Sunday, November 25, 2018

Man, That Smells!

Smell is a funny thing. I feel like I only notice it when I'm hungry or something is literally in front of my nose (pun intended). So, I guess you can say I am oblivious to the smells around me. 
However, when I do "smell things" I smell them strongly. As in, it completely takes over my nostrils and rises all the way up into my brain. It’s impossible to ignore.At home, smells that capture me are of the cow manure spread across the fields of corn or the Amish horse accidents left while traveling along the back roads. 
It’s not exactly pleasant but not exactly horrible either. Except when it's windy or hot, then it seeps in through the air vents of your car and there is no escape.


Though on some days my nose is treated to the donut smell from the TastyKake factory I pass on the way to church.It’s a local baked sweet factory that houses multiple cupcakes and candycakes. My personal favorite is the chocolate while my dad prefers the Krimpits or the vanilla cupcakes shaped like a cube.
When I was younger, I always wanted to go inside the factory especially after watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I wondered whether or not each sweet factory had a chocolate river and orange Oompa Loompas to work it.
Alas, it was not meant to be but I still think of that factory every time a waft of sugary sweetness comes my way. In Ireland, I’ve found that although some of the smells have changed, some are still the same.
 For instance, out in the countryside of County Cork, there is also the pervasive smell of cow manure but instead of cornfields, there are green blades of grass. And instead of Amish horse “residue” on the roads, there ’s spray-painted sheep (that’s another story) and their droppings to invade your nostrils.

An Irish Sheep.

And while this all seems unpleasant, it gives me the nostalgic feeling of home. Ironically, there is comfort in familiar smells even if they are less than sweet.There is also the constant smell of rain here,  a fresh damp scent. Sprinkled in among the rain itself is what the rain has flooded and pushed to the forefront, mostly dirt turned to mud and a few sprays of trash.
The City Center in Cork smells much more diverse. In the old English Market (founded in 1788) there is a wide array of food smells. The most noticeable is that of raw meat and fish. 
After all, in the English Market alone, there are at least three or four different meat and fish stands and the meats aren’t the prepackaged type you would find in Acme or Giant.
Oh, no. The meat and fish are displayed in fridges in all their freshest glory. Some are even still shaped in the body parts of the animal, covered in scales with big dead eyes. Despite the gruesome appearances of the meat and fish, the smell isn’t completely offensive to everyone but the bloody scent is just pungent enough to make me shiver in disgust as I pass by.
I guess it makes sense to have such fresh fish and meats on display; Cork is a port city once considered the “Venice of the North” so naturally, they have just-caught fish and really, all of Ireland is known for its meat.
The entrance to the English Market.

I do still wonder whether or not it necessary to have a whole gutted fish and a pig’s head on display. I don’t know about you, but it seems a little much to me. The Irish seem oblivious to it though.Outside the Market, you can most likely smell rich coffee brewed in the nearest café and the mouth-watering cinnamon bun scent from the bakery next door. 
And when you pass a restaurant like Jackie Lennox (the best fish and chip place) you get a sniff of the hot fried fish and fries coming right out the door.Honestly, the smell of Cork, especially its foods, depends on where you are because the scented air changes like the passing of the wind. 
Some of these aromas I will miss when I leave but others, not so much.

A cinnamon bun from a local Cork Bakery. 


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