Day 34: Random Things

Not much going on today. The big "event" going on in town today was the Heineken Cup (rugby) semi-final between Ulster and Edinburgh. I didn't know about this in the morning, but there were people dressed up waving flags everywhere (mostly for Ulster) so it was obviously a pretty big deal. I even considered getting a ticket since the stadium isn't too far, but ultimately decided it wasn't a necessary expense since I only even have a vague notion of the rules.

Since I don't have too much to talk about, I figured it's a good chance to talk about some random observations and things I've learned on my trip so far. It's a bit of a checkpoint since it's both about the one-month mark and the point where I'm about to hit mainland Europe.

As most people know, Ireland has had its share of rough times in the past, between famines, British oppression, civil war, etc. Even with all that though, I was pretty astounded to learn that the combined population of Ireland and Northern Ireland now (about 6.4 million) is less than the 1841 population which was about 8 million. The fact that any country has a lower population now than in 1841 is a bit amazing to me.

As expected, the traditional "american" sports like baseball, basketball, football and hockey are almost completely invisible here. The only jersey I've seen for any of those was a Minnesota Kevin Garnett jersey in London. In London, because it was so gorgeous when I was there, there were a lot of people playing sports, but it was almost entirely soccer with the odd group practicing rugby or cricket. In Ireland I've seen a good handful of people walking around with hurling sticks, but I've never managed to find an actual hurling match. I think it would be fascinating to watch, but as far as I can tell people just carry around the sticks to look intimidating.

Even coming in aware of people driving on the opposite side of the street, it has still presented some interesting effects. Natural reactions to what I grew up with still kick in at complicated intersections so that I'm not quite sure which way to look, and usually end up expecting traffic from the wrong direction. Also, I found my natural tendency to walk on the right-hand side of the sidewalk or a staircase not always the best choice. I guess this makes sense, as people must adopt the driving principles for walking as well. The annoying part is that all the signs (when I see them) still say "stand/walk on the right", so I'm not sure there is a correct answer.

Three of the most common "traditional Irish" songs I've heard sung in pubs in Ireland are Dirty Old Town, Galway Girl and The Wild Rover. Of them, Dirty Old Town is English, Galway Girl was written by an American in like 2000 and The Wild Rover has contested origins between Scotland and USA. Oh well, at least Ireland has a ton amazing writers, but it's still a bit funny how a country so proud of its musical heritage doesn't seem to have much music of its own.

And now for some random pictures:

The Molly Malone statue in Dublin (another American song)

A few tastes of home

Random animals (the first one is tadpoles) from around Newgrange