Why I Couldn't Be Irish

If you've talked to me recently, you'll know that I'm quite loving my job right now. I mean, it's still work. I don't wake up everyday thankful that I'm going to work instead of sitting on the beach (still looking for that rich husband who's going to let me sit on the beach all day, every day - takers? takers?). But as far as jobs go, it's pretty rocking. The work is enjoyable. The people are enjoyable. It has some drama, like every job does, but the level pales in comparison to some places I've been. And it suits my personality.

One of the great benefits of the job is that I'm getting to learn about the Irish culture. I work with more Irish than I do Canadians on a daily basis. I travel a lot in my real life, but nothing will force you to understand a culture faster than having to work with it every day.

There's a popular American theory that the Irish are loud brawlers, heavy drinkers and slightly violent. This, primarily, I'm guessing is based both on the fact that St. Patrick's day is the thing on which Americans base their knowledge of the Irish, as well as the degree to which American-Irish tend to embrace that definition of Irish culture. And I suppose there's that whole Irish mafia element worked in there, too.

And if that were how the Irish actually were culturally, I would probably not struggle with communicating with them at all. And, in fact, when they are drinking in the evening, I fit in fairly well.

But, in fact, what you learn is that the Irish culture is by and large an intensely private, under spoken and often just overly polite culture.

An example that was given to me that I think sums it up was provided by a co-worker when repeating a story about how somebody else describes this phenomenon.

"In the States/Germany/Non-Irish Country, if you're late for work, your boss comes over to you and says 'Jocelyn, you were late. That's not acceptable. You let the entire team down.' In Ireland, when you're late, your boss gives you an hour to settle in, update Facebook, etc. Then he comes over and says, 'Hiya. Traffic sure was bad out there today alright.'"

And that about sums it up. And you know, that level of politeness is difficult for me. It goes against my grain. I suppose in the end, it's a good thing that I'm working there because it's forcing me to become a more gentle communicator. However, it would be a reason I couldn't survive in Ireland. For example, I was told retroactively at one point that somebody had been flirting with me. Here's an example of how that went, "We're going to be walking this way, and you're welcome to walk this way with us ... if you want to."

Are you serious?

Also, I got to do a pretty awesome thing while I was in Dublin this time around. I got to go see the Irish soccer/football team play a qualifying match against Bulgaria from some very, very good seats (a kind and generous gift). Even though neither team was very good, it was an exciting match. Ireland gave up an early goal and then came back to win it very late in the game. But I found the crowd really reflective of Irish culture. Something would happen and they would stand up and yell and swear and hurl abuse. Then ... they would sit back down and politely watch the game.

I've been to a Real Madrid game. It was not like that at ALL.

Anyway, I am tired. Extremely tired. I opted not to take a day off on Monday since it's such a busy season. Expect maybe a mid-week fiver update and not much else. I just want to watch very bad tv and sleep all week.