Pleasant Greetings From the Emerald Isle

Hey everyone!  This is my first installment in my travel-log-blog about my year-long stay in Ireland.  In the last week, I’ve traveled from Dublin to Dundalk to Carlingford to Knowth and New Grange and back to Dublin, and it has been one amazing journey.

First off, Ireland’s nickname “the Emerald Isle” is not without merit—everything is green!  Coming from dry, drought-stricken central California, where the landscape is not but the gold of dry (and flammable) grasses and the brown of bare soils, the view from the plane was incredibly striking-nothing but the different shades of green in the fields and forests, and the occasional dark brown of moist, peaty soil.  Here, where there is both adequate rain and adequate sun, any seed that lands in even the slightest bit of soil can grow and bloom, be it in the ground, the cracks in the pavement, in gutters, or even up on chimneys!  Plant life abounds in Ireland, whereas in California, save for the irrigated gardens and lawns and groves, everything is brown and dead until the first rains of winter.

Speaking of weather, a word of advice for my fellow Yanks: Expect the unexpected.  In one single day, you can experience sun and rain, hot and cold, all in less than twelve hours, so dress and prepare yourselves accordingly!

Regarding currency, be aware that prices are more or less what they’d be in dollars, only in euros.  Therefore, given the current exchange rate, things are roughly 1.5 times as expensive as they’d be in the States.  As bad as that seems, you should consider yourselves lucky; when I visited the United Kingdom back in 2007, the exchange rate was £0.45  for each American dollar, or less than a 1:2 exchange rate.   Amazingly, the British pound is actually less than the Euro as of this writing, so if you have any British pounds with you and you plan on visiting any Euro-using nations any time soon, by all means, bring them with you and convert them, before they lose any more value.

Irish food has been a bit difficult for me so far, given my various food allergies.  The Irish restaurants I’ve visited have been fairly accommodating, but, as in the states, the waiters and waitresses don’t always know exactly what one means by “dairy-free”.

As for the Irish people, I have, thus far, found them incredibly polite, friendly, and outgoing.  Whereas in America one immediately thinks, when greeted by a friendly and talkative stranger, “Oh, what’s he getting at?  They must be trying to get something from me!”, in Ireland they think nothing of starting up a conversation with a total stranger.  It is truly a welcome change, but be wary, as Ireland, like any nation, has it’s fair share of crooks, and such individuals particularly seek out unwary foreigners and tourists.  Be on the lookout for aggressive panhandlers and hoodlums in tracksuits!  The unpleasant minority aside, most of the Irish people are good, honest people, and I’ve enjoyed the casual encounters I’ve had thus far.  If you’re American, however, remember the basic manners you learned from your parents (or “Barney”, “Sesame Street”, or what have you), and, especially when in a restaurant, café, pub, or bar, to say “Please” and “Thank you”.  As in Britain, Australia, or New Zealand, such basic manners are all but required, and are greatly appreciated by waiters, waitresses, bus and taxi drivers, hotel clerks, and bar tenders.

I’ll continue to update you guys on my travels in Ireland and on my studies at Trinity College Dublin.  Until then, slaínte!