olivetalks

So here is the second post in the olivetalks “10 weirdest things I’ve seen in…” series. Today’s destination: Baile Átha Cliath, also known as Dublin, the capital of Ireland.

Quick summary: Dublin has a population of around 1 million people and is the capital of the Republic of Ireland. You can learn about the city in http://www.dublin.ie and here are a few of our pictures so you can imagine the place better:

And the 10 weirdest things I saw in Dublin are…

1. Only tourists use umbrellas… for Dubliners know rain falls upwards!

First week in Ireland I lost two umbrellas to the wind. Third one I bought… I decided to leave at home. The rain, contrary to falling from the sky down to my head as I was used to (ok, I have to admit I do not come from a place where it rains much, for it never rains in California… I mean, Alacant…), it came from the side, front, back… even upwards a few times! After the first two weeks, I did not use (=buy) any more umbrellas.

2. To cross the road first look at the floor, THEN see if there are any cars coming

Dublin takes good care of not losing any tourists to car accidents and conveniently informs you of where to look before crossing the road, at each pedestrian crossing.

3. Cold and hot-water taps on sinks are separate

Actually, this only surprised ZoltarStark, for we had the taps separately in Alacant till a few years back when my mother had them replaced. ZoltarStark just couldn’t believe you had to choose between freezing your hands or scalding them when washing them in the bathroom. Then again, in my brother’s bathroom in Edinburgh, he has the cold and the hot taps switched, and that’s even worse! I think the cold water tap should always be on the right and the hot one on the left.

4. “The Irish language must be official in the EU!”they screamed in English…

In 2005 the Irish language became “officially recognised as a working language by the European Union“. I was in Dublin through the petitions and speeches of how important was to have the Irish language granted official and working status in EU. I applauded their ideals and was happy they got the official status. Yes, I was. What just did not make sense to me was, why did they do all the speeches, propaganda, meetings… through English? It felt like a contradiction in terms…

5. Irish gaelic speakers: from 70,000 to 1,860,000 (depending on the source), 3 different ways to say how are you… and million for hello

When I arrived in Ireland, the first thing I did was enrol in an Irish language course. I really enjoyed learning it and even spent a long weekend in the Gaeltacht town of Gleann Cholm Cille doing an intensive course with Oideas Gael and sleeping in a B&B run by an Irish speaking family. A year and a half later, I finally accepted the fact that in spite of the “few” speakers, they have three major dialects which can already be seen in how they say “how are you“:

• Cad é mar a tá tú? (Tír Chonaill - County Donegal)
• Cén chaoi ‘bhfuil tú? (Connacht - western province of Ireland, comprising Counties Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo)
• Conas atá tú? (Momhan or County Monaghan, one of the three counties of Ulster in the Republic of Ireland)

No biggie… 3 options I can accept. Now, “Dia duit” (hello)… I never heard two Irish speakers pronounce it the same way. Honestly.

and 6, 7, 8, 9, 10…

Tomorrow! Same time, same place