Before coming over to Ireland I was expecting some differences in culture but what I wasn’t expecting was just how similar we are. There are subtle differences that I have discovered. For example, going out to a pub or bar to get a drink or two is a way of socializing, it’s a way to bring people together and bond with your neighbor or classmate. In America the first instinct to meet someone during the day is to ask to get a coffee or meet for lunch but in Ireland it’s the norm to ask someone out for a pint instead. The stigma of having a drink with your meal that is in American culture is nonexistent in Ireland, even walking through the airport I noticed that people were having a pint at six o’clock in the morning. I have had conversations with students about the relationship they have had with alcohol growing up and how their parents would introduce it into their meals at young ages and help teach them that it is something to be enjoyed instead of always being used to lower one’s inhibitions. I think in America we shield our youth from alcohol and tell them that it is something that is only consumed to make bad mistakes, whereas in Ireland the youth grow up viewing it as something that is just another drink, like ordering soda instead of water at a restaurant. Though I do recognize that the overconsumption of alcohol isn’t something that should be revered, I do think it is interesting that there is a different cultural view on something as little as a drink.
