The Learning Curve

Although I have been here less than a week, I love Irish culture and my new surroundings. The transition from Canada has been overall very easy and quite enjoyable. Of course, I have experienced some small changes which I would like to share with you in the hopes you learn from my mistakes.

Most importantly, when buying groceries please read all labels very carefully - let me explain...  I visited the on-campus SPAR store to purchase a few necessities for my room. I was in need of laundry detergent because I wished to wash my new sheets and towels before using them. I picked up a bottle filled with what looked like liquid detergent, and read the label to find it was "laundry conditioner." I was suspicious that laundry conditioner would be similar to hair conditioner (meaning would not wash) and so returned the bottle to the shelf. I chose another bottle of liquid detergent, which praised its "longer lasting freshness for 21 washes," paid and went back to residence to wash my sheets.

At 6 Euro a wash, laundry at res is not cheap. Again I was suspicious at the thin consistency of the detergent as I poured it into the machine. Back in my room I tried the liquid out in my sink... it did not lather. On second inspection the small print on the back of the bottle said "laundry conditioner."  The good news is my sheets came out exceptionally soft and smelling like "blue skies." The bad news is they weren't actually clean. So the moral of the story is please look for powder detergent, and don't break the bank on laundry conditioner.

My laundry mishap has really been my most amusing mistake so far, but I do have other great tips about Ireland. Irish people are very adept J-walkers. Even when they are at a cross-walk they scoot across when the opportunity arises. Being from a small town I was pretty confident in my J-walking skills, but the first time I went to cross a street in Limerick I was surprisingly interrupted by a car.  Please remember that cars drive on the left side of the road, and pay extra close attention at round-abouts.

Tipping workers is not nearly as common in Ireland as in North America. For instance bar tenders, taxi drivers or hairdressers are not tipped unless they do something really extraordinary. Tipping is acceptable at restaurants.

I had my first Irish pub experience earlier this week when I visited The Scholar on campus. There were music students playing live Irish Traditional Music and the pub was quite busy. I'm on a quest to try many different types of Irish beers, especially Craft Beers made in microbreweries. The Irish beers imported to Canada, mainly Guinness, Kilkenny, Smithwicks and Harp, are all distributed by the massive corporation Diageo. My Irish roommate tells me (in his opinion) that exported beers have a more neutralized taste in order to appeal to a larger audience. So the real Irish drinking experience is from smaller companies. That's not to say those other beers aren't popular in Ireland. Out of all the glasses filled at the pub, I'd say the largest majority were brimming with the thick foamy head of Guinness.

But the most important thing to know about beverages is that Tim Hortons is in Ireland! I have yet to indulge in a coffee though. There are no full-size restaurants, just coffee and donut stations set up in convenient stores. Sadly I'm not sure many of the Irish realize Timmies is Canadian. I suppose it is my personal mission to further educate them!

I have also finally experienced my first Irish rain. It was really more of a mist though and my umbrella would have been major overkill. This past week has apparently been the best weather Ireland has had all summer. Obviously it rains a lot in summer, plus I have it on good authority that it's miserable in October... oh and also January to March... plus it will rain in the spring... Yep that's Ireland. Rubber boots are a fashion statement.

I promise in my next posts I will include pictures of campus and Limerick City. I'll post again in the next couple days.

Shannon