Right after getting off the plane yesterday, I was hit with a vibe. The vibe I got was one of kindness and relaxation and friendship. It was immediate, starting with the taxi driver, one Mr. Brendan Murphy. From the amount of times he joked with us, said “shite”, gave us helpful information, or the directions he gave us. All when he didn’t have to.

I’m used to sitting in complete silence when in a cab, minus the obligatory “Hello, I’m going to *insert destination*, ok?” This cab driver was different. I wanted to talk to him, wanted to know about him, it was very strange to me at the time.

The next morning it hit me, it was plain as day. People here are genuinely nice, genuinely interested in talking with you, it’s like a completely different social situation than back home.

All of the other drivers we met, same thing. Willing to help, just because. Willing to shoot the “shite” with you for the sake of doing so. A hostess (we did not interact with her at all until after dinner when she came to clean up the table) at the steak house we ate at tonight gave us the names, street addresses and directions to other restaurants in the area as well as one in Belfast for when we are there Wednesday.  She even gave us one for while we are in Paris. She was pleasant, thoughtful and kind. She spoke to us about her daughter and the travels she has done and places she loves. It was a solid ten minute conversation with someone we had just met. She didn’t need to do all of those things, but she did and it wasn’t to get a tip, or phony in any way. It was refreshing.

Now I may be a bit cynical because in Winnipeg, my home, that kind of thing just doesn’t happen much, if at all. Servers put on fake smiles, and feign interest. They seem to just want you out the door as soon as they can so they can fill the next table and get the next tip. Disclaimer : this blog post is in no way meant to offend, harm or otherwise make any person in the service industry feel like less of a person, or that I am roping them into some large group of assholes. You guys have it shitty sometimes, needing tips to live. I get the problems and I acknowledge them. These are simply differences that I have observed personally.

Another thing I noticed was peoples’ genuine interest in the others around them. No cell phones, Ipads or Ipods were out at the tables during any of the meals we had. I looked around and saw these people engaging in very odd behaviour. They were actually talking with one another as a family. It was both refreshing and unnerving. In North America we see the exact opposite so many times in so many situations. How did we fall so far from the values of the time before cell phones, before social media, before the internet?

I realize the irony of my spouting these thoughts while blogging on a social media platform on the internet. It is not lost on me. I think I need to make some changes when I get home. I need to make more of an effort to be attentive to those around me. I need to make more of an effort to see my friends and family on a more regular basis.

Ireland, hands down, has been one of the best places I have visited in my life. I will find it difficult to find another place on this trip to be more inviting and welcoming than this island has been to us. If it happens, I would be very surprised. I just wish I could spend more time here than the currently allotted number of days. I’ll be back Ireland!

Next post, hopefully tomorrow, will be about the sights we saw and things we did over the last couple of days and what tomorrow will offer, in more detail. So far we have gone to the Kilmainham Gaol, the obligatory Guinness Storehouse tour, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Dublin castle. Meeting up with a friend of a friend tomorrow (hopefully) and he is going to show us around his city for the day.

After that will be our trip to Belfast in Northern Ireland on Wednesday, and I will get to see one of the sights on my bucket list. The Giant’s Causeway. I’m super excited about what we have done and what is in store over the next two days and I cannot wait to share my Irish experiences with you.

Keep your eyes on the horizon!