Beannacht Do Anois

*The title translates as ‘goodbye for now’ in Irish.
As the time of my departure draws near I have come to realize that living in Ireland is different from what I thought. A very naive part of me thought that American and Irish culture were fairly similar, however I have learned that there are many differences between both the Irish and American traditions. One day I can specifically recall was St. Patrick’s Day, which was easily one of my most favorite days in Ireland. In America one would find everyone wearing green clothes, shamrock headbands, and shirts that say “kiss me I’m Irish”. There are parades with young girls Irish dancing, men playing bagpipes, and then perhaps a drink or two between festivities. However in Ireland the tradition is a bit different. Some people wear green, but not many. The parade was a bit strange and did not seem to have anything to do with St. Patrick’s Day; it seemed more like a celebration of many other cultures. And since St. Patrick’s Day is a bank holiday and students have the day off it is a great excuse to go out on the town and have a good time. Now, even though I was not dressed in all green, and I didn’t enjoy the parade I still had the best St. Patrick’s Day of my lifetime. It seemed as if everyone just wanted to have a good day with their friends and family which made for an amazing atmosphere in town. There was plenty of traditional music to be heard, friends to be with, and even a few Irish ciders here and there as well. Although this year’s St Patrick’s Day was much different from any other that I had experienced before, it is definitely one I will never forget!

R & R

The funny thing about studying abroad is how much it makes you think about home.

After all, to immerse yourself entirely in another culture, you’ve first got to clamber out of the pool of thoughts, norms and expectations that was your home, and boy, is the view different once you’re out of it.  As a girl who goes to a pretty competitive university in the United States of America, I can definitely say I’ve uttered a few of the expected “Woah, that’s not how they do things in the States”s while studying in the ultra-laid-back city that houses the University of KwaZulu Natal. This isn’t either a good or bad thing (usually,) just a different thing. I think to try to encompass every difference I’ve found here would just be too much for one little blog post (heck it might be too much for one little book,) so I’ll focus on one aspect of Durban culture that I’ve still not completely managed to wrap my head around: relaxation.