Day 3- Tea, Religion and Castles

Hey folks!

So much has happened today!

Last night was the first time I'd slept in Ireland. Since we're much further north, it doesn't begin to get dark until around 11PM. It was strange going to bed around 9 (earliest I've ever gone to bed, ever) and having it still be bright out. The time change and travel has really thrown off my sleeping habits. Although I was exhausted, I woke up at midnight and was ready to go. It was strange.

After breakfast we has a local man, Hadden, come in and tell us about the history and problems facing Ireland. I wanted to share a short summary with you.

Ireland has an interesting relationship with the rest of the United Kingdom. The UK is comprised of: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. That's an important thing to remember. Ireland and Northern Ireland are 2 different countries, and Northern Ireland is in the UK, the Republic of Ireland is not. Why is this?

Well, it's a long history. Ireland was not settled by Romans, as the island of Great Britain was. Therefore, the Native Irish developed their own ways and spoke Gaelic. This explains why the s in the Republic of Ireland's signs are in English and Gaelic but Northern Ireland signs are just in English.

Rulers in England began to try to colonize Ireland with Charles I. They would give wealthy noble people large chunks of land in Ireland and kick the natives in Ireland out. If this wasn't enough, more problems began as many of the settlers were protestants and the native Irish were Catholic. The protestant settlers moved into Northern Ireland and kicked the Irish Catholic to the south. This further explains why Northern Ireland is predominantly protestant while the Republic of Ireland is Catholic.

Today tension still exists between many Protestants and Catholics. Hadded explained that although it is unspoken, there are Protestant stores and Catholic stores and Protestant and Catholic newspapers. This further complicates politics as many Irish Catholics want to become their own country but many Irish Protestants want to remain part of the UK. In 1922, Northern Ireland became an official country that was part of the UK. However, this did not stop the fighting and until 1998, the two countries continued to fight and over 3,000 people died in acts of domestic terrorism.

Population

In the 1840s Ireland had a population of just over 8 million. When the potato famine began in 1844, over 1 million Irish died and 1 million left for America. The population continued to decline slowly until the 1960, and has only begun to rise in recent years, although the population rise is still slow. Today's Ireland's entire population is just over half of what it was pre-famine.

Tea

 

Getting used to tea time is a fun challenge. Prior to coming to Northern Ireland the only tea I ever had was sweet tea and hot tea in Chinese restaurants. Every day at 10:30 though we stop what we're doing to have tea. This is much better than any tea I've had in the US. 

Cars/Driving

 

It's still taking me some time to get used to driving on the opposite side of the road. However, it is becoming less and less strange. The strangest thing is that ALL of the cars are standard and the shifter is on the left side of the road! So weird! Additionally, there are car brands and logos that I've never seen or heard of before. 

 

Food

 

As I mentioned yesterday, the food here is much or organic. For example, take a look at this Walker (UK Lay's) potato chip label. They also have strange labels, such as roast chicken: