Brittany Braun

6/16/2015
NCE 322: Dr. Hendrix

The Historical Evolution of Culture, Trade and

Economics in Ireland
Several months ago if I was asked to explain Irish tradition, Ireland as a whole, or even the
history belonging to the country, I would have never been able to cover those topics appropriately
for several reasons. At the time, the thoughts and perceptions I had about Ireland were very
stereotypical. This was because, like many young Americans my age, we have essentially been
trained through mediums, such as movies and television, to believe the Irish are nothing but drunk
reckless fools. Therefore, it has shaped our thoughts to perceive this culture in a stereotypical
manner due to the harsh extent these particular mediums portray them.
For example, in the Disney movie Luck of the Irish, it was gathered from the film that
individuals with any trace of Irish descent were short leprechauns with pointy ears who had to
always be on the hunt for gold, or as they might say, lucky charms. If not, those individuals would
then be summoned to bad luck for eternity. This concept seems to be very relevant to what I have
learned throughout this course because if it is anything, I have cultivated that the phrase luck of the
Irish has not always been true for those in Ireland. Ironically, the Irish have actually faced nothing
but bad luck and cruel treatment for centuries.
In all honesty it is movies such as, Luck of the Irish, and many more that my perceptions of
Ireland were geared towards being very stereotypical in the sense that I thought they were all lazy
and only cared about getting drunk in pubs all day. I also thought everyone living in Ireland had
fiery red hair and were covered in freckles. Along with those preconceived notions, I also associated
the Irish with the idea of mischievous leprechauns running around stealing from everyone. Even
though this might seem like an exaggeration, before taking this course these thoughts were the only
knowledge I had about Irish tradition, culture, and history.

However, over the length of this class, along with traveling to the country as well, I have
learned my conceptions about Ireland were completely inaccurate. This overall experience ended up
teaching me the struggles and values of Ireland as a whole, while also making me realize a lot about
my own culture as well.
For starters, when immersed in Ireland, I quickly learned my personal culture back in the
United States was relatively different from the culture present in Ireland. To my surprise there ended
up being more distinctions between the two countries than I anticipated there to be. Despite the
obvious minuet differences, such as those in Ireland driving on the opposite side of the road than we
do in the United States, there was one bigger deviation while immersed that really caught my
attention over the others.
That was, from every hotel we stayed at during our travels I noticed this particular country
put a larger emphasis on being more environmentally friendly and conserving both water and
electricity than the United States does. To start, in the very first hotel we stayed at once arriving to
Dublin, my roommates and I came to realize the only way we could get the electricity in our room
to work was to insert one of our keycards into a small port built in the wall next to the light switch.
By doing so it allowed for the lights and outlets within the room to work. This was all an effort to
conserve the amount of electricity being used by individuals because if there was no card in the port
the flow of electricity was not present.
This really stood out to me because I have never seen anything like it before. In the United
States we do not have innovations like this to help prevent the waste of electricity. In my home
culture most individuals keep everything plugged into outlets and on at all times, even if the
appliances arent being used. This allows for electricity to keep flowing which becomes wasteful.
By doing so this small difference shows Ireland is taking smaller steps to becoming more efficient
in energy conservation than America is.
The other difference I saw throughout Ireland in hopes to be more environmentally friendly
was the efforts in how the country conserved water. I noticed that nearly all the toilets in Ireland

were filled with less water than in the United States. Although it may be odd I noticed this, in
Ireland, all the toilets sat closer to the ground and had just enough water to fill the bottom of the
bowl and nothing more. The showers were also solely for showering and not for luxury, I noticed.
Compared to the U.S., showers in Ireland were smaller and not as spacious. For example, in one of
the hotels we stayed at in Killarney the shower was not even big enough for me to extend my arms
out fully in. The shower was the shape of a square and only ran about three feet across.
Whereas back home individuals have spacious showers all around in different shapes. To
the point where three or four bodies could fit into it, whereas in Ireland, the showers could fit only
one body. Some individuals in the United States even have hot tub sized bathtubs for luxury. As
well, the toilets in America sit higher off the ground and the bowl is always filled all the way with
water or at least half full.
On the other side of those differences though, I noticed there were several similarities
between Ireland and the United States as well. The biggest similarity that caught my attention
though was the aspect of clothing. Whenever I walked into retail stores, such as PriMark or T.K.
Maxx in Belfast, I noticed a lot of their styles in clothing and the colors they wore were almost
identical to those living in the United States. Throughout shops in Ireland and even in America
bright colors like coral pink, turquoise blue, and yellow seemed to be very popular items on display.
Along with floral patterns on dresses and tops. This surprised me because before this trip I had the
idea individuals in Ireland only dressed in very dark clothing and did not wear bold attire that stood
out. Therefore, seeing clothing that was very bright in these stores abroad and resembled clothing
from back home was unexpected and surprising to me. In the larger cities of Ireland, I also noticed
there were a lot of younger girls wearing high-waisted jeans with crop tops, which has also become
a new sensation in America as well.
Even though there were many differences and similarities as previously noted between my
home culture and the environment I was immersed in, I still found it easy to interact with Irish
Natives for it being such a tourist country. Out of all the interactions I had there was one that really

stood out to me. It was on our last night in Belfast when a couple of other students and I were
having a conversation sitting at the hotel bar. It was then an elderly man from Belfast and his wife
struck up a casual conversation with us. The older man, who had gray hair and was dressed in a tan
suit jacket with blue jeans and brown dress shoes, tapped me on the shoulder after hearing our
accents and started asking us simple questions while making plenty of jokes. He asked things like
where were we from, what did we like best about Ireland, what was our favorite part of the island,
what were our majors, and last but not least more personal questions about ourselves. He asked
what we wanted to do after graduating from school and what our home lives were like as well.
Being polite, we engaged in the conversation answering the mans questions and also asked
him questions in return. Such as, where was he from and why he loved Ireland so much. This
conversation seemed to go really fast and by the time we all knew it thirty minutes had already
passed.
Looking back at this particular conversation now the biggest obstacle I faced while talking
to this older gentleman was the language barrier. Although the both of us were speaking English,
this mans accent was very thick, making it hard to decipher his words. It was because of the
difference in accents and how fast he talked that I had to ask him several times to repeat what he
had just said. If I did not ask him to repeat himself there were long pauses after he finished speaking
due to everyone trying to figure out what he had just said, but not being quite sure.
To overcome this certain aspect in language barriers, I was forced to pay closer attention to
this mans speaking in order to ensure there would be no miscommunication or that I would not
become obnoxious by asking him what after every sentence. This experience alone really pushed
me to work on my listening skills, which was something I gained from the conversation. I also
learned just how patriotic and how much pride the Irish have for their country. Just by the way this
individual spoke about Ireland alone, such as saying it was absolutely beautiful and he would not
want to live anywhere else in the world, really showed how much this culture values their history
and environment. The enthusiasm in his voice really came through and emphasized his love for his

country. It was at that moment that I really became grateful for this opportunity and it made me
want to have as much pride for something as this man did for Ireland.
As well, the fact that this older couple had just met all of us young Americans and starting
asking personal questions right off the bat showed me how caring the Irish truly are. They are a
close-knit community who value others greatly, even if you are an outsider. So the fact this man had
just started talking to us for a few moments and wanted to know more about us personally said a lot.
It showed the Irish do not judge others, but instead try to understand people who are different from
them. They are fascinated by and accepting of individuality and that is not something we see a lot in
the United States. In the U.S. people are often looked down upon and judged for being different, but
thats not the case in Ireland. This man also gave us pointers on great places to visit in Ireland and
wanted us to fall in love with his home country as much as he had. It was these small qualities that
really made me feel welcomed and accepted. That is not a feeling you get from most Americans in
the U.S. So the fact that I felt it in a different country I was unfamiliar with made me realize how
genuine those in Ireland are. Therefore, being immersed in a culture where they genuinely care
about others and want to learn more about strangers in a hotel bar was very interesting to me and
ended up teaching me more than I ever thought I could gain.
Last but not least, going on this specific Cross Cultural Experience to Ireland taught me
several things about being a Communication major. Being in this particular field of study, I am
always learning about different cultural worldviews that are present in diverse social contexts
around the world. For example, there are two different worldviews within the communication field
that applied to my trip, such as the collectivism and individualism views. That means, in a
collectivist community everyone relies on each other to help the area they live in prosper and grow.
Everyone works together as a unit by highly relying on one another, which creates a tight-knit
group. They all want to see each other be successful and will do anything to help those get to that
point. Therefore, these individuals do not stray away from others within their group. In my opinion,

Ireland weighs in heavy on leaning more towards the collectivist side. While Americans on the other
hand would be more on the individualistic side. This is because Americans as a whole are more
independent and do not rely on anyone to get tasks done within their community. The mentality in
the U.S. is more of every man for himself, which puts a gap between individuals in society.
Learning and hearing about these different worldviews in class, such as individualistic
communities vs. collectivistic communities is one thing, but to actually be able to experience the
differences between the two in person is another. Coming from a more independent country to
transitioning into one where individuals are more reliant on one another was a lesson in itself. Being
in the close-knit and caring atmosphere of Ireland taught me how to further my communication
skills in a more effective manner, while also pushing me to listen more closely and look at
nonverbal cues when speaking to others. Nonverbal communication and aspects of effective
communication are the biggest components to the major I am currently studying.
I can confidently say that by going on this trip I was pushed to enhancing my
communication skills to the point where I walked away with something new. By going somewhere
that was different from my home culture, I had the opportunity to apply everything I have learned so
far while being a communication student and put it to use, but also had the chance to do it through a
different and challenging context due to being immersed in a different atmosphere than I was used
too.
When it comes to my career interests and traveling to Ireland, going on this particular CCE
taught me that one day down the road I would love to work at an international newspaper, such as
The Irish Times, to be a full-time reporter. It would take a lot of work and perseverance, but I
believe that would be something I would be highly interested in. Going to Ireland and falling in love
with, not only the country, but with their history and values as well, made me start thinking about
how I want to work internationally-in Ireland especially-upon graduating from Carroll.
Personally I have always been fascinated learning about different cultures and countries;
therefore having the opportunity to experience Ireland and being immersed in this country taught

me a lot about myself. I have learned that I am a far more independent person than I thought I could
be and that I can make it on my own in a different country that I know little about. I also picked up a
few things from the Irish, such as being more thoughtful of others and to be more open-minded.
That is something the Irish seem to be big on.
As a whole, aside from my two week experience in Ireland the biggest thing I can take away
from the course as well is to not judge a book by its cover. At the beginning of this class, one of the
only perceptions I had about Ireland was that everyone who lived there were drunks and had no
ambitions in life but to sit in a pub and drink. I learned quickly however, that this idea I had was far
from reality. I learned instead that this stereotype about the Irish has been passed down from century
to century by the British. As one can see, this stereotype about those living in Ireland still seems to
be heavily influenced in society today, even after thousands of years have passed since it all started.
What I really learned over the past couple of months though was the Irish have actually been
through a lot and are very intellectual individuals. People such as, Oscar Wilde, have done great
things for Ireland. It shows they are more than drunken fools that everyone thinks them to be. They
have morals and values that are rooted from their deepest of struggles. As Wilde once said, In the
wild struggle for existence, we want to have something that endures, and so we fill our minds with
rubbish and facts, in the silly hope for keeping our place. Out of all, those would have to be the
biggest things I have learned from both traveling to Ireland and taking this class. Stereotypes are not
always true, sometimes there is more to the story even though you may not know. And the truth may
even surprise you, as it did for me when learning the true history of Ireland and then having the
opportunity to visit the places I read about.