My Inner World

When my friend was over last week and we went out and about, I once again noticed the amount of tourists that flock to Ireland. I love this, it makes me realize how lucky I am to be living in a country that many people pay good money for to visit.
However, what get's me sometimes is the sheer sillyness of some people.

I have had German people start asking me something IN GERMAN. Now, I happen to speak German. But I was sitting on a train, had not spoken a word when they asked me where the stop for such and such a town was. How were they to know I could understand them?

I was standing in a pharmacy on Henry Street once, looking at eye make-up when two Dutch "ladies" starting talking about me in Dutch. Saying that no amount of make-up was going to fix that mug.
I told them they were being ignorant and that that kind of stupidity would get them in trouble some day, in Dutch. They apologized but I knew they were sorry for being caught, not for what they said. And told them that, too.

When I lived in my MiL's village, I heard a story of an American lady asking a cab driver if he knew if a lady called Mrs Murphy (can't recall the exact name used) had lived there at the beginning of the 1900's! Like the cabbie was going to know!

When we were in Glendalouch, we met a group of American ladies who stood in a ruin, holding hands in a circle. (which is fine, I am all for connecting the the surroundings, centering yourself) expressing their gratitude of being back in the land of their ancestors and then proceeding to sing a SCOTTISH song together....

It makes me laugh sometimes... So go on, tell me, what's the silliest thing you have ever seen/heard a tourist do?
Do your fellow countrymen/women ever make you cringe?

Late last week there were several reports of a man trying to abduct children from two primary schools. One school is in our village, the other in Munchkin’s Grandmother’s.
A man had been reported to be asking small children whether they liked chocolate and sweets. Telling them to go with him. The children, thankfully, ran away and reported it to their teachers.

The schools sent out letters to the children’s parents and the police was involved.

Last Tuesday, Paddy was putting the Munchkin in the car to take her to her Nannie’s. He saw three men standing with clip-boards and it seemed odd to him that those people would be out so early. And it was. Seconds later, a police car came screeching around the corner. Together, they arrested a Nigerian man that lives in the houses parallel to ours. A man that lives 50 meters away from us. In a neighborhood that has lots of small children playing outside all day long.
I do not let Munchkin play outside alone, but there are kids, younger than she, that are playing outside by themselves. I think they are absolutely crazy for allowing that, but what can I do?
The idea of what this man could have done to them scares me to death. He could have opened his door, grabbed one of them in, and nobody would have known! The tears are welling up in my eyes just thinking about it…..

The idea that an animal like that lives across the street from us! He was in court on Thursday and they are now investigating charges that a 16 year old girl has made to him as well.
I hope they put him away, and tell the other inmates exactly what he is in there for.
(My step-brother was in jail for a while, completely different story, and he said that offences to children were the one thing that were not tolerated by the inmates. Those people would have a VERY hard time on the inside.)

I hate that the world has come to a stage where I have to talk to my (almost) three year old daughter about strange men. We were going to anyway, but I hate that it’s necessary…

Last weekend, I went on a very early morning shopping spree. I had to pick up these shoes. They were a nightmare to find and I wanted to make sure I got them. They were laid aside for me, but I am of the " you never know!" variety and wanted to take NO chances. I had searched the 'Net. Called every shoe store in the North County, and nobody had them. When my MIL spotted these, and had them laid aside for me I was SO relieved. It's the one and only thing Munchkin has asked Santa for. Can you imagine them not being there for x-mas morning?
Well, they have been purchased and (apart from the watch that I bought my mam and I have to return because the face is waaaaaay to small for her to be able to see without her glasses. How stupid am I?!) I have now finished my Christmas shopping! All the essentials have been bought and anything I buy now is "extra". And should I choose not to buy another single thing, we are still OK for Christmas! I love being able to say that.

People here always give me this "look" when we discuss the holiday season and the necessary shopping. They give me this little smile that says "Oh Mieneke, and your silly little ways". They like me, but think I am a little "unique" all the same. They just kind of let me get on with it and consider me quirky for making my lists towards the end of September and getting my shopping finished by early November. This year, I am also looking in to recipes (Thanks Overwhelmed!) and getting the ingredients in to test a few out before Christmas. This, also, raised a few eyebrows.

The Irish are very laid back. They generally do not worry about Christmas until December and, if the madness in Dublin City Center is anything to go by, they tend to wait until the very last week to finish the shopping.
The stress towards the end of the month becomes palpable. This crazed look appears in people's eyes. The last rush to get that particular "Bratz"-laptop or whatever the "in" thing may be that particular year. The huge queue's to get in to the multi story car park of the shopping center. The "festive" honking of the horns. The "traditional" white knuckles on the steering wheel.

That's right people. I am the weird one for avoiding all that...:-)

Munchkin has had a continuous cold for the last four weeks, with not ONE but TWO throat infections thrown in for good meassure. The throat infection she is sporting now, has her in a mood that you would not believe. Since this all started my daughter has moments of overwhelming, all consuming rage. Her temper get's the better of her and she just looses it. This is new territory for us. She has had little fits before but these are like nothing we have ever seen. We have to be consistent, and let her know that this behaviour is unacceptable. And we are, it's just really really hard to see your daughter so overwhelmed with fury all of a sudden. I can see how hard it is for her and that breaks my heart. I just really, really hope that this will go when the throatinfection and the cold go.
It's made quite the impact on our family, I know it sounds small, but it is so strange to have the behaviour of your child change so dramattically practically over night!


Also, I passed my driving test yesterday! I got a re-sit within 6 weeks (the current waiting time to sit your driving test is usually just over a year.... absolutely appaling) and decided I was not going to let nerves get the better of me this time.
After the last time, when I was driving home after failing my test, (Only in Ireland.....) I was kicking myself for letting myself get to so worked up. Was not going to let this happen to me again.
So yesterday, I got in the car, pretended the guy was just someone I was giving a lift somewhere and passed!
I am SO delighted with myself and will send off for my full license this lunchbreak!

You're 80% Irish

Congratulations, you're a shining example of an Irish lass (or lad). There's hardly anyone more Irish than you!

On Tuesday night, Paddy was having a smoke at the front of the house. (There is absolutely no smoking in the house, none, nada, zilch).
We live in a corner house, and as such have the added bonus of having a side gate to get to and from the back garden. All of a sudden, he hears someone sliding the bolt from the garden side. And lo and behold, two men come sauntering out of our back garden as brazen as you like.

Paddy recognized them as being the same two lads that had been by the house a few weeks earlier to try and sell us pillows from the back of their blue van. They are from the traveling community. They are sometimes (very un-PC) referred to as "Knackers". This community has scared the living mess out of me in my almost 7 years here and let's just say that my feelings for them as less than warm and fuzzy.

Paddy: "Lads, WTF?!"
Knackers: "No worries Boss, no trouble"
Paddy: "No worries?? You're in my back garden for F sake!"
Knackers: "Just taking a shortcut Boss, taxi will be here any minute now."
Paddy:"Shortcut my *rse! What the F were you doing there?"
Knackers: "Shortcut Boss"
Paddy:"I'm calling the guards" (Police.)

This went on for a bit, and while Paddy was talking to them (Dubliners use the "F" word quite liberally, it's just the way they speak) he was making a mental note of exactly what these lads looked like. He then went in, and called the guards and gave them a such a detailed description, it impressed the officer who answered. They had had more reports and were at the house in under 10 minutes.

In the meanwhile, I made sure all the doors and windows were locked! This kind of thing creeps me out. My brother in law is a Detective in a special Guarda unit. His house is alarmed to the rafters, he is very physically capable and carries a gun. (There are two safes in the house, one for the gun, one for the ammunition, far apart from each other.) They have two little girls.

They got burgled last week, when all of them were asleep in their beds.

They removed the panel from the backdoor and came in through the utility room. Now, if THEY aren't safe. Living in what can only be described as a domestic Fort Knox, what chance do we stand if these people decide to do some clandestine shopping at our house?

About 18 months ago, the doorbell went one afternoon. Munchkin on my hip, I went to see who it was, expecting to see some charity collector or something. It was a girl, about 19 years old, very scruffy looking. Hair all greasy and stringy. Wearing a dirty tracksuit and a very spaced out look on her face. She asked if this was Nr 1. **** Drive. When I said it wasn't, she asked would I drive her there. When I said I wouldn't. She demanded I give her money for a taxi there. I had already maneuvered my foot behind the door, just in case. And twisted my body so that Munchkin was away from her.
The whole conversation played out in about 10 seconds and I was quick to shut the door and lock it. Only once I was back on the sofa, with Munchkin in my arms, did I really realize how nasty this could have gotten.

When I lived in Dublin city center we were also burgled when we all slept. Everything of any value - gone. Including a diary containing the letter my friend's father wrote to her on his death bed.....

People like this infuriate me. Entering people's homes, breaching their sense of safety and security. Taking what these people have worked hard for to obtain. We go to work, we put in the hours, only to have scum like that scale our walls and snatch whatever they bloody well like?!
We have to go to bed, ears wide open to listen out if this trash is going to pay us a visit?

We have to pay because these low-lifes decide a decent job is beneath them, or doesn't pay enough? Or to support some addiction that they choose to indulge in and are now stuck with? I didn't jam that needle up your arm Buddy, that was all you!

And, in both The Netherlands and Ireland, if you catch one of these b*stards and beat them to a pulp, YOU can be done for GBH! (Grievous Bodily Harm). It's so backward, it almost leaves me speechless.

They are making me fear for my families safety in my own home. And I hate them for it.

Sometimes, I do suffer badly from homesickness. It can be hard to not be able to pop by your mam's for a cuppa, or go on a trip to the zoo with your friend and your kids. To know that I can't leave Munchkin with my Mam when I pop to the shops, when I know that both of them would LOVE that.
But, I do love Ireland. Granted, the government is doing it's best to destroy their heritage, and with that, a major source of income; tourism.
Face it, Bertie, people are NOT going to come to Ireland to see the pretty motorways (highways).
They built the Dublin Corperation buildings in Dublin City, right smack dab on top of a Viking ship. The historical value is amazing, the people protested but the government decided to go through with the building anyway.
There's a motorway being built, extremely close to the Hill of Tara, the Hill of Kings. This is one of the most magically charged places in Ireland and soon you will be able to absorb the history with the ear caressing sounds of cars racing down the motorway in the background....
Also, they can't build roads, either that or they are not provided with the funds to do a good job because the roads here will destroy your car. The health-system sucks, there are people dying on trollies in the A&E's (ER's), 80 year olds spending night after night in a wheelchair on the halls because there are no beds.

It's so easy to get carried away by this, to only see the nasty backward side of Ireland. But, there is so much beauty, too! Both in places AND people.
Sitting at a bus stop, you can be sure to strike up a conversation with a little old lady who will talk to you about anything and everything. I have spend many a bus journy engrossed in conversation with elderly people. I LOVE that!
Walking in to a 250 year old pub and seeing a man that seems almost as old, sitting at the end of the bar with his cap and his pint of Guinness. Just sitting there, minding his own business. He's seen it all. Charlie, the bartender keeps his pints coming, and that's good enough for him. People coming up to shake his hand, have a bit of a waffle (chat) and then moving on again.
Families going down the pub for their roast Sunday dinner, so that Mam has the day off. Kids running around, the smell of roast chicken with onion and sage stuffin'.

Stepping out of my car and after a five minutes' drive seeing this castle:

(Image not mine, check out this man's site, amazing pictures of Eire.)

Today, after dinner, Paddy, Munchkin and I went for a look around Baldongan Castle.

I was without my camera, so I took a few snaps with my camera phone. I am fully intending to go back soon and take some proper photographs.







Walking around there, absorbing all the history. Looking out over the fields, bathed in the September evening sun, I felt so blessed to be living here. I can't wait to take Munchkin on her holidays around Ireland. To show her that side of her heritage. Paddy is a proud Irishman, and I can see why.

Yes, I do love Ireland, now, if I could only get my parents and friends to get on and move here already! ;)

Paddy's mother, Paddy's brother, Paddy and I went to see "The Wind That Shakes the Barley"

The movie is set in 1920's Cork, Ireland, when the English still occupied Ireland. The main character is a doctor, who initially wants nothing to do with the resistance. Then, after seeing one too many acts of savagery from the British on his way out of the country, he changes his mind and joins his brother in the IRA. The Irish Republican Army has a very bad name now, but then, the aim of the movement was very sincere and and, truth be told, needed.

The movie shows the horrible way the British treated the Irish. It makes you sit in your cinema chair with clenched fists, wishing there was a "Black and Tan" who's lights you could punch out!
At the beginning of the movie, there is a wake. The grandmother in the movie is singing in the tradtional Irish way (sean-nós). The auld biddy's voice moved me almost to tears. Her acting in the movie was outstanding all the way through. She looked and acted like she was plucked straight from the 1920's.

The acting in the movie was so natural that you felt almost like you were watching a documentary. They pull you in to their cause, in their want and need for a free Ireland. When the British make a "compromise", one half of the IRA decides to accept. The other decides to stick with it and inch towards total freedom. The brothers end up on opposite sides. The human element of it is striking.
I was told that a lot of the lines in the movie were improvised. To me, this shows the connection the actors have to this subject. They feel it.

Living in Ireland I have found that the subject is still very much alive with the Irish. Paddy’s great great aunt was slapped in the face by the Black and Tans on the street.
Paddy’s father’s girlfriend’s grandmother was a baby in the 1920’s. The Black and Tans burst in to their cottage in the mountains. She was asleep in her bassinet when they put a gun to her head and told her parents that they would shoot her if they didn’t give them the information that they were looking for.
There are stories like this in almost every Irish family. Every Irish person I have ever met, has a strong opinion regarding the British occupation. “The Troubles” are a part of Ireland that has caused more heartache and sorrow than you could possibly believe.

I liked this movie so much because it’s a genuine portrayal of the times. It shows the life of “normal” IRA soldiers in the 1920’s. We all know about the big leaders, about things that happened in Dublin. The men, woman and children that worked towards getting the British out of Ireland came from all layers of society. Seeing their fight portrayed was moving.

If you have any kind of interest in the Irish and their history, this is a must see.

The Universe works in mysterious ways. Just when you get really blue and down, something or someone will happen to make you look up.
The last while I have been having the occasional bout of homesickness. I have been living here since October 1999. When I left, my father said he would see me in three months time, tops! Things weren't exactly running smoothly at the time and I remember thinking to myself it would be a cold day in hell before I would move back there. Before I would want to...
Well, things must be getting rather chilly down there because I have found myself wishing I could move my family back to the Netherlands. It was really getting me down. I started to become blind to the benefits of Ireland, to the reasons why I actually like living here too.
Then I start this blog. And this lady, at Overwhelmed with Joy, comes and have a look. She loves Ireland. (Have a look at her blog and you'll see for yourself).
She made me start to think about what I like about living here. I moved here when I was 21 years old. I partied the first year and a half. Met some great people and made life-long friends. Then I met Paddy and moved away from the city centre. The memories of my first years here. (I get al nostalgic now every time I'm in Dublin city centre, it's like a flamin' timewarp for me). The calmness and contentment after finding Paddy. The fact that my daughter can grow up hearing the sea when she's standing in our backgarden.
That I can take her to several playgrounds, each with a view of the sea. That we can go for a walk on the beach and find pretty shells. The beauty of the country. I will make a photo-album to give you a glimpse.

My heartfelt thanks to you, Overwhelmed, for making me re-appreciate my home.