March 23rd, 2015 | Uncategorized
Top of the morning to all my blog readers! I’m here blogging today because I wanted to brag about my action-packed St. Patty’s Day and how much I learned about Irish culture! Although I didn’t get the chance to go to Dublin with some of my fellow scholars like I planned, Galway still had a lot to offer. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated much differently here than in the United States, and I wanted to share my once-in-a-lifetime experience with you guys.
My eventful day started off early in the morning around 10 o’clock. I met with some college friends and also some of my national league teammates (Titans) at a local café in Galway. We sat around and talked, grabbing a bite to eat to give us some energy for the day. Whilst having a chat they asked me if I knew what St. Patrick’s Day was all about. Being uninformed about the symbolic meaning behind it, all I could really say was “Something to do with a Saint named Patrick, leprechauns, and a day to party.” As a consequence of my lack of knowledge and such a pathetic response, my Irish teammates laughed then decided to give me an informative lesson on the importance and symbolic meaning of St. Patty’s Day. They were able to explain to me why this day was important to them and their culture. According to them, St. Patrick’s Day meant a lot more than a “day to party,” even though that’s all they seemed to want to do lol. Long story short, they explained how St. Patrick was a symbolic Saint to them because he brought Christianity to Ireland, established loads of churches and schools, and apparently he “drove the snakes out of Ireland.” After my lesson, we all went out for a few drinks and I got to enjoy the rest of the day, bar-hopping at local bars in Galway and also got the chance to experience the local parade that went through town.
After thinking about it, this brief 10 minute talk between my teammates and I made me open up my eyes and think a little more about other cultures and their values. It also made me realize how lucky I am to have the opportunity to be in a different country learning new things every day and having the chance to experience what other cultures have to offer firsthand. I’ve always wanted to spend this special day in Ireland and thanks to SCL, I can now cross that off my bucket list!
