There weren’t many major differences between the culture in Ireland and in the U.S. While talking to people my age I found that it was probably because they grew up consuming a lot of American culture and that is why some of the things tended to be similar to ways that I was brought up. Though there were some differences to the culture that took some time adjusting to, for example, as someone who is reaching their early 20s it will be an assumption that I will be moving out of my parent’s house as soon as I possibly can to show my independence. That is a different story for the Irish youth, most live with their paren’t way into their mid to late 20s because they aren’t expected to move out until they absolutely want to. In Ireland they are a very family oriented society, they care about their community deeply. I grew up in a smaller family and though I love my family it is not what I would consider the most important thing in my life, I had to adjust to just how close and involved everyone’s family was in their lives because it would sometimes effect plans because of their obligations to family events or needs.
I personally envy that point of view, I would love that sense of community within a family. That was not supposed to read as sad as it does, but alas. I have grown up creating and finding my own communities because of how small my family is, but I love how in Ireland they have this value of family and community embedded within them. Having conversations with those who have lived there their whole lives was truly one of the most eye opening experiences I have ever had and I will cherish those interactions for the rest of my life. This topic had come up before in a conversation with a friend that I had made and he was genuinely confused as to why I felt like I needed to move out so quickly and that my family didn’t know everything about my life. They found it as an interesting freedom, one that felt unnecessarily quick for my age.
Though this wasn’t a large difference in values that had left me completely and utterly bewildered but it did open me up to the importance of educational conversations between those of different cultures. You can learn so much about someone and even yourself if you give some time to sit down and ask questions to a person that had a different upbringing than what you experienced. My time over in Ireland was a time that I will hold on to and reminisce on until the end of my days but something very important I took from my time over there was that at the end of the day, no matter the differences in behaviors, attitudes or values, we are more alike than we think we are.