKellan. He is a gentleman and a scholar.
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