Speaking like a true Irish gal

Though my month-long stay in Ireland is coming to an end, I am leaving with a greater knowledge about Irish history and culture, as well as with many wonderful memories. I’ve learned plenty about the Easter Rising in 1916, the famous authors who have contributed so much to the literary world, such as James Joyce and Oscar Wilde, and even the words to Irish folksongs like The Wild Rover and Cockles and Mussels. But what I find the most interesting is the way I’ve even started to speak like the Irish speak.

In everyday conversations I’ve started calling french fries, chips and the restroom, the toilet. I’ve picked up on common phrases like “How was the craic last night?” and “We need to catch a joe maxi!” (Translated into: “Was last night fun?” and “We need to catch a taxi!”)

Now, I wasn’t sure if I was the only one who was beginning to talk like a true Irish gal, so I decided to ask around and see if any other Americans had noticed a difference. I talked to a friendly group of girls at the international barbecue held at University College Dublin’s Global Lounge. Emily, Sarah, Erin and Sam attend James Madison University in Virginia and are taking two courses at UCD this summer.

Here’s what they said when I asked them if they had heard any Irish people using different words in everyday conversations, and if they had started to use any of these phrases themselves.

(Video credit: Sapna Patel)
So I guess if you’re away from home for long enough, you start to blend yourself with your surrounding culture. The girls from Virginia may only be ending their sentences with “yeh” right now, but soon enough, they might be saying “How was the craic last night?”

"Spicy" chicken wings

The Indian in me (and I guess in a way the Texan, too) has been very confused about the way the word “spicy” is used here in Ireland.

Last week our class ate at a nice restaurant in Monkstown, Dublin called Valparaiso. As I was trying to decide what to order, I was thinking about how I missed that tingling feeling in your mouth and on your lips when you’re eating something spicy. That’s when my eye fell on the words “spicy chicken wings” under appetizers and I knew I had to order it.

After I ordered my meal, I was very excited and very impatient to take that first bite of my chicken wings. I’ll finally get to eat something spicy to get my taste buds going again, I thought to myself. As my mouth started to water and my stomach started to grumble, the server brought out my plate of chicken wings with two celery stalks on the side. Comfort food at its finest, right? Not exactly.

Appetizer menu at Valparaiso in Monkstown, Dublin.(Photo credit: http://www.valparaiso.ie/menu.html)
Turns out calling something spicy in Ireland doesn’t guarantee that it’ll actually be spicy. My chicken wings were covered in a sweet, slightly tangy sauce similar to teriyaki sauce. Now even though they weren’t spicy, the wings were absolutely delicious and I ate all of them right down to the bone. It just simply wasn’t the same as the wings in Texas, but in a way I think that’s a good thing.

It’s the minuscule details and experiences like these that are imperative when traveling abroad because they differentiate one country from the next. And more importantly for me, it’s what differentiates every other country from the U.S. And why should I go to a place, if it’s going to be just like home?

So in the end, though my mouth wasn’t tingling like I had hoped, I did end up completely stuffed with delicious wings, seafood and chocolate mousse. I was even tempted to unbutton my jeans to allow for a little more room!

Changing accents

This past weekend the girls and I took a day trip up to Belfast, Northern Ireland, but it wasn’t exactly the carefree day we had expected. After we arrived in Belfast, we decided our safest bet was to take a Black Taxi Tour in order learn about the historical and political context of Northern Ireland’s capitol.

We ended up learning it wasn’t all history just yet. To this day the animosity between Catholics and Protestants hangs thick in the air.

Our taxi drivers took us to Shankill Road, a Protestant street featuring militaristic murals and 8-year-olds smoking cigarettes. We then drove to Falls Road where Catholics feature murals calling for world peace, including a shout out to President Obama saying it’s time for change, referring to the U.S. embargo against Cuba.

What really gave me goosebumps was seeing the Belfast Peace Wall, which separates the Catholics and Protestants in West Belfast. It’s a much smaller version of the Berlin Wall, about 3 miles long and 25 feet high and covered in graffiti and inspirational messages, now including one of my own.

Unionist mural located on Shankill Road in Belfast
(Photo credit: Sapna Patel)

Nationalist mural on Falls Road in Belfast
(Photo credit: Shanna Oatman)

My inscription on the Belfast Peace Wall
(Photo credit: Sarah Holub)

But how can you tell the difference between a Catholic and a Protestant? “Oh, you can’t just by looking at ‘em,” said one of the taxi drivers in an accent that sounded more British than Irish. Sounds a bit dodgy, huh?

He went on to say that sometimes you can tell by looking at what a person is wearing or the way they pronounce a certain word.

While Catholics wear shirts with Gaelic writing, Protestants don’t. While Catholics say “hitch” Protestants say “itch.” While Catholics cherish their Irish heritage, Protestants try to be British.

Seeing as the Protestants identify as British rather than Irish, they even try to sound British. You won’t catch a Protestant from Belfast saying, “we had loads of craic last night!”

The language used in Belfast was so different from the language I've heard in Dublin and I have to admit that I was not only surprised but a little saddened, as well. It almost felt as if the people in Northern Ireland were ashamed of their Irish heritage. It seemed as if they were completely open to leaving everything green behind in order to pursue a life in the land of orange.

With that said though, it's definitely much more complicated than that beneath the surface.

Chips, crips, and nachos

When I first decided to apply to study abroad in Ireland, many other students at The University of Texas at Austin said they would rather go somewhere more exotic. They didn’t want to spend 14 hours on a plane just to go to an English-speaking country that was exactly like America. Little did they know that Ireland actually has a very rich culture and an interesting history that differentiates the Irish from the rest of the world.

Though I didn’t have to learn a foreign language to come here, I did have some new words to learn. My first night in Dublin, I had a very confusing conversation with a local since they call fries chips, chips crisps, and Doritos nachos. (Now as a Texan, the latter just seems heinous to me!)

During the Dublin walking tour, our guide Garvan taught us how to say “cheers” in Gaelic, which is “slainte!” It sounds more like “sloncha” and technically means “health.” After practicing in the street outside of The Temple Bar, we seemed to have it down.

Garvan teaching the class how to cheers outside of The Temple Bar
(Video by Sapna Patel)
The next day though, a local asked us if we had learned any Irish yet. We fought hard to try and recall the strange word Garvan had taught us and came up with “sonshi” and “slonsh” amongst a few others. Needless to say, she looked at us and said, “I guess not…”

I definitely have a ways to go before I master “Irish English” and since I have the luck of the Irish, surely I’ll master it before I have to leave this cultural playground. For now, I’m off to have more craic (that’s fun for all you Yanks)!

Cheers!