Reminders For Me

Sometimes I forget that I am in a different country. Everything feels so naturally normal now that I occasionally need to remind myself that I am in a new place, and it's great. Whenever I forget where I am or stop appreciating the fact that I am somewhere else, I sit and listen to the people around me talk. Even though I've been here awhile now, I still can't get over the accent. Every single Irish man gets automatic attractiveness points, just for the accent. And there are so many different ones (Derry is the hardest to understand; Belfast is musical). Yes! And I love the distinctly Irish phrasing of things. And that people say "cheers" instead of "thank you" and "what's the craic" instead of "what's up." And "youse!" I certainly do love "youse." I wish that I was cool enough to start using Irish phrases, but I don't think I am. Besides, I have to keep sounding American so that people will think that I'm exotic and interesting (Hahaha. Not).

If I was going to start smoking, swearing, or drinking a lot, this is the place where I would do it. I bet that a good third of the people here smoke, and they make it look cool. Smokers in America have sort of "social pariah" stigma about them; that is not the case here. I know a ton of people that smoke. I bet that half of my friends here do. And even though every single pack of cigarettes has a warning on it that says "SMOKING KILLS" it doesn't seem to faze anyone. Hmmm... it's an interesting phenomenon.

They also swear. A lot. But it's friendly swearing! I really enjoy, actually. If someone calls you a f***ing b****, it means that they like you. In fact, if people aren't swearing a lot, it makes me feel uncomfortable. It probably means that something is wrong, or that people are trying to be super-polite because I am an American. And that's no fun.