So I can’t tell if I’ve lost or gained weight since I’ve been in Ireland… Thus far I have eaten a lifetime of chips (otherwise known as french fries) but with that being said, I have also averaged about 18,000 steps a day and 20 flights of stairs due to the elevator currently being out of order and living on the 4th floor. Regardless of what’s happening to my body, I’M IN FREAKING IRELAND! I still can’t get over the fact that I’ll be living in Dublin for the next year.
Now, by far the most fascinating thing I’ve experienced since being here would definitely be the crazy, cool, hip lingo the locals use to describe things. Take for example, instead of saying “what’s up?” the majority of people greet each other with “what’s the craic?”. Or how about using the word ‘wee’ instead of ‘little’ or calling the trunk of a car a ‘boot’ but also referring to a basketball shoe as a ‘boot’? I have to say though that my top two favorite adjectives used in the most casual manner would be the words ‘grand’ and ‘brilliant’ in a sentence. For example, a woman we saw on our first bus ride into the city (who directed us to Penney’s [a store equivalent to TJ Maxx]) happened to be catching the same bus ride back out of the city. Excitedly, I waived my shopping bags to this woman and shouted, “Hey look! We found the shop!”. She then looked at me and laughed, “oh my that’s grand!”. Or I could say something like, “I just bought a bottle of water” and a local responds with, “that’s brilliant!”. For some reason, when my action is described as either being grand or brilliant, I feel like I’ve just done the next greatest thing since sliced bread.
So after learning about the few slang words above, I had the urge to look up more on Google. However, that’s not very interactive is it?
Therefore, I vouch that for the remaining time I am here in Dublin, I will only learn from the locals and perhaps along the way pick up a wee bit of an accent while I’m at it.
