Military Presence

I was chatting with a fellow post-doc who is from Ireland. He was telling me of his recent journey to the US, and how he was so fascinated/bewildered/intrigued/mystified by the strong military presence he saw. Well, first he was at a conference attended by many persons serving in the military, and it was his first time to ever see representatives from a country’s armed forces in person. Ireland is such a small, neutral country that one is not exposed to this atmosphere.

Furthermore, the “garda” or police force in Ireland or the UK, does not carry guns, so whenever he saw policemen and such with guns on their belts, he was amazed.

Then in the four airports through which he traveled, he repeatedly saw signs welcoming home the troops. He said to me, “I then remembered that you all are at war!” The way he said it was actually quite piercing and sorrowful. Yes, we have been at war for 6 years now. And yes, many of us forget or lose touch with the larger picture of what is happening around the world and within so many families. This mentality of having troops overseas has become the norm and mentality of a generation of people in the US. It permeates the media and social affairs so much, it’s difficult to realize that in some places like Ireland, everyday life is quite oblivious to the war that is being fought and all the lives that are being affected.

The Angelus

Every day at noon and 6pm, on RTE, the Irish broadcasting station, there is time taken out for the Angelus. The sound of ringing church bells can be heard and images of people in their various professions and activities in the day taking a pause to pray or reflect can be seen on the television. These are two times during the day when all the people of Ireland are encouraged to pause and acknowledge God and refocus the pattern of their lives consistent with their faith.

Wow. I was completely startled to first experience this in none other than a pub with colleagues after work! Well, okay, here in Dublin, there wasn’t a complete observance of it. But those with me swore that when they were in Donegal (in the country, out west), men were around having their drinks and good craic, and then complete silence filled the room as everyone reflected, some pulling out their rosary beads, etc.

This is Ireland…but not for long. Every year there is a push to remove the Angelus from RTE’s broadcasting, but it gets swept under the rug. There have also been protests about having advertisements with a “crib” (a nativity scene—they call it a crib here), although on O’Connell Street, one of the main thoroughfares of Dublin, there is a large nativity scene next to the Christmas tree in the center section of the divided road.

Christmas in Towns

In Ireland, all the local towns and communities have their main street decorated for Christmas. This means that every 1-2 miles (for this is how quickly one community village becomes the next) you see the lights strung across the shops and café, greenery around the lamp posts, a Christmas tree at the main intersection, and festive decorations and lights streaming across the street reading “Nollaig shona duit” which is Happy Christmas in Irish.

However, it is not common for families to decorate their homes beyond perhaps a simple string of lights and a wreath on the door. None of the extravagant, coordinated neighborhood lighted home shows with moving figures and trees covered in lights that have become so popular in the States.

On the other hand, Christmas trees are seen everywhere. My office building has a tree in the lobby, then in the main entrance to our floor/institute, then in the lounge/dining area, etc. I was a bit surprised at first, but I do find it refreshing to be able to celebrate Christmas overtly again. The university’s school of mathematical sciences had a Christmas party, then the cryptographic institute had a Christmas party, then our building of collaborative research had a Christmas party—never once called “holiday parties.” Yes, while this is a professional work environment, with few actively religious folk, everyone is eager to say “Happy Christmas,” rather than the ambiguous “Happy Holidays” that has become the norm in the US, as the average person there must pretend that Christmas is not a part of the culture she has grown up in…

Various words

I have various words that have come up in conversation that I'd like to point out...

1) People often say something like "She gave out to me all day," or "There will be no giving out while I'm here."

To "give out" means to ridicule or complain about someone to their face, basically to give them a hard time.

2) A mother might ask her child to do the "hoovering," or one might hear teens complaining about having to "hoover" when they get home.

Hoovering means vacuuming. I guess folks use Hoover vacuum cleaners here, in the same sense folks use Kleenex in the US. :)

3) I've had friends ask if they could "call on" me, or suggest that I "call in" on so-and-so.

This does not mean to ring someone and has nothing to do with phones. It refers to stopping by someone's home, to visit them in person. It's like the old-fashioned speak...makes me think of Andy Griffith and Barney Fife "calling on" their girls.

4) Calling someone "Love" is extremely common--strangers will call you that in the stores or in whatever random interaction. Startled me at first, but now it's kind of cute, makes us all seem like a tight-knit community. In the post office, the person will ask, "What can I do for you, Love?" or "To post that will be 1 euro, Love." Or in a shop when someone needs to squeeze past you, they'll say, "Excuse me, Love."

5) I got the following text on my phone from a girl at work:
"Morning Love, I forgot that I was invigilating today, so I won't be seeing you until tomorrow."

I don't know about you, but I had no idea what it meant to "invigilate." I had to look it up.

It is what we would call in the US to "proctor"--basically, to supervise students taking an exam.

6) This is isn't a word, but a pronunciation: "r" is pronounced by the Irish as "Oh-are." Very obvious. As a mathematician, often using variables including "r," it definitely took me time and effort to interpret some of the talks. I had already anticipated the use of "zed" instead of "z," but "oh-are" was unexpected.

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time"

I just finished a book by British author Mark Haddon, titled "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time," published in 2003. It is written from the perspective of a 15 year-old autistic savant, Christopher. Wow, it is an incredible book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is very insightful into the thought process, emotional and behavioral challenges of some autistic kids.
Christopher is a genius who loves mathematics, so it is filled with mathematical references and outlook on life. I was in heaven! It is also very witty, I found myself bursting out in audible laughter on the bus! (At times because I could frightfully identify with some of the kid's tendencies...) There is also a mystery involved, and a tear-jerker part of the story (ironic, since the boy is incapable of processing emotion)...I confess I shed a few tears on the bus as well.

Anyhow at the beginning of the book, Christopher writes, "Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them. "

Since my research is relies on the properties of prime numbers, this quote especially resonated with me.

Later Christopher tells a joke, something to the effect of the following:

There are 3 men on a train. One is an economist, one a logician and one a mathematician. They have just arrived in Ireland and see a brown cow standing in a field from the window of the train (and the cow is standing parallel to the train).

The economist says, ‘Look, the cows in Ireland are brown.”

The Logician says, “No. There are cows in Ireland of which one, at least, is brown.”

The Mathematician says, “No. There is at least one cow in Ireland of which one side appears to be brown.”

Christopher explains, "It is funny because economists are not real scientists, and because logicians think more clearly, but mathematicians are best."

Oh yes. :)

Christmas Pudding, Mince Pies, and Mulled Wine

There is a very serious tradition of eating Christmas pudding and mince pies during the month of December, and drinking mulled wine. I have been to 6 Christmas parties (yes, we all know the Irish love a reason to celebrate...) and the standard dessert is mince pie.

So what are these edible traditions?

Christmas pudding may also be referred to as "plum pudding" and comes from the British traditions. When Americans hear "pudding," we think of a custard-like substance--creamy and dairy-based. However, pudding here contains no dairy whatsoever, and is more like a cake/bready thing. It is a mixture of raisins, currants, sultanas, and other dried fruits, with some flour/bread that is steamed for 3+ hours, so that it thickens and all congeals together. It is eaten warm with a brandy cream sauce (which is incredibly tasty...).

Now then, mince pies... I kept hearing reference to mince pies and seeing it on invitations, but I was confused...for isn't mince like ground meat?? So I had images of shepherd's pie or something being served for dessert and did not find it appealing at all. However, in this context, the mincemeat filling (yes, it is even called that in recipes) consists of no meat at all, but rather minced ingredients: raisins, currants, sultanas, apples, orange rind, with cinnamon and spices placed inside individual shortbread pastry crusts, with crust on the top as well. These are actually quite nice on a cold winter evening (which begins at 4pm now...) with coffee or tea.

I was at an outdoor market and a man was selling homemade mince pies. I asked him what I was eating (before I knew the ingredients), and he replied "Tradition." Yes, this is a deeply accurate statement.

Mulled wine is red wine combined with spices and served warm, a nice complement to the mince pies at evening Christmas parties. Lots'o'cheer at this time of year!

Banking Issues Again...

I got form in the mail with the title "Fee Advice," and it details all the transaction fees on my bank account for this quarter. They charged me .20 for every single transaction I made with my debit card the past three months--which I use every time I buy groceries, bus passes, etc. Then .20 for each ATM withdrawal, regardless of whether or not it was one of my bank's machines or not. Then .20 for each automated deposit of my payroll, .20 for automated withdrawals for my broadband payments, .20 for the use of internet banking, .30 for each check written or cashed, and 4.50 for general account maintenance.

(Yes, per check...makes me not want to write my friends, church or charity a check but rather give cash, out of principle. I hate throwing money away to nebulous, bureaucratic, administrative entities...)

I went into the bank and questioned the charges. They said I should have read the fine print in the brochure and contract before I signed on. Of course. It's my fault indeed, and they had no mercy.

However, in the future, all these fees can be waived if I simply "top-up" my phone once a quarter--which means put more credit on my pay-as-you-go plan. Easy enough, will do, lesson learned!

Christmas break

People here really know how to take a break.

As I've already mentioned, no one works on the weekends, and in fact I've gotten quite horrified looks when I've mentioned being in the office on a Saturday. (But hey, I'm making up for hours missed while doing long runs in the daylight hours during the week.) It is a great feeling to not feel expected to tell the boss on a Friday that "I'll get on that this weekend and give it to you on Monday."

Okay, so the above simply suggests that they know how to maintain boundaries in their personal and professional lives. But it gets better...

The university of 20,000+ students literally shuts down from Dec. 22-Jan 5 and goes to great lengths to discourage, well down-right prevent, persons from attempting to work during these Christmas holidays. I've heard stories of how in the past the university officials had all the heating in the buildings turned off and this was enough to ensure no one came to work. Then they started locking the doors to the buildings, but I know some professors who still got in to do their final exam grading. However, when the doors to the toilets began being locked, then that was the last straw. No one can be spotted on campus for these 2 weeks now.

Oh, and lest you think this is only in the academic world, I have been told by many that during the full week between Christmas and New Year's, all the shops, cafes and such will be closed as well.

Local Lollipop Lady

She wears a bright neon yellow trench coat that reaches down to the ground, a neon yellow cap, and carries a stop sign that is a lemon-er, neon--yellow circle atop a long candy-striped pole.

So she looks like a local lollipop lady. She's actually an official school crossing guard. I see her every morning when I go running and need to cross at her section of the road (it's not at an intersection). We now have nice visits while we wait for a break in the cars. She's very Irish, it's amusing to hear the way she talks (not merely the accent, but also the speech pattern and word choices), and I know all about her family, hobbies and such.

Yes, it's rather fun seeing a familiar face and having a chat in the morning, especially with the local lollipop lady!

More words explained...

A friend was giving me a ride the other day and she suggested I put my violin in the boot.

Ah-ha! I knew now what this meant (see a previous blog post), so I put the instrument in the trunk of her car.

I remarked on the translation that took place in my head and ask her what the name of the front of the car is (what we in the States would call the "hood"). Do you know what it is?

The bonnet.

Hahaha, I couldn't help but chuckle. Suddenly an aspect of a car that is often associated with masculine activity--working on the engine, etc. "under the hood"--now brings to my mind the image of...well, girls, elderly ladies, or nursery rhymes.

My friend then mentioned needing a new "jumper" and "trousers." I translated these to mean "sweater" and "pants." She responded that I am correct on the first item, but not on the second.

Pants to them mean "knickers." What are knickers? Underwear.

Okay, so a the trunk of a car is a boot, trousers are not pants, pants are knickers, knickers are underwear, and a bonnet is the hood of a car.

There's the Irish for you.

Hot Press

I was at a friend's house and passed a door with a sign "hot press."

Hmm...I first think of a printing press, such as publications being "hot off the press," but obviously that's not the context here.
Then I recall being in Japan and the hotel providing a hot press in each room. This was a ironing contraption to press one's pants. So perhaps this room was the ironing room. Nope.

My friend explained that a "hot press" is an "airing cabinet."

One needs to understand the living habits here in Ireland. Many people do not use a dryer for their clothes. They will use a washing machine and then air dry their clothes. But the climate outside is often too wet, so they need to hang inside.

So the closet with the hot water heater (not the same as the kind in the States) is where the clothes hang. Some may also be hung over the radiators in each room (houses are heated via radiators not via heaters that blow hot air as those in Texas).

In fact, the Wikipedia entry for "hot press" reads:

"A large cupboard or small room in a home where clothes, towels, bed linen etc. are placed for airing, that usually contains the hot water immersion heater. In most English speaking countries, the hot press is known as an airing cupboard; the term hot press is peculiar to Scotland and Ireland."

Note the word "peculiar." :)

Another related novelty I encountered was in a hotel on the southern coast of England last weekend. In the bathroom was a special towel rack that one turns on and it heats up to dry the towels. Brilliant.

Traffic Lights

What order do the colors appear when lit in traffic lights in the US?

Yellow-Red-Green.

I imagine this is so that when one is driving while the light is green, the driver can be cautioned by the yellow that the time to stop is fast approaching, right?

Well, here in Ireland they appear in the order

Yellow-Green-Red.

This causes drivers--99% of whom are driving manual shift cars--who are stopped at a red light to anticipate that they are about to be able to accelerate, so they get ready to undo the hand brake (which everyone is taught to use at lights), deal with the clutch, etc...

I guess this is the reason? Other suggestions?