IRELAND III

Saying goodbye is hard. It is even harder when your feelings for the place you have to leave have grown to feeling at home. Things that have felt unfamiliar at first have transformed to things that feel familiar. It is the Irish folk bands that perform live at pubs and the openness of Irish people that became dear to my heart in the past few months.
Everyone knows that music connects people. This can be observed very easily in Ireland. Here it is not just a one-time thing at a festival. Here it happens daily, whether it is the street musicians or Irish live bands in pubs. Sure, there are more countries that have street musicians playing at every corner on the streets, but hearing the musicians here playing Irish folk music just spreads so much more energy.
Coming to Ireland, I already knew that there would be many Irish folk bands playing in pubs. But I never imagined their effect on the atmosphere and the feeling you get when listening to them. I expected to see bands playing in nearly every pub, but seeing them perform live was unfamiliar to me at first. Since in Germany you are listening to Spotify playlists at bars, the sight of a band playing live in a corner of the room was new for me. Furthermore the Irish folk music played by these bands used to be not my type of music. Although it was an unfamiliar sight and sound, it has never been unpleasant. I have quickly grown to enjoy this part of the Irish culture. The vibrant Irish folk music and the bands spread such a vitality that made every evening so much better and enjoyful. The music quickly filled the rooms with energy, the people started enjoying themselves even more and conversation became easier and livelier. It was a feeling of pure zest of life that became a familiar feeling through just enjoying the moment and the atmosphere.

Another thing that has become familiar was the openness of Irish people. Wherever you were, people asked and talked to you about your day, whether it was in a shop, at the theatre, in church or in societies at the university. I remember walking back to the dorms when I came across a group of young students looking at the sky through their telescopes. Being interested in what they were looking at, I asked them questions. Within a few minutes, all the other group members of the astronomy society joined the conversation and we quickly started talking about other things in life than just the sky and the planets. From the very first minute I felt very welcomed in their group, even though I was not a member of their society and did not know anyone personally before. Another good example of the Irish welcoming and open culture was my experience at church. After about two services at church, a family invited me for their Sunday lunch and family trips. It was something that I could not quite imagine to happen in Germany that quickly. This openness and the welcoming culture quickly became something very familiar and developed to something you do not want to miss anymore. The unusual feeling of everyone being open and up for a little chat became familiar to me, after opening up to the thought of talking to strangers about your day or your life. This opening up was not a hard process, as I am very happy talking to new people about anything. The open Irish culture was something to get used to - but also something that I was able to adapt to very quickly.
My stay here in Ireland has been full of pleasant surprises and possibilities to learn from a different culture. It showed me that being adaptable and enjoying the moment are two important things which I have learned and grown to appreciate. The Irish way of living, their mentality, the weather, their phrases, the scenery and the people have become dear to my heart. I already miss Ireland and I am looking forward spending some holidays back in the land of a thousand welcomes.

Mara Burger SS20