There is No Place Like Home

Like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, I truly believe “There is No Place Like Home” no matter how much I complain about it sometimes. As I mentioned in my very first post, I am from Oxford, Pennsylvania (which is about an hour outside of Philadelphia if your geography is as terrible as mine). However, I don’t think I mentioned that it’s a small town in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by farms.  

And not just any farms, but Amish farms. Yes, you heard me right, some of my neighbors are Amish. In fact, I've nicknamed my town “Mini Lancaster” (the real Lancaster is a city that is one of largest populations of Amish in America besides Ohio) because there are so many Amish around town. 
But before you jump to conclusions, I must say that they are nothing like the Amish portrayed in the famous TV shows Breaking Amish or Amish Mafia.

 I even heard somewhere that the shows were fake because one of the “Amish” girls on Breaking Amish was actually a model.  Either way though, the Amish are nice, friendly people who grow tasty fruits and veggies, beautiful flowers and make mean whoopie pies.

The only things I can complain about are: they smell to high heavens (given they only bathe once a week), their horse and buggies are extremely slow, and the horses poop all over the roads. I can’t even count how many times I've ended up late for something or gotten poop in my tires.

A typical Amish Horse and Buggie 

You can probably imagine then that Cork, Ireland is different given that it’s a city with no buggies and has a river slicing the city in half. Yet, they are similar in the way that they both have fresh fruits and veggies. The Irish just have a place called The English Market instead of the Amish market.

Speaking of food, there are some significant differences in how food is prepared and what parts of the meat are used by the Irish. For example, they eat all of the pig and by all of the pig, I mean EVERY single part from the ears to the heart. They even sell a whole pig’s head which, of course, is not creepy at all (note the sarcasm).  In America, I think we are a bit more wasteful.

 Irish food, like many European foods, also has no preservatives essentially meaning that the food goes bad a lot quicker. It is also important to mention that they (to my dismay) don’t have whoopie pies. One of my new Irish friends even said they’d never heard of whoopie pies. GASP!  Ireland however, makes up for it with their scones. I have one at least once a week.

Pig's Heads at the English Market. 

People here in Cork, Ireland also work shorter days. Most places besides pubs close at 4 pm and the Garda (the police station here) close at 3:30 pm. I found that out the hard way trying to get my immigration card. Many places also take an hour lunch break and are completely closed from 12 pm-1 pm. And they seem a lot happier. Maybe America should take a page out of their book?

There are also differences in how the Irish drive and how cars are made. Now, I know most people know this, but the Irish drive on the left side of the road, making their steering wheel located on the right side of the car.  I'm thankful I'm not driving here because this would take some getting used to.

The roads are also extremely narrow and curvy especially the further you head out of the city.  In America, as we know, we drive on the right side with our steering wheel on the left. And although some of the roads aren’t great, they are a thousand times better than the Irish ones. I guess that's a point for America then; we have the better roads.

The Garda Station 

The biggest difference of all between Ireland and America is their age. America, as we know it today, has only existed over two-hundred and fifty odd years, while Ireland has been around for thousands of years and has a longer history and ruins like the man-made structure called Newgrange that dates back even before the Great Pyramids.  In comparison, America is the teenager and Ireland is the grandparent.
        Of course, there are many other differences between Ireland and America like the way the Irish pronounce things, the different phrases they use, the fact that many people actually like their Irish president who looks like Dobby from Harry Potter, and of course, the all-important fact that they have amazing castles and tower houses practically around every corner. 
         Despite these differences though, America and Ireland have a great connection due to the thousands of Irish (including some of my grandparents) who immigrated to the U.S because of famine, war, and a desire to have a piece of the American dream. 
          And although I enjoy experiencing life in Ireland and think its better than the U.S. in some ways, I do miss my family and those whoopie pies.  
Truly, there is no place like home.

My childhood home during the Summertime.
        The color-coordinated decorations are kudos to my mom.