Throughout all of my years of traveling, it often occurs that I find myself thinking, “These people have something figured out that we, in the states, haven’t really sorted out.” What ever “it” may be, there is always something in every culture that makes me reexamine the American way of doing things, which in a lot of ways is the beauty of travel. I came across a quote by a guy named Marcel Proust that says,“ Discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes,” and Ireland is no exception to the rule. It is easy to look at my own culture with new eyes and to begin to understand the Irish culture. T Well after only two days, I have been forced to reexamine the definition of nationalism.

The Irish, I have come to find, have a very different and insightful view on nationalism in contrast to my own country. In the states, we see nationalism from an “us vs. them” perspective; the “American” way of doing thing verses the way everybody else does things. We have a tendency to mix pride and patriotism with egotism and it causes other people who are from the outside look in see us as close minded. 

In Ireland, there is a deep felt sense of loyalty towards the country and the culture. From ages five through sixteen, all Irish children must learn Gaelic and most universities want you to learn it through eighteen. All of the road signs or even menus are first in Gaelic, than in English, and although only around 5% of the Irish population speaks it fluently, there is still a basic understanding of an incredibly old and incredibly unique language. There is also a loyalty within communities. The mentality is: why buy groceries from a huge chain supermarket when the butcher down the street that you have known for years? Most of the restaurants we visited in Galway and elsewhere in Ireland had a list on the menus listing the local places they purchase their ingredients. People continue to read the local new paper in print form, and from what I have gathered from most of the locals, the new papers have not suffered nearly as much as American local newspapers have at the hands of modern technology. Families sit down for full meals together, savoring the food and the good conversation, and the goal of restaurants is not a fast table turnover rate,  but to leave their customers to chat and enjoy each other’s company. Everyone I have met is so proud to be Irish, even amidst the current economic setbacks that Ireland has faced in the last five years. They are not just proud, but they are open and willing to share their culture, music, food, and drink with anyone willing to ask. You never feel like a stranger or an outsider in a local Irish pub, because they are always open and excited to share all things Irish with you. It’s not uncommon I feel like an outsider in my own student bar at Temple, and it is even more common that I will go an entire night out on the town in a city of millions and not talk to a single new person all night. It’s something I enjoy about Ireland far more than in the states.

The next day, headed around the town on our free walking tour, something that I’ve done  in Berlin, Amsterdam, Hamburg, and I will be doing them in Dublin and London during my trip. We were exposed to the origin of the Claddagh ring and the meanings behind the symbols: Hands meaning friendship, the crown meaning loyalty, and the heart meaning love, as well as how to wear it: heart facing you meaning your heart is taken, heart facing out meaning your heart is open for the taking. Although someone is supposed to technically buy one for you, I bought my own, like the strong independent woman that I am. :) We learned about the 14 tribes of Galway, saw the old wall that used to surround the city, and learned the origin of the word “Lynching” originating after the major of Galway back a few centuries hung is own son after he murdered a Spanish sailor out of the window of one of the towers. 

Our first stop after arriving in Ireland was Galway. Galway, located on the western side of Ireland, is a very cute and quaint university city with a vibrant pub scene where you can find a good mix of both modern music and traditional Irish sessions. We immediately got onto a bus from the Dublin airport and took the two-hour ride to the Galway city center and had to fight our jetlag to try and soak in as much of Galway as possible. Luckily, most of the students had returned from their Christmas holidays, so the crowd was young and energetic, so it was easy to start our authentic Irish experience out with a pint of Guinness and some traditional Irish music in a local pub, Taafes, and mingled with the bar tender and the other Galway locals.

Later that evening, we joined Kathy, our walking tour guide, for the nightly pub-crawl also sponsored by the company that coordinated the walking tour. We ventured to 5 different pubs where we did everything from a Guinness drinking challenge, to playing some classic beer pong against some Australians and Kiwis, and ended at a tradition student club that made even the outrageous fraternity party in the states look mild. Although the name of many of the clubs escape me, after a bit of research, I believe we went to the following pubs: The Quays, The Kings Head, Karma Club, The Skeff, and Murphys Bar. To say the Irish know how to party is an understatement. They are definitely always down for a good time long after I’m ready to hit the sack.

The following morning, we packed up our things, grabbed a quick traditional Irish breakfast. Although I am on board for all of the meat and tomatoes, I was still hesitant of Black Pudding, a type of sausage made by cooking blood or dried blood with a filler until it is this enough to congeal when cooked, and I have determined, after thorough investigation, that I would leave that part of Irish cuisine to the locals.