What are you looking forward to most about coming home?

Suaimhneach

• Seeing my mammy on a regular basis (and brother, and dad, and extended family)
• Seeing my neices and all my friends kids (most born while I was away)
• WHELANS and probably a dodgy 2am trip to Fibbers
• Driving at home, I learned while away so it will be so nice to do this at home, will probably feel like a whole different experience
• Getting involved in local voluntary causes (abortion rights, secular education)
• Lovely jackets and wrapping up warm and a bitta rain and good cups of tea
• IRISH FOOD (bread, butter, milk, tayto, chocolate - basically carbs)
• Not last, maybe most of all, being in the same country as three of my best friends who've all traveled at the same time as me to difference places or who've had tough times while I was away and it was hard to support them.

silja

Ah man Fibbers.... the only time I ever got carded, when the police showed up.

R.D. aka MR.D

I'm looking forward to being in an English speaking country again and not any English speaking country, one where I know all the tricks! Going to the bank, post office, doctor, dentist etc isn't a huge ordeal. I travel over 2 hours to get to an English speaking dentist and nearly 2 and a half hours to an English speaking doctor. I muddle through most things but I'm not letting someone near my teeth unless we understand each other.

I'm looking forward to being closer to my nephews. It's grand being away when they are small but they are getting bigger now and it'll be nice to be able to go to communions and what not.

I'm looking forward to being close to Europe again. Being able to head on a wee city break for a few days and see something beautiful and eat good food.

I'm looking forward to cheap potatoes and generally the large range of potatoes that are available and the good quality. I'm the stereotype but I honestly have to have potatoes once a week or I go a bit nuts. They are expensive and bad quality where I am at the minute (Japan).

I'm looking forward to being able to buy make-up for my skin. As you can imagine, most make-up in Asia has yellow undertones. I'm pink god damn it!

I'm looking forward to penneys underwear. Asian women prefer ugly as hell underwear. It's all granny pants unless you're paying tons for it.

I looking forward to a choice in tampons, condoms and antiperspirant.

The thing that I'm looking forward to most is the fact that Irish people have really great conversational ability. Jesus, we never shut up and you don't realise how precious that is until you don't have it.

It's about 4 months now until I arrive back and I'm getting really excited!

iusedtoknow

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

I'm looking forward to being in an English speaking country again and not any English speaking country, one where I know all the tricks! Going to the bank, post office, doctor, dentist etc isn't a huge ordeal. I travel over 2 hours to get to an English speaking dentist and nearly 2 and a half hours to an English speaking doctor. I muddle through most things but I'm not letting someone near my teeth unless we understand each other.

Kind of the reason I was really excited to move to America from Spain. I'm fluent in Spanish and Catalan, but whenever I'd meet an Irish person or at least a native english speaking person it was such a relief - even though I didn't have to "practice" what I was going to say, i still had to concentrate on what was going on.

Now having lived in the US, we don't speak the same english and I have to put as much thought into how I speak my native tongue as if I was a non native. I find myself having to second guess my english. Mental note...don't use "somewhat" unless you want to be known as "that person" . There is a guy in my office from Galway, and if we are in a meeting together, we usually start off chatting as you do in Ireland, and no one can understand us.

catbear

iusedtoknow wrote: »

There is a guy in my office from Galway, and if we are in a meeting together, we usually start off chatting as you do in Ireland, and no one can understand us.

Was working alongside an Aussie when I had to deal with a customer with a thick Glasgow accent. I caught most of what she was saying, repeated a few words to her to be sure I was understanding her correctly and when she left my Aussie colleague asked if we had been speaking gaelic!

Had plenty of those awkward silences when working with americans after I used an irish idiom.

R.D. aka MR.D

catbear wrote: »

Had plenty of those awkward silences when working with americans after I used an irish idiom.

Well my husband to be is an American so that's the story of my life! In the beginning I would struggle so hard to think of a way to explain it or the 'american word' for it. For example, after knowing each other only a few months, I was talking about washing powder. He hadn't a clue and I hadn't a clue what it was called in America. I have a million other stories!

Since we've decided to move back to Ireland, I've been trying my best to increase the amount of Irish slang I use everday. I'm especially concentrating on expressions related to the weather. I'm also forcing him to watch Father Ted and various other Ireland based things. I'm mostly worried about my family because I'm from Donegal, I know he's going to have a hard time but he'll pick it up. This week I might introduce 'the day' and 'the maurra', see how he copes.

He's picked up a few already. He says 'wee' and 'giving out' and 'How'reya getting on?'.


My favourite run in with an American was a former coworker, I said 'calm down' and he hadn't a clue. I kept repeating it the best I could and eventually had to write it down!!

Suaimhneach

I think you need your own thread where you keep us informed of your antics - sounds hilarious!

My irish-american mishaps include rubber, hoover, referring to the bathroom as toilet and laughing when people ask me if I would "like a ride".

Ruu

Family, nieces and nephews growing up.

munchkin_utd

Suaimhneach wrote: »

<snip> referring to the bathroom as toilet and laughing when people ask me if I would "like a ride".

I do not get this american thing at all about calling a toilet a restroom or bathroom (or other such "room")

It isnt a room, and isnt restful, and there is no bath.
Muppets, and then you get our national airline home (from Germany, where they call a toilet "toilette" - not a fuppin "badezimmer") and they start this shíte about there being 2 bathrooms at the back and one at the front.

I think that deserves a complaint to Aerlingus, so will do that now this afternoon

Tom Dunne

I look forward to working in an organisation where professionalism and competence are the norm, rather than the exception and where my colleagues do not spend their entire working life avoiding responsibility.

Oh, and all the family stuff.

R.D. aka MR.D

Tom Dunne wrote: »

I look forward to working in an organisation where professionalism and competence are the norm

This is a huge one for me, too. I'm looking forward to being in a place where you can have a frank discussion with your manager or supervisor about ways that things could be improved. In all the jobs I've had in Asia, it's such a no-no to take initiative.

Then there is also the idea of 'if you tell them about a problem, you are the problem'. It literally makes no sense. Working together to solve problems is much better than one person hiding a problem in order to save face.

In all the jobs I've had in Ireland, something goes wrong even if it's my fault? Bring it to the attention of the right person so that it can be solved. A small problem ignored just gets bigger.

Don't get me started on competence. People getting promoted just because they have been there the longest makes no business sense. One guy got promoted above me because he started 2 weeks earlier and in another case, I got offered a promotion despite the fact that I had upset my supervisor (she cried) and the management disliked my attitude in general. Why promote me? I'd been there longer than everyone else!!! :rolleyes: I laughed in the face of my other supervisor (who I would be replacing) when she told me. I thought it was joke.

SeantheMan

This thread makes me miss home a little, my girlfriend (not Irish ...met her here in her country) doesn't really see herself moving anytime in the near future. But I can't see myself as a 50yr old still here ....due to many of the above issues mentioned. Especially the concentrating on the language and just conversing in general, also my family and friends.

Another thing is the job market, I hated the job I was qualified for back in Ireland, so if I were to move back home I don't know what I would do or be able to work at, Ideally I would love to go back to college, but having the finances to do that while also renting in Ireland etc would be beyond me.

R.D. aka MR.D

SeantheMan wrote: »

This thread makes me miss home a little, my girlfriend (not Irish ...met her here in her country) doesn't really see herself moving anytime in the near future. But I can't see myself as a 50yr old still here ....due to many of the above issues mentioned. Especially the concentrating on the language and just conversing in general, also my family and friends.

Another thing is the job market, I hated the job I was qualified for back in Ireland, so if I were to move back home I don't know what I would do or be able to work at, Ideally I would love to go back to college, but having the finances to do that while also renting in Ireland etc would be beyond me.

Do you like your job where you are at? Would you be able to do it in Ireland?

We're moving back because we've met expats who have stayed 10+ years and they are still in what are basically entry level jobs and they are miserable. If they move back to their home country they haven't moved on/up skilled in 10 years.

We're in our late 20's and have been in Asia for 4 years (me) and 5 years (him) and that's still a long time to make up for. I think the longer you leave it, the harder it gets until it's been 20 years and you are essentially stuck.

I've seen a lot of miserable 50 year old who stayed for their wife who barely talks to them anymore.

But there are probably 50 year olds who are happy enough, they are at home with their wife instead of in an expat bar telling their problems to people 25 years younger than them.

iusedtoknow

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

I've seen a lot of miserable 50 year old who stayed for their wife who barely talks to them anymore.

But there are probably 50 year olds who are happy enough, they are at home with their wife instead of in an expat bar telling their problems to people 25 years younger than them.

Jesus, I meet a lot of these (here in SF). There is a bar just down the hill from our house which is notorious for Irish immigrants to go and bitch about things. I met a friend down there the other night and the amount of complaining from them is ridiculous. The sad thing is, they can't go "home" as they'd never get back in - so they're stuck in cashless society trying to operate under the table.

R.D. aka MR.D

iusedtoknow wrote: »

Jesus, I meet a lot of these (here in SF). There is a bar just down the hill from our house which is notorious for Irish immigrants to go and bitch about things. I met a friend down there the other night and the amount of complaining from them is ridiculous. The sad thing is, they can't go "home" as they'd never get back in - so they're stuck in cashless society trying to operate under the table.

I have a friend in Boston who has been there 8 years or so now and she is in the exact same position. She says she regrets it's hugely because she can't visit home at all but she's making good money/has a life in Boston.

Natonstan

Tom Dunne wrote: »

I look forward to working in an organisation where professionalism and competence are the norm, rather than the exception and where my colleagues do not spend their entire working life avoiding responsibility.

Oh, and all the family stuff.

I had to come in here and reply to this one as it's one of the HUGE things I noticed after moving to the USA. I started working as a Data Analyst in a large company here in Texas and I actually got in trouble for doing too much work, we have a list of projects that myself and another worker get work from and she put in a complaint because I was plowing through them and she wasn't getting left any to complete..

There really is a whole different attitude between ourselves and workers here in America

BlackEdelweiss

Not living in New Zealand!

Suaimhneach

I'm home two years now (almost) and all of the above is so true and so worth it.