Ireland feels so much like home. It feels so familiar that I sometimes forget it's a whole new world. I am frequently brought up short when I try to do something the way I would normally do it at home only to find out that I can't do it that way here. This is sometimes comical, informational, or just downright frustrating depending on the circumstances.
The first instance of this is driving. Getting behind the wheel of a car feels so much like home because of the landscape. Everywhere I look I see green rolling hills that so much remind me of the views and vistas growing up on the farm on Stringtown or out behind Dilley Elementary. The shock comes when you have drive on the right side of the car on the left side of the road which totally feels wrong. Also, you can go 120 on the highways. 120 kilos per hour, that is. Everything in the Republic is based on the metric system. This includes all road signs as well. So, driving looks like home but is just all wrong.
Did you know they have recycling and composting here in Ireland? Same size bins with wheels, just different colors. Same garbage trucks--noise and everything. The difference? You pay as you go instead of paying monthly. Payment as you go really makes sense to me. This way, you encourage people to waste less so they don't have to pay so much in their garbage. It's brilliant!
Even little things like buying Tylenol can be a little jarring. First, it's not called Tylenol or acetaminophen. It's called Panadol and contains paracetamol which I'm assured is actually acetaminophen. There are laws here that prevent you from purchasing more than 1 box (about 10 pills) of paracetamol a transaction. I found this out the hard way. I come up to the register with Panadol and Panadol Flu for Kerry when he was sick. I wanted him to have as many choices as he could because he was so uncomfortable. The nice cashier explains that I can only have 1 of the 2 boxes. But, I must look pretty pathetic because she helps me split my purchases into 2 transactions thus allowing me to have 1 box each transaction. Phew!
I'm not sure what people here are doing with Tylenol that makes it restricted--acetaminophen has never done anything for me and I can't imagine what people here can do to it that would make it remotely interesting to drug users. But, that may just be my lack of imagination and knowledge of chemistry. Our problem at home is pseudoephedrine. So, again, similar in that certain drugs are limited, but different drugs entirely.
It's a strange sensation to see and hear things the are so similar to Oregon. But, they are not. And, you can't treat them the same way even though they feel familiar. The world operates at a different speed and in a different way here.
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