So Dublin is pretty neat. It is such a beautiful city with so many neat sights to explore (and food to eat). I initially took this trip to experience a different culture and Dublin was such a great introductory to that. Ireland has a lot of similarities to America, and yet the way the country functions and how people perceive their local environment is very different than what I am used to or expected.
There are a lot of wonderful cultural differences though, for example they say certain phrases a lot.?Phrases such as: thanks a mil, that’s grand, and what’s the crack (crack means fun). People in my office tend to say cheers to everything and I have yet to figure out if it is a thank you or just an acknowledgement.
Additionally, Irish office culture is very different than ours. While everyone is still very professional, the people focus less on formalities than Americans do. Emails are addressed more casually, starting with a ‘Hi’ rather than ‘Dear’. Intros to emails often start with ‘I hope you are well’.
This past weekend I got to go to the botanical gardens. There were several greenhouses and they were filled with plants from all over the world. Most plants were labeled with their country of origin and their names. The insides of the greenhouses had a diversity of rooms that ranged from rooms that made you feel like you were in a jungle to rooms filled with cacti and succulents. Outside of the greenhouses there were rose gardens and really beautiful trees. Honestly, the botanical gardens are seriously underrated and if you ever happen to be in Dublin, you should check them out.
Walking around the city you find random art everywhere. That space fox was all the way down a random street in Dublin City Centre. I don’t understand it, but it is very?aesthetically?pleasing.
This serves no purpose, but this is the best ice cream (gelato) I’ve had all summer. I asked to try 3 flavors. I tried three flavors. I got all three because they were too good. (In case you were wondering: white chocolate, cheesecake, mint chocolate-chip, and yes I ate it fast enough that the flavors didn’t mix.)