First of all, please be aware that the contents I will provide to you are substantially based on MY experience and knowledge I gained while I was staying in Ireland for one year, studying in Griffith College Dublin.
Linguistic Challenges I Had to Confront—
It was a great craic in Ireland. Wait, does craic sound like a ‘crack’ which means ‘drugs’ in other English-speaking countries? Yes, but the meaning is completely different. It means ‘fun, or a good time’ in Irish English. No wonder a student like me, who has been learning only American/UK English for my whole life, got confused at first. To begin with, Irish English is based extensively on Gaelic, the first official Irish language which is now spoken by more or less 1.5 million people in the country. Considering the population of Ireland is approximately 6.4 million, Gaelic is spoken by a minority of people. Most Irish people speak only English, which is similar to British English in many ways, but they also learn Irish as a part of mandatory education. Thus, all the street signs and names of public places include both Irish and English. When you hear Irish people speaking English (in this case, I meant when you hear students around your age speaking), you may not even follow what they are saying. It is not that they use difficult vocabulary, but only because their accent is totally unfamiliar to your ears. The accent is basically a little similar to Irish native language, Gaelic. You would find it true when you carefully listen to people on TG4 (the Irish language television) speaking native’ Irish with English subtitles. The important point is, once you get used to it, you will find it easy to understand. You just have to pretend you are interpreting music coming out of their mouths. I got myself a habit of dropping ‘h’ in words beginning with ‘th.’ It is a well-known Irish verbal habit regarding ‘th.’ You just pronounce ‘thanks’ sounding like ‘tanks.’ Another feature of Irish pronunciation is pronouncing ‘tea’ like ‘tay.’ Well, these habits disappeared right away once I came back to Korea. So, do not hesitate to speak after them. You may easily blend in if you speak like them.
Cultural Icons of Ireland—
You may have heard a lot about drinking habits of Irish people. Actually, Irish people do not really like to be called ‘heavy drinkers.’ In fact, it is one of many misconceptions foreigners have about Irish, as well as other things like Leprechaun, a stereotypical old green fairy in Irish folklore, when they think of Ireland. Please do not take them only as excessive drinkers who are wasted after days of drinking. In many ways, they are similar to Koreans as
they enjoy drinking and dancing. Of course, there are many heavy drinkers. But it is no different in other countries, so I will skip that part. One of the most famous national (international even!) days in Ireland is
St. Patrick’s day (nicknamed St.Paddy’s day). Unlike ‘bank holidays’ (national holidays), they still go to school and workplace. But from the night before, many people start drinking as a celebration of their culturally iconic
day. On the exact day, there are a variety of huge parades on the main streets in Dublin and in other cities. You can enjoy with family and friends wearing green clothes and accessories, waiting for funny parades to come
near. Until the next morning, you may be able to hear lots of shouts and laughter from people who have been up all night. Another day for drinkers is Arthur’s day, which is organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the
Guinness Brewing Company. Many pubs sell half-priced Guinness beer on the day. You may enjoy it quite a lot! An advice for drinkers is that most people here drink without any side dishes like in Korea, so be careful not to
be too intoxicated. Just try to enjoy the air of exciting Irish live music pubs and chat with all sorts of people near you. There are a number of pubs in Ireland on every street and corner.
My Peculiar Personal Experience—
The first thing I had to deal with after I arrived in Ireland was getting a student visa. All foreigners from outside EU countries should get the visa from Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) to stay in Ireland for more than three months. It requires a bank statement describing that I have an Irish account with €3000 or more at that moment, a visa letter from school, €150 fee for a GNIB card (a.k.a. a Green Card). Knowing that I had to open a bank account to start with, I went to a bank. The receptionist told me that I had to wait for at least seven working days to receive my account number. Although I had to wait for two weeks to open a bank account, I was finally able to get enough money transferred from Korea. A next challenge came to me. I was told that issuing a bank statement could take another two weeks! My visitor visa would expire by the time I could receive the document. At last, I visited the Immigration Bureau three days before the visa expired. However, once again, I stumbled upon an obstacle. The waiting line for visa service was incredibly long, so I could not receive the service in time. After visiting there three times, I was able to receive a student visa. From this experience, I realized how wonderfully fast the Korean banking system is, and how comfortable and thankful to have a citizenship in the country of residence. A campus life was a lot easier compared to that the banking situation. Griffith halls of residence was right on campus, thus it only took five minutes to go to classes. Professors did not have as strong an accent as locals, so I could follow the classes without much difficulty. The Student Union helped me to join in a variety of clubs like fencing, salsa dance, yoga, and so on, so that I could spend free time doing some extra activities. Fencing was my choice at the beginning, and I got the opportunity to fight against many other students with the fencing gear on. One of the biggest events I went through was a Discovery Trip. In this trip, international students including myself went on a trip to the northern west part of Ireland, such as Galway. The scenery of the Cliffs of Moher and Connemara National Park was extremely beautiful. They were worth visiting for more than a few days, staying and enjoying the view from different directions. Outside Dublin, Ireland consists of nature itself. You would see a flock of milk cows and sheep resting on a vast land. One day, the Korean Culture Festival was held in Dublin city center. As a part of a news reporting assignment, I joyfully visited the place. The fact was, there were only three or more legit Korean restaurants in Dublin, and I was hungry for even a bit of Korean food. Of course, there are a lot of Korean students attending language institutes in Dublin, but I barely saw Koreans in Griffith College. The event was very enjoyable both for Koreans and other nationals. They held events like Taekwondo demonstrations, K-pop dances (all performed by Irish!) and Korean traditional games. I was surprised at how many non-Koreans participated in this festival. I bet this could prove the Korean wave is in Ireland. The food and the weather- these two factors were not really favorable for most foreign students. As many people would be aware of, the weather in Ireland and the UK is quite full of rainy days. It is mostly just drizzle, but it was hard for me to walk without an umbrella. Most Dubliners I faced while under drizzle did not take any umbrella, which seemed quite bizarre to me. But then, how bizarre would it be for them to use an umbrella under the rain like that? It was just another cultural difference. Food, for me, was okay. It can be too greasy for Koreans, I suppose, but I believe humans can adjust to any condition in time. Luckily, I have been able to adapt very well to most food in the world. Dublin is a city, but more like a small town compared to Seoul or any other big cities in Korea. However, you will find it most delightful when you sit in a nice café alongside the River Liffey, listening to Irish music coming out of pubs in Temple Bar, sitting with one of the nice Irish people greeting you with full affection.
