In Ireland we drink a lot. It’s part of our culture. I like drinking. I don’t think it’s a bad thing.
– Andrea Corr
Yesterday I called Shu, she said don't always write about work-related stuff, she doesn't like to read it lol. So let's write about some interesting things from my time doing rotations at Google Ireland.
This was probably 10 years ago, at that time I was based in the Google Beijing office, and then I applied for a quarter to go to Dublin, Ireland for an exchange.
I had previously studied and worked domestically, this was my first long-term overseas stay. The department I was in at the time was very international; a team of around 130 people, only a dozen or so were local Irish, the rest came from other places around the world: Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Latin America, Australia, Asia, basically a mini United Nations.
The culture was very diverse and open, all immigrants, so everyone was very friendly and enthusiastic, inclusive towards different ideas and value propositions; unlike the single-value environment I was in before, this had quite an impact on me, greatly enriching my understanding of the world.
By the way, China also has a history of being crowded with foreigners, which can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty capital city, as the saying goes, being in Chang'an feels like being in a foreign land; at that time, Chang'an was the center of world cultural exchange. Cultural envoys, students, or monks from different countries, with different skin colors and clothing, came to Chang'an, using Chang'an as their stage, adopting different methods for extensive cultural exchanges. And for foreign cultures, whether material or spiritual, the Tang government could absorb their essence and refine them, to enrich the content of Chinese culture. It can be seen that cultural export is not a manifestation of cultural confidence, inclusiveness is.
Back to my experience in Ireland. Since I thought I would only be here for a few months anyway, I wanted to have fun; plus with my shameless personality, I quickly integrated into various local groups. But at that time, I played less with Asian friends because they were relatively gathered in their own Asian circles, so I wandered around, trying to have as many different experiences as possible.
First, let's talk about drinking. Ireland is the birthplace of Guinness, the factory can be visited and you can drink there, I went there quite a lot during those three months. But the most interesting drinking culture was bar hopping. Every Friday after work at 5 pm, I would meet up with a few handsome Spanish and Italian guys, first we would have Italian food with wine, then we would visit different bars, each bar serving a different type of alcohol, after finishing one glass we would move to the next. We could visit 5-6 bars in one night, usually ending at home around 2-3 am. Fortunately, my tolerance for alcohol and physical strength were good, I felt that this round was more tiring than a week of work.
Then let's talk about potatoes. Saying that Ireland is a potato country is no exaggeration. The Irish people really love eating potatoes, every restaurant has dozens of ways to cook potatoes: French fries, fried potato cubes, mashed potatoes, steamed potatoes, salad with diced potatoes, chopped potatoes in stir-fried dishes... Only potatoes and milk in Ireland are not dependent on imports, all other crops are imported, the economic structure is very单一, agricultural production is mainly based on potatoes. Millions of farmers rely on potatoes to sustain their livelihoods. Perhaps in ancient times, locals who didn't like potatoes didn't survive and pass on their genes.
Then let's talk about the local nobility, I really didn't mix into this circle, my bloodline wasn't good enough, haha. However, my hosting manager in Ireland was from the Kennedy family, a local noble family. This sister had a horse since she was young, and grew up with it; her husband was an athlete in the Irish national sport - Gaelic football. She was not very old, not particularly smart, her working ability was average, but she got promoted quickly, and the bosses were all very polite and friendly to her; it shows that people all over the world are pretentious (no offense).
Finally, let's talk about English. The Irish speak English very fast and loudly; the European colleagues working here also have accents in their English, and their listening skills are average. My English is also bad. At the time, I was practicing yoga at the gym, then a few colleagues saw me and asked me to teach them, so I started a class. But my English wasn't good, so I told them, I do what, you guys do what. Then there was a movement where you close your eyes, rub your palms until they're warm, and place them on your eyes. Since this action is done with closed eyes, I could only guide them verbally: close your eyes, warm your hands, put your hands on your eyes. Everyone followed my instructions well, except for a Greek guy who placed his hands on his butt, furrowing his brows, making a great effort. I asked him, brother, what are you doing, he said, you told us to close your ass, warm your hands, put your hands on your ass...
After that, the class couldn't continue...
Tomorrow I will continue to talk about other interesting things in Ireland...