Normality

     When you think about going abroad, you wonder about all the diversity you'll encounter (culture shock) and how you're going to deal with it. Advice is thrown at you and everyone has to have their say on the differences to expect, which for the most part is very nice, so thank you to everyone who helped prepare me for the cultural differences in Ireland.
     Yet, based on recent experience and observation, young adult culture (late teens-mid 20's) is surprisingly similar . . . especially when it comes to boys.
     The other night, I went out with some of my friends from the US, and as we were walking to meet with our larger group, we were intercepted by some nice Irish lads who had an apartment in the same complex. Needless to say, we decided to all go out as a group together - them to impress the "brilliant American girls" and us to get some sort of education on the city hot spots and culture. Turns out, all the boys in our group were Irish, and all the ladies were American. To some, this may seem like a risky encounter, so let me assure you now that the situation was entirely safe and enjoyable. After all, I think 8 American ladies can outsmart 5 Irish boys if it came down to it, no? Regardless, the point I'm trying to make is that culturally, all boys are pretty much the same. The apartment was a mess, like most bachelor pads I've seen. Empty cans and bottles lay on most flat surfaces, the dishes were rinsed (thankfully), but piled in the sink, and shoes were kicked off and left where they fell. Now, I'm not being critical -the scene was actually comforting. Honestly. Believe it or not, that messy apartment was one of the most reassuring sights since I arrived in Ireland. It was just so normal.
     Also familiar was the willingness of the male gender to accept a dare. The following story is mostly my doing, and I feel slightly guilty, but it ends happily for everyone. On our way in to town (all of us walking - no one drove that night) we stumbled upon the common topic of Parkour since a few of us were jumping around the walkway and lamp posts. The Irish kid I was speaking to (lets call him M) was one of them, and I jokingly asked if he could do a flip in the air and land on his feet. He said of course he could, and I said, do a solid flip, and I'll buy you a drink, naively thinking he'd put it off.
     Nope.
     He jumped over a low bush, took a running start, and flipped, landing on his back in another bush. We were most unimpressed, continued walking, and decided he didn't earn the drink.
     Luckily (or unluckily depending on your morals) the bush was full of thorns. Ergo, so was he. M earned the drink fair and square, and I learned a valuable lesson: Irishmen will do nearly anything for a pint.
     Other commonalities include the following:

• Various drinking games played with cards
• All the different words for "drunk"
• Late night runs to McDonald's, or similar places for french fries (called chips here, FYI)
• Badly singing "Don't Stop Belivin'" because everyone knows that song
• Shows such as Top Gear, South Park, Family Guy, Jersey Shore, Game of Thrones, etc.
• People such as Will Ferrell and Obama . . . they came up the most . . .
• Speaking in fake accents

     There are differences in every culture. While it's important to acknowledge and preserve those differences, I'm coming to find that it is equally important to find the similarities, no matter how outrageous or silly they seem to be.

♥C