The Irish Don't Celebrate Martin Luther King: First Day of Classes

The first day of school always gives you that feeling, the feeling of a new beginning. No matter how old you are, the feeling is the same. Same as it was on the first day of Kindergarten. After 15 years of schooling, I've got it down. Instead of jumping out of bed, I hit the snooze. Struggled to the shower, stood in my 2 by 2 curtained off portion of the bathroom. Dried my hair, got my backpack, grabbed an apple and off to European BIF. While the Quinn School of Business resembles our beloved business building in Champaign, I walked into a classroom not full of my friends and study buddies but rather Irish students who were neither friends nor familiar. Stevie and I met on our way out of Roebuck so I had a friend to sit by and observe the first class of our semester abroad. Cross cultural management, 9 am, ironically taught by a tiny little Korean woman. The Irish students arrived on their time, which culturally is late. Aunt Kathy would fit in perfectly. They stroll in, take their seats, and we begin class. The first day of class is always the same. Meet the teacher, get in groups, learn about each other and whats expect of us. The class was small, maybe about 40 students, all of whom had their laptops open, although I'm sure it was not to take notes or listen diligently.

Then we divide in groups, already pre-made. Except none of the American students made the list. If are attempts to blend in had worked before, there were definitely shattered by the need to raise our hands and say that we were not on the list. Our names would've stood out anyway among the Murphys and the Mc's. There were literally 15 students in the class whose last name began with Mc. There are about 6 international students in the class, 5 from the US and one from Hong Kong. The teacher made us say where we were from-- the US we all went down the line.

Stevie and I got put in the same group, which of course is the group with the loud Irish boys who made a point of voicing their opinion prior in the class. After our 15 minute break (yes, welcome to Ireland where they believe in breaks during 2 hours classes) we discussed our own personal cross cultural experiences. It was surprising to me, but about 1/3 of the class had worked a summer in America in restaurants and resorts. New York, California, Hawaii. Reminds me of the Irish students we met in Maui at the hotel. They all said that Americans are much more punctual than the Irish, and work harder and longer. Some even said that Americans were more friendly-- especially in shops when saying hello and if they needed help and to have a nice day. I think that the Irish are more genuinely friendly, however, and Americans have mastered the art of being nice when it will benefit you. It was really interesting to hear about the Irish's point of view...about being relaxed and some times lazy, and self proclaimed very focused on alcohol.

After class I had to get some things set up, go to IT to register my laptop, get a letter for immigration from the student desk. Then back home to relax for the afternoon. Another fantastic home cooked dinner of pasta milk and bread.

Some interesting phrases used in Ireland...

queue-- means to wait, or a line... to queue up is to line up.

top up-- means to pre-pay...like for a cell phone or for printing... to add money to.

grand-- used in the place of great. Instead of "that would be great", they use "that would be grand".

Learn something new everyday.