Culture Shock: Ireland

There’s this great series of books called the Culture Shock series. I have a couple for India and the Netherlands I’ve bought in the past. The India book was particularly valuable prior to my visits there.

There is also one covering Ireland. I chuckle at this a little bit because this book may either be incredibly easy or hard to write. Easy because it was not a culture shock to me by any means. Hard because of the thriving economy and job creation for people all over the EU and beyond, so you may need multiple books–not to mention that the book would need constant updating.

I haven’t read it, but I thought I would offer a couple of light-hearted thoughts.

• California and Dublin have a lot of parallels. There’s a trend toward multi-car families (perhaps because of the prosperity), and everyone likes to talk about real estate.
• I had to leave California to be healthier. This was particular to me because I had a flat that required a 30 minute walk each way. In CA, I drive everywhere and don’t have built-in reasons to walk (with the exception of Google’s growing campus). Also, there are nice organic food options, and the quality of food available in Dublin rivals California, if you want it.
• On a related note, people in Dublin walk fast and briskly. I tended to follow suit, getting the heartrate up a bit. Take a short trip to Milan during a Dublin gig and you noticeably downshift several gears.
• If you are lucky enough to work with a lot of people from different backgrounds (Europe and beyond), you get these fun good-natured rivalries. You might hear something you’ll never hear in the States, like “hey, don’t forget, we conquered and held your capital for oh, 400 years”.