fourgirlsfourcountries

If you are by nature a sensitive person, the Irish way of making jokes may offend you. At first I didn’t understand why they where making fun out of me all of the time. But soon I realized that there wasn’t anything wrong with me, it’s simply how they make jokes and it is not personal at all. And Irish prejudice about Sweden is that we’re not so good at making jokes, but I don’t think they found me boring and humorless, at least I hope so!

Something that I noticed pretty quick after my arrival was that compared to Sweden, some things are not socially accepted to discuss. This is because a big majority of the Irish population is both religious and conservative. Mentioning for example abortion is almost a taboo, which you certainly don’t speak about. Probably the worst thing ever to say when visiting Ireland is that the Republic of Ireland is a part of the UK. It’s like saying Sweden and Finland are the same country, and who wouldn’t object to that?

On another hand, Irish people are extremely polite when it comes to conversations. And they never act in a way that could be seen as arrogance. To stay honest and humble is key! Also always remember to keep eye contact when greeting someone. This Irish quality is something I appreciate a lot, because I feel that sometimes in Sweden you can get the feeling that people are just nice and polite because they have to. Saying “nice to meet you” may mean without you knowing, the opposite.

As most of my close friends know, I’m pretty good at making a fool out of my self. But with this story, I would like to say that if it happened in Sweden, people wouldn’t think I was doing anything strange at all. So please tell me in the comment section what you think.        

Ok... So naturally, I’m the complete opposite to a time optimist. My first week here I had an appointment in Dublin. Being the typical Swede that I am, I got there with plenty of time to spear. But the time of the appointment came and went, and the person I was supposed to meet did not arrive. 15 minutes late, I saw him walking into the building as if he had all the time in the world. Finally when he arrived, and asked me if I was ready to start the meeting. “Yes, I’ve been here for about a half an hour” with a smile, so he would understand that I wasn’t mad at him. The look he gave me then is almost impossible to explain, but it was very clear to me that he found it very odd that I was early.

 Evelina