Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Enjoying Ireland while not being a tourist

A lot of my posts have been about the different places I have visited here in Ireland. These events have been quite touristy but not all of the things that I do here are that way. Let's talk about some week day occurrences that I've come across.

Well first off, we have the greatest Irish roommate possible. Her name is Micah and she is the most genuine person I've met while I've been over here. She is always making "too much" food and sharing it with me. She has already made use two batches of cookies to come home to from work, they were all DELICIOUS. She has her friends over all the time who are just as sweet as her. Her friend Stuart made use an apple pie last week while the rest of us watched Shrek 2, her friend Alienor bought us TWO BOTTLES OF RANCH (thank the lord, I have needed my ranch fix) and all of her other friends are incredibly welcoming and are always recommending things to do and places to go.

Last week Micah and her friends brought us to one of their favorite bars. This was my first gay bar experience ever. It was a good time. The people who brought us out were always introducing us to their other friends, buying us shots and grabbing us to dance. But mind you, the dancing here is completely different than in the US. A lot of time at bars the only type of dancing you see is grinding but here the only time you grind is if you're wanting to go home with that person. Instead of grinding everyone just kind of stands in a circle and dances. So, of course, I start dancing like a weirdo, pulling out the sprinkler and the shopping cart. This was much more of a hit at a gay bar than at any of the other bars we have gone to.

While on the topic of dancing, I have realized that guys are more willing to just go on the dance floor and dance by themselves or with their friends. At home I don't think any guys go to the dance floor unless they have a girl to dance floor. Here all guys just dance. Their dancing is more swaying and talking but they are still on the dance floor and still look like they are having a good time. Even when guys are dancing with girls it is often face to face with distance between them. It is something I have had to get used to seeing here because like I said, in the US this would not be happening. Instead, I would be a little grossed out by how boys and girls are grinding all up on one another.

Lastly, even strangers are extremely open to getting to know you. Last night Sara and I were in our apartment and looked out into the courtyard and saw a group of guys playing with a soccer ball and of course we wanted to join. So, Sara started making conversation with them through the window and they said we could come down and join them. We did. We got to know these four guys, learned about their day jobs, where they live, what they are doing in Dublin and even made plans to go out in Dublin with them so they could show us their favorite places. I know people are nice in the US but I feel as if this type of situation would not occur as much at home as it does here.

Overall, I have enjoyed learning more about the culture over here through these experiences. The dancing is not as weird to me as it was the first night I saw it, the hospitality is something anyone can get used to immediately and I love Micah and her friends.

We are planning to go watch the sunset somewhere tonight and going out tomorrow with our roommate and her friends again. I've had a really good week so far, feeling good each day, being productive and experiencing as much as I can about this place, seeing that I only have three and half weeks left.

Love you all! Cheers :)

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