Blog Post Number 6

Reflecting back on my trip to Dublin, I have to say that it is a very rough city. In the early morning it smells like a landfill because of all the tourist drink, vomit and trash city. The buildings look alike because they are all grey (oddly, many don't have windows because at the time of construction the country could't afford to pay the glass tax for windows).This city is fast paced because of all the locals and tourist are going in different directions. You can be swept away in the crowd if the walk light turns green, because everyone pushes forward regardless if you want to go or not. (I was caught in a situation where I was being pushed by the crowd to cross the street and I just wanted cut through the crowd and go the other direction).

I would describe the attitudes I observed in Dublin as very "forth right". While in Dublin Tasha, Melissa and myself were basically yelled at by the bus drivers because we were unfamiliar with how to use the bus passes (it was our first time and we didn't know what direction to swipe the cards in order to pay for the ride). The second embarrassing moment with a snippy bus driver who yelled, "You don't know where you are going" when a traveling companion of ours (Patti from California) was confused and just asked for some directions therfore, she was unable to pay the correct bus fare.

Its hard for me to describe the nonverbal attitudes but many pedestrians and fellow bus riders would bump into me and no one would say "excuse me". I'm not complaining about a small nudge or stepping on your feet by accident. No, these were almost shoves or if the bus would turn or make an abrupt stop then their body would physically thrust into me and again the other person wouldn't say nothing. It was really becoming a bit irritating but I just accepted "Excuse Me" is just not in the dictionary and I had better get over it.

I learned that Dublin is big city and any visitor must bring allot of money and have clear plan in regards to where they are going and what you want to do. I always envisioned Ireland to have beautiful country side with sheep. I thought of the story of Angela's Ashes and I believe my brain was warped into thinking I was going to see 1940's Ireland vs 21st century Ireland. I assumed that there were going to be friendly people everywhere who would tell us Irish folktales in the pubs. I was very ignorant in the sense, I thought I could rent a bike and ride to the ocean. There is just no way to do that because the ocean is miles and miles away. Overall, I thought Dublin was going to be smaller, friendlier and greener. I have admit that prior to the trip to Dublin I hadn't prior background of the country and its people. I was very ignorant of their history with Great Brittan and all of the oppression this country has had to suffer through. I learned that before I travel to a foreign land I must thoroughly research the history in order to have a basic understanding of the culture. All of my assumptions about Dublin turned out to be false and I am the one to be blamed for my ignorance!!!

I believe I played the part of "dumb tourist" perfectly. Not that this was my intention at all. Again , I didn't know what to ask ( because I had no clear plan) and when the bus drivers were unpleasant I was just in a state of shock. The culture in the big city is always more faced pace than in the country and that is to be expected. I had the feeling that the bus drivers were all indoctrinated with the same philosophy "Time is money" and when we were asking questions we were annoying them immensely. In the future , I have to behave more of an experienced confidant traveller who can roll with all the punches (and verbal tongue lashings) in order to navigate an enjoyable trip!!