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Though I am
beginning to feel like a weary traveler, I have enjoyed the various places I've
lived in thus far on my journey in Ireland.
After coming to Dublin from Galway I have stayed with 3 different
friends and am now finally settling down into an apartment.
I've had many
different experiences staying with other people in their homes. I've lived in Lucan and Leixlip, both suburbs
of Dublin, and am now living in Dublin proper right on the east side of Phoenix
Park.
Living
on my own in a big city with which I'm only nominally familiar has its perks
and also its disadvantages, just as living in people's homes. I say living on my own but I'm actually in an
apartment with a young man from Mallorca, a woman from Barcelona, another woman
from Belgium and a man from Greece- hence I am the only native English speaker
in the household and more obviously the only one from America.
I have, in the past, stayed for a little time
with people who spoke no English at all but this is very different. It is fascinating putting 5 people from
completely different backgrounds into one place and seeing how they learn to
live with each other and their differences and cultural complexities. What I am experiencing in this home is what I
imagine the city of Dublin and perhaps the whole country of Ireland is
experiencing now, too. This period in
world history is so dominated by a growing mixture of cultures. Here in
Ireland, a country that for a long time did not have a steady influx of
immigrants, the people are having to learn to live with and continue their
tradition while multitudes of other nationalities are coming here for
opportunity and bringing along their own culture and traditions. The way I see it is that this integration is
a perfect learning experience for everyone to see there are other people and
that we all are very different though all very much the same at the same
time. I have only been in this apartment
for a few days now and I have learned so much just by sitting and listening to
my flat-mates speak of where they come from and why they're here.
Another
fascinating learning experience was living with my Irish friends and their
families for a few days. Upon arrival I
had never given much thought to the differences between Irish families and
American families that I am used to. Now
while I haven't had tremendous time to analyze the intricacies of families, I
have been astounded upon simple observation by just how similar we all
are. My family and those of my friends I
stayed with grew and developed an ocean away from each other, but our daily
routines are almost identical. We wake
up and have breakfast, go to work or school, come home at the end of the day
and share dinner then we watch TV together and everyone heads to bed. If I had to guess now, I'd say that is a
pretty standard day for any family and it is quite funny to me how those daily
customs are the same regardless of where you are on the map. So while it would seem that you would come to
a foreign country and be moved by the differences between wherever you are and
home, I have been so by the similarities and have perhaps learned even more
from them.
Written by Joe Gayk - Summer of Travel 2007
Joe Gayk was a participant in the Summer of Travel 2007, jointly funded by myguideTravel and Tourism Ireland to create high quality content to promote Ireland Vacations
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