Things you notice about Ireland when you return from abroad?

Fuinseog

Lorgach wrote: »

These are known as 'Zuzzers', because when the talk it sounds like "Zuzzz zuzzz zuzzz zuzzzz"

they are great ammunition for The Savage Eye.

Lorgach

Jake1 wrote: »

I notice the litter.

Bang on Jake1. . . The litter is definitly what I notice most.

mikom

bbam wrote: »

Was talking to a lad who is stationed over in Arizona..
He couldn't believe how dull, grey & miserable Ireland is,

No shit, he's in Arizona where 40°C summers are not uncommon.

Fuinseog

mikom wrote: »

No shit, he's in Arizona where 40°C summers are not uncommon.

we tend to bitch if its more than 25 degrees for more than three days.

mikom

Fuinseog wrote: »

we tend to bitch if its more than 25 degrees for more than three days.

You may.......

sh1tstirrer

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

Drinking milk on its own is disgusting. Must be some kind of teething, Irish mammy, living at home till we're 40, Freudian thing.

Everyone to their own tastes, don't get your knickers in a twist over it. So you didn't leave home till you were 40

bodice ripper

the smell of open soil

in a good way

Reindeer

mikom wrote: »

No shit, he's in Arizona where 40°C summers are not uncommon.

The last time I was in Arizona it was 45*C, a break from the previous day's 47. Hell, it's meant to be 38 there today. That's ridiculous heat. I've lived most of my life in Texas, and the heat in Arizona is unbearable by comparison.

For a Texan, the first few things I notice are the aromas. American cars are very strictly controlled for emissions. So one of the first things that hits you in Dublin is the smell of diesel and petrol exhaust. It doesn't bother me, it's just noticeable. Then you're met with the smell of sea air, Liffey water, mixed in with maybe some peat and coal depending on the time of year. It's very unique and serves to remind me of where I've landed.

Central Texas actually gets more rain overall than Ireland due to the Gulf, but it is really only very green in spring. I'm always impressed by the many shades of green in Ireland all year long. And on those all too rare occasions when the sunlight bathes the hillsides, it can be glorious.

I am met with far less begrudging in person than on boards. In person, I generally find the Irish to be polite, unpretentious and genuine(for better or worse), considerate, curious, and engaging. Out of habit I will occasionally take a pedestrian by surprise with a greeting. One would never walk past another person on the paths in Texas without a polite greeting unless it were a busy Dallas sidewalk. So, I usually have to modify the habit and save it for those times when I make eye contact with a passer by in Ireland, or else when they greet me first.

I very much appreciate the fact much of Ireland was built on a 'human scale'. It may not mean as much coming from a Texan, but Ireland feels like it was made for people. You feel like you are within a community; like you are taking part in it. The distances in The States, let alone Texas, tend to make one feel disconnected from society much of the time. I feel more immersed when I am in Ireland.

While I do notice the litter, especially late weekends and their mornings, I don't feel it's solely the fault of the locals. I've seen children after finishing a chocolate go out of their way and place it in the bin in front of the Super Valu in Clondalkin. It isn't usually until the bins are full that the rubbish starts to collect on the ground. I've always thought simply adding more rubbish bins for public use on weekends outside of pubs and chippers would make a big difference.

I very much love the long hours in the summers, and oddly am just fine with the short winter days. The sun very low in the sky can be annoying while driving though.

Speaking of driving, it's good to be in a place where folks know how to use roundabouts. They have them in Washington State, but they confuse people as often as not. In general, I prefer the driving in Ireland to America except for one thing; Irish seem to merge a lot less aggressively than Americans. That's a bit of a drawback when you are in the left lane preparing to exit early.

The food is definitely different. Chippers are a god send. I prefer about everything better in Ireland aside from Whiskey and beer being far more expensive(nearly 3X the cost it is in Texas), and the lack of corn finishing on the beef. This makes the beef less marbled and more tough, and a tad more gamey, but you get used to it. The only real problem I have is the fact that cider tastes like soda to me, and I tend to drink it as such even at lunch. Well, it really doesn't bother me nearly so much as it does the people in the passenger seat.

Pubs. PUBS. I miss pubs every second I am out of Ireland. I was once in a conversation with someone from Seattle about Ireland. When we got on the topic of pubs, she asked me how popular they were and how many. "Imagine every Starbucks and coffee shop in the pacific northwest being a pub and you start to get the idea."

astonaidan

I noticed a general wanting people to fail attitude which I found strange cause the Irish I met in Australia were nothing but helpful, also noticed the whole nights out are generally spent talking about how depressed everyone is

lavelle72

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

What is it with Irish people and milk? Blokes more so. I've never been anywhere else where people buy a pint of milk with their lunch. Yuck!!!

In my old job here, I had a few odd looks in the kitchen when I'd have milk at lunch - was just so alien to them

Daisies

The banter. I love the banter. Sitting waiting to get off the plane in Dublin airport and chatting with the guy sitting next to me. Getting a bus home and chatting to everyone about where they were coming from as it was Christmas. I find it unique.

The pubs, (a lot of the times due to the banter), being able to go to your local and be greeted by name and be guaranteed that there will be at least one person there you can sit and have a drink with.

Home made soda bread, preferably with smoked salmon on top. Nom nom nom

But the big thing I notice and miss is people's humour. Ya, we're in a recession, yes, young people are emigrating in their thousands but despite all the scare mongering in the media, people can have a good outlook "Ah sure it has to get worse before it gets better".

TL;DR, I like Ireland, there is nowhere I would rather call home and no matter about the junkies or the CRAP location of Dublin Airport, when I finally land, I'm glad to be home

fishy fishy

munchkin_utd wrote: »

the one thing that is noticeable is that now there are deals in the shop.

Till a few years back there was the price - and that was the price.
Biscuits/ bacon/ sweeties etc that you might want to bring back with you abroad were just STUPID prices and shopping around/ switching brand made no difference as there was either dear regular price or very very dear regular priced products!
And that was Dunnes/ Tesco where you'd expect some sort of competition on price. In boom Ireland there was so much cash that nobody gave a SHÍTE what anything costed, not the shops nor customers.
Pre boom there was the odd deal to be had, but there was no deals comparible to what say sainsburys would have in the UK.

Now though its gone the other way and half the stuff in every shop is either 50%/ 100% extra free or buy a few get one free or such likes.
Ireland has never seen so many deals and food so cheap.

Anyhow, the other thing I notice is how folks make false blinkered cynical statements of fact that cannot be argued or corrected, i.e. stuff like:
- nowhere else pays property tax (when actually ONLY Ireland doesnt have it)
- the cost if living in Ireland is so high in comparison to other places (when rent is plummeting and food and other costs have never been cheaper if you shop wisely! NOTE: petrol is just as dear abroad in say UK/ Germany etc)
- we pay high taxes (which on so many levels is wrong)
- water in ireland is "free" (even though 1 billion Euro is spent on water treatment/ diaposal in Ireland every year!)
- only Ireland has "rip off" hotel prices during big events like Galway Races etc (even though major events abroad have similar prices when demand exceeds supply)
- the germans want to take over Ireland (no they dont, they just want to minimise their losses on the cash that their muppet bankers stupidly lent to Irish muppet bankers in the first place)
- its the bankers fault that taxes are rising and services cut (when actually Ireland is just plain spending chronicaly more than it is taking in - and Berties legacy of time unlimited generous dole+rent allowances/ high tax free allowances and almost 2 million having a medical card are NOTHING to do with any inept/greedy financiers )

ahhh, a post from Munich :o Get off the boards Angela, and start sorting out your mess.

pickarooney

Daisies wrote: »

TL;DR, I like Ireland, there is nowhere I would rather call home and no matter about the junkies or the CRAP location of Dublin Airport, when I finally land, I'm glad to be home

Where would you put it, out of interest? The fact it's actually in Dublin is a major bonus, I find

the_syco

neonman wrote: »

All the junkie zombies walking around Dublin City Center.

The junkie zombies walking around Dublin without any hassle from the police.

=-=

Ability to get proper tea in a pub/restaurant.

=-=

Reindeer: that was nice to read

The Cool

When I rock into the airport I notice how pasty we all are - or orange, depending!

How friendly people are here - I lived in France and Spain for over a year and not once did a supermarket check out person ever strike up a conversation with me. In Ireland, particularly if the staff are Irish, they'll always make a comment on the weather or how great a bargain something is or whatever.

Also how expensive things can be here, eg in supermarkets, BUT we have a much wider range of foods available, catering for a load of different tastes. In Spain the only spicy thing I could get a hold of was curry powder - really learned how to cook from scratch that year! In France, you could get one or two jars of Uncle Bens in the supermarket but it'd cost you a fiver. Plus nobody does sh1tty Chinese like we do!

How hilly our countryside is - other places I've travelled through, I've seen miles and miles of flat fields. Travelling through Ireland you don't know what you'll see around the next corner.

pickarooney

Ireland has a wider range of food than France and Spain.... I think I've heard it all now!

I miss the banter as well. Love being able to strike up conversation with whoever is sitting next to you. Last year, my Aer Lingus flight from Brussels (where I was working) to Dublin was delayed because of snow. Ended up sitting down at the gate next to an Irish looking girl and we chatted for a couple of hours about all kinds of things. Once we finally boarded, the air hostess kindly asked if I'd like to change seats and sit next to my 'friend' and it dawned on me that I had no idea what her name was, even though I knew all kinds of personal stuff about her! Really miss chatting to people like that.

I always notice how green it is. Not that different from the UK, but compared to Spain or somewhere, the difference is enormous. It's so, so damp as well. Even when it's not raining, you can feel the damp in the air.

I notice the quality of dairy products - I really miss the milk when I'm living on the continent.

I also notice how much pre-prepared food people eat in Ireland. I'm currently in Spain, where it's very unusual for people to buy a jar of sauce or prepackaged sandwich. Almost everything is made from scratch. On the flipside, it's difficult to find anything but Spanish food, which I'm already sick of. Back home, you can buy all kinds of international food in any supermarket, whereas here you'd be lucky to find anything Indian, Chinese etc.

pickarooney

pickarooney wrote: »

Ireland has a wider range of food than France and Spain.... I think I've heard it all now!

International food, yes. I'm living in a major Spanish city and you'd be hard pressed to find anything but the same old croquettes, Spanish omelette, patatas bravas for dinner. They just don't really do international food except awful Chinese/Japanese buffets. When I lived in Ireland, I used to cook loads of Asian food at home. In my local supermarket, you might find low-quality supermarket brand noodles and one type of soy sauce. You just can't get the ingredients here.

pickarooney

The only thing I've never been able to get here is proper rashers.

Real Life

The Cool wrote: »

When I rock into the airport I notice how pasty we all are - or orange, depending!

How friendly people are here - I lived in France and Spain for over a year and not once did a supermarket check out person ever strike up a conversation with me. In Ireland, particularly if the staff are Irish, they'll always make a comment on the weather or how great a bargain something is or whatever.

Also how expensive things can be here, eg in supermarkets, BUT we have a much wider range of foods available, catering for a load of different tastes. In Spain the only spicy thing I could get a hold of was curry powder - really learned how to cook from scratch that year! In France, you could get one or two jars of Uncle Bens in the supermarket but it'd cost you a fiver. Plus nobody does sh1tty Chinese like we do!

How hilly our countryside is - other places I've travelled through, I've seen miles and miles of flat fields. Travelling through Ireland you don't know what you'll see around the next corner.

i dont like this, id rather just get my stuff and not have to talk, i like the way they dont talk to you in other countries. Its not that im ignorant i just hate small talk, no need for it.

charlemont

fishy fishy wrote: »

I had to turn of the morning radio because of this - every single morning the same drivel from the same monotone reports and presenters - designed to get you down. Fact is, the majority of people have no idea what they are on about - the story changes ever day - the only constant is that it would drive somebody to smash their head against a wall.

Yes Its absolutely depressing stuff,
A chap was telling me how he came back from Stockholm years ago and as he was in the taxi from the airport, the news was on and it was mentioing the IRA and peado priests, Was also pissing rain out and the taxi driver tried to rip him off, He said he couldn't wait to leave again.

Augmerson

cloptrop wrote: »

I noticed how Liverpool supporters in Dublin care more for a tragedy that happened in Hillsborough than what happened in Dublin . In 1981 i think 46 people died in stardust fire . Nobody punished although they should be . And yet everyone is walking around wanting justice for the 96in hillsborough .
Although I agree everyone should get justice think how odd itd be for someone from liverpool to care more about the stardust than hillsborough or heysel .
In 1981 liverpool would have had a huge following and id say near half of the victims of the stardust were liverpool supporters and it was in DUBLIN .
Why do Irish Liverpool fans not really care about it but spend so much time obsessing over liverpool families getting justice when the stardust familiea never got it.
Its a weird occurance Iv only evver seen in this country .

Why is it just Liverpool fans you mention? I've noticed plenty of other soccer supporters and non-soccer supports with little care or even knowledge for and of the Stardust tragedy or other events like the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. I very much believe, like you, that with all these horrible incidents where people lost life for no good reason, somebody should have been held accountable. Somebody should have been brought to justice.

You must not get out of the country very often if you've only notice people being like that here. People across the world can be a bit ignorant like that, it's not just here mate. Anyway, this is well off-topic, sorry.

silvervixen84

The transport system. I'm so spoiled for choice in London that waiting 40 mins for a bus from my home town to Cork feels like an eternity.

OldNotWIse

Bouncers acting like they are doing you some kind of special favour by letting you in to their nightclub so you can spend money and keep them in a job...

OldNotWIse

Dublin Bus "Real Time Information":

"2 minutes" = 6 minutes until sign changes to "1 minute"
"1 minute" = 4 minutes until sign changes to "due"
"due" = not really due but should be here in about another 2 minutes

They are clearly working off some kind of advanced mathematical formula...

RADIUS

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Dublin Bus "Real Time Information":

"2 minutes" = 6 minutes until sign changes to "1 minute"
"1 minute" = 4 minutes until sign changes to "due"
"due" = not really due but should be here in about another 2 minutes

They are clearly working off some kind of advanced mathematical formula...

Not to mention bus occasionally disappearing from the timer and never arriving! It has happened to me a few times. It says 25 mins, so I wait, and just when it is getting near "due" its gone! Replaced by the next one in 45 mins.

Micky Dolenz

I was reminded of a post here as I walked down the street earlier. In a lot of countries you have to park in the direction of traffic. I was walking down the street and saw a black jeep in the distance park the opposite way to all other parked cars, I thought, "Whats the betting thats an Irish car" Sure as anything, it had an Irish reg

LordSutch

Daisies wrote: »

The banter. I love the banter. Sitting waiting to get off the plane in Dublin airport and chatting with the guy sitting next to me. Getting a bus home and chatting to everyone about where they were coming from as it was Christmas. I find it unique.

And the insertion of the F word in every second sentence? I had some friends over recently from Switzerland and they were highly amused at the high rate of Fs by so many people in so many places, even well dressed people on the Dart just seem to insert Fu*k into so many conversations, just like a form of punctuation :cool:

Fuinseog

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Bouncers acting like they are doing you some kind of special favour by letting you in to their nightclub so you can spend money and keep them in a job...

you get scumbag bouncers abroad as well.

Fuinseog

LordSutch wrote: »

And the insertion of the F word in every second sentence? I had some friends over recently from Switzerland and they were highly amused at the high rate of Fs by so many people in so many places, even well dressed people just seem to insert Fu*k into so many conversations, just like a form of punctuation.

the worst thing about that is when a foreigner who has been here a while starts speaking like that and have no idea when it is inappropriate.

Daveysil15

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Bouncers acting like they are doing you some kind of special favour by letting you in to their nightclub so you can spend money and keep them in a job...

Yeah not to mention how exclusive the clubs are here. Take the wright venue for example. Full of posers and wannabe celebs who just want to get their photo taken for the facebook page. The mentality that you're only looking for a shag when you try to strike up a conversation with someone.

cournioni

I notice that we have an unhealthy obsession with grief and negativity.

Fuinseog

Daveysil15 wrote: »

Yeah not to mention how exclusive the clubs are here. Take the wright venue for example. Full of posers and wannabe celebs who just want to get their photo taken for the facebook page. The mentality that you're only looking for a shag when you try to strike up a conversation with someone.

these clubs come and go while a simple disco like coopers seems to survive.

corktina

i love the little men all dressed in green with bunches of shamrocks in their hands, drinking pints of stout and driving tractors,

gobnaitolunacy

The sour oul wagon who asks if you have any meat or dairy products in Cork Airport.

Great intro to the country.

Intensive Care Bear

I don't know if its been mentioned already but whenever i go home its sounds like everyones sounds more Irish, like their accent has gotten stronger. I know its just because i'm not used to hearing it but i do laugh when i'm talking to my friends and family and think what a bunch of boggers.

matrim

How long the daylight lasts in summer. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to the sun not setting at 6pm

How flat and small (as in building size) Dublin is.

Eve_Dublin

Variation in the skies. No variation here in Madrid.

The paleness of Irish skin.

The accents...they're so....Irish!

How overgrown all the plants and grass are on the duel carriageways now since the crisis.

The use of manners compared to the Spanish here (not to say they're necessarily unmannerly but "pleases" and "thank yous" aren't used nearly as much).

People dressed much more casually than here.

How Dublin radio is almost exclusively full of D4 accents. I think Joe Duffy might be the only one with a North Dublin accent.

Banter with strangers.

munchkin_utd

fückin Immersion heaters !

What fückin muppet invented them?? Is it written in the constitution that these are the only ways of heating water in Ireland ?

Thankfully you escape from their clutches when abroad. Well, I've never seen one in the past 12 years away except when back home.

OldNotWIse

RADIUS wrote: »

Not to mention bus occasionally disappearing from the timer and never arriving! It has happened to me a few times. It says 25 mins, so I wait, and just when it is getting near "due" its gone! Replaced by the next one in 45 mins.

I know! I've often stood at a bus stop thinking, "did that bus actually pull in here and allow passengers to board and then pull out again in the two seconds I spent looking the other way?"

Daisies

pickarooney wrote: »

Where would you put it, out of interest? The fact it's actually in Dublin is a major bonus, I find

Ha ha ha maybe I should have said the terrible public transport access to it.

Rosy Posy

Fuinseog wrote: »

only in Dublin have I seen Pyjamas on the streets.

They do it here in New Zealand too. Popular with those of a similar social demographic to those in Dublin.

pickarooney

Daisies wrote: »

pickarooney wrote: »

Where would you put it, out of interest? The fact it's actually in Dublin is a major bonus, I find

Ha ha ha maybe I should have said the terrible public transport access to it.

I would definitely agree with that.
Also +1 on the immersion heater, the lack of hot water on tap and the ridiculous separate taps in sinks.

Daveysil15

Karson Magnificent Hailstorm wrote: »

That its an awful aul kip! The women are average at best. And that i'd like to get the funk out of here again pretty soon!

Careful now. That's politically incorrect. You can have a go at the country but not the women. Some people take offense to that.

millie35

missing you already

mikom

Karson Magnificent Hailstorm wrote: »

That its an awful aul kip! The women are average at best. And that i'd like to get the funk out of here again pretty soon!

Lols............. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=69974213

Quorum

Eve_Dublin wrote: »

Banter with strangers.

I read this as "banter with skangers".

Quorum

Karson Magnificent Hailstorm wrote: »

The women are average at best.

The men are from the same stagnant gene pool so I guess that makes them average also. :cool:

Real Life

Quorum wrote: »

The men are from the same stagnant gene pool so I guess that makes them average also. :cool:

As a man i would say that is true. Apart from me im an exception. I must have some spanish or italian in my genes.

Daveysil15

My Granny was half Portuguese so I'm a little darker than most Irish.