I'll Tell Me Ma

This is why I love Ireland.

So in our first few days here we decided to travel to this beautiful part of Galway called Salt Hill. Our initial journey to Salt Hill turned into curious foreigners' need to explore, so we began walking around the local high school and more high class areas. What struck me right away was the beauty yet simplicity of these high class homes; sure, they had beautifully paved driveways and perfectly cut lawns, but none of the houses had ornate decorations out front or flashy colors. In fact, most of the homes looked similar to each other. It was refreshing to see a beautiful development that still maintained simplicity in appearance. The local schoolkids were all hanging out on the sidewalks, laughing and enjoying the beautiful sun.

As we walked further through the development, we noticed a group of four irish guys just hanging out on one of the street corners. They looked about our age, maybe a little bit older. We thought nothing of them until they called after us, asking where we were going. They asked us what a couple of Americans were doing wandering around the neighborhood, and they laughed at us when we told them our original plan.

"That'll take you furever!" one of them chuckled.

After small banter, we were invited to join these guys for a drink at their hanging spot. Slightly unsure yet intrigued, we all decided to follow suit. The next ten minutes consisted of typical irish bawdy humor, slurred irish songs ringing through the streets (oh yeah, these guys were pretty sloshed), and random questions about life in America. Eventually, we found ourselves sitting on a grassy knoll with these guys, watching people go by as we enjoyed a drink. We asked them a lot of questions about daily life in Ireland, places to see while we are here, their impressions of Americans (no, they don't drink Guinness warm; Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Aran Islands were all brought up; they don't hate us for being American), and we thoroughly enjoyed their company. The weather had been beautiful all week, so we asked them how it felt to see the sun for more than a few hours at a time. One of them responded,

"It's so bright out we don't know what to do with ourselves! So, we drink!"

We also picked up a few great life lessons/phrases while hanging out with them. Essentially, they told us to make the most of the time we were here and not to allow ourselves to miss out on anything (I think these guys meant drink as much as possible, but I'm choosing to interpret it in a much deeper fashion). "See ya' in Alaska!" is now a common phrase for us (if curious, ask for meaning). But, the wisest words we heard all day came towards the end of our hangout session,

"If there's one thing an Irish man fears...it's his mam!"

So, moms around the world, congratulations on holding a universal claim on your children's behavior at home and abroad!

With Irish Blessings,
Jim Jam