Lessons from Ireland
My friend, Linda, and I spent just over two weeks in Ireland. This is what I learned…
10. In contrast to the northeastern areas of Ireland, which appears to grow mainly grass and rocks, much of the southwest is forested. There are not only deciduous trees and inordinately large pine trees with the biggest pine cones I have ever seen, but in Glengarriff there are palm trees!
9. Sunshine! The sun shone brightly every day for the first 9 days of our trip! I am the only person I know to get sunburned in Ireland.
8. “Lads.” In my previous experience the term lads referred to young boys, not fifty year old women. We were referred to as lads quite a lot. It has been forty years since I was last called a lad by the WGN news weatherman who visited my grade school for an assembly. I retorted, calling him “Mrs.” Volkman. For some reason my teacher failed to see the humor in this.
7. Fairy forests. Oh, they are a real my friends! Watch your step.
6. Hurling! It is an ancient Gaelic game dating back over 3,000 years. It’s like field hockey meets lacrosse on steroids. One evening we stood shoulder to shoulder amongst the crowd of spectators watching an adult men’s league. The only rule I could ascertain is that whacking opponents with your stick seems to be frowned upon if the referees are watching. The locals take their hurling very seriously. The ball can travel up to 100 mph, yet die-hards balk at new regulations requiring them to wear face masks.
5. Single-track roads. Irish roads take driving skills to a whole new level with single-track roads.
Definition : a road wide enough to accommodate one vehicle but has two-way traffic.
We traveled winding, mountainous single-track roads, bridges and tunnels… and I only shrieked a few times. The locals ride bicycles and walk along these roads with their children, dogs and occasionally cows. Have I mentioned that Linda is an excellent driver? The lack of guard rails never even seemed to faze her. The truck that entered the opposite end of the single-track tunnel when we were at the halfway point DID faze her… but it was difficult to detect, on account of my aforementioned shrieking.
4. Green. Unbeknownst to me, the color that I had formerly known as green is actually a member of the brown family. Fellow Phoenicians, you keep using this word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
3. I have a new concept of the word “old.” Old in the US is colonial, dating back 250 years. Linda and I entered a church that is 1500 years old with such amazing acoustics that we were moved extemporaneously to sing a cappella. Our whispered voices reverberated throughout the building. We visited stone circles from the Bronze Age that date back to 2000 BC. Placing my hands on these artifacts and feeling a connection with those who preceded me for four thousand years is indescribable.
2. The Irish like Country & Western music. They sing the lyrics in an Irish brogue, often to music with a traditional Irish backbeat.
1. The wise words of Gus, our pub shuttle driver, continued to ring true throughout our trip. “It’s Ireland lads, expect the unexpected!”
