Victoria, one of our colleagues, is now as an assitant teacher in Ireland for eight months. On our newspaper’s international page she writes about her experiences on the green island.

By VICTORIA SCHMIDT

What would Heinrich Böll think, if he was going to rewrite his Irish Diary today?
Probably he would think he was in the wrong country as soon as he got off the plane at Dublin Airport. Maybe he would walk in wonder across the much changed O’Connell and Crafton Street with their high end fashion shops, finally entering the central bus station and getting on the bus to Rosslare Harbour as I did a few weeks ago and travel across the country towards beautiful County Wexford in the sunny South East, where palm trees grow in some gardens and where the friendly locals would frighten any strict linguist out of the country with their fabulous dialect that ignores any of the rules I was taught by my over strict Standard English teachers years ago in school. These are, of course, things that have never changed, nor should they! What else would strike Böll then as new?
For instance, although there are the constant warnings of a recession coming on, the effects of the Celtic Tiger over the last few years are present everywhere in Ireland. I experienced them myself. Coming from our rather relaxed university town it was quite a shock to realize how expensive everything is here. Did you know that they have Aldi and Lidl here? First I felt glad and relieved, but then disappointment struck me as soon as I began pushing my trolley around the strangely familiar shops. A bag of German gummibears for 1,59 € is not the cheapest way of curing homesickness, but sometimes simply necessary. But I will stop complaining now, even with the higher prices, Ireland is still a lovely place.
After the first few weeks I quickly found out why the grass is always greener over here – because of the rain, of course. But we have rain and storms in Flensburg as well, don’t we? So it did not take me long to get used to the almost famous Irish weather that is said to have all four seasons in a single day.
Another thing that Ireland is famous for is the friendliness of its people – and this is something that I can definitely confirm. Who could imagine a German person standing in your way in a shop and apologizing for it? I couldn’t. But here a sorry seems to be on everybodies lips, for standing in your way, for bumping accidentally into you in a crowded street, just for everything that could offend in the slightest. This air of politeness even extends to the students at my school.
First it felt a little bit strange to be adressed as ’Miss’ by them, but I have got used to it as I have to their wearing uniforms or their nearly exclusive interest in sports. Sports is an important part of these teenagers lives and their dedication to them, especially to the Gaelic sports, usually remains a big issue when they have grown up into young men. Gaelic sports are Hurling and Gaelic Football (a combination of Rugby and soccer). Hurling is played by young men, the equivalent for young women is called Camogie. It looks a little bit like field hockey with soccer rules and is as exciting to watch as it gets rougher and rougher during the course of a match.
Another part of youth culture is something we may be more accustomed to than to Gaelic sports – I have been placed in the town with the most pubs in all Ireland (54 it is said), so Wexford’s nightlife is a tiny little bit more exciting than Flensburg’s, at least on the weekend. But then, going out is still even for the young focused on dropping into their favourite pub - just imagine you and your friends hanging around in some creepy, dirty little German pub. It would not work in Germany, but it works brilliantly here. And the omnipresent antibacterial soap in a pub’s messy bathroom has almost the surreal effect of an artistic installation. By the way, you also can get antibacterial bin liners here. Don’t ask me for the logic behind that. I mean, it’s all rubbish anyway!
Something that is not as entertaining as the laid back Irish way of life sometimes seems to be is the fact that binge drinking here is as serious a problem as it is in Germany. What has really impressed me is the awareness campaign they have started here. I admire the effort that is made to warn young people of the dangers of a pint or a shot too much – we should think of something similar in Germany.
As a lot of students in Flensburg want to become teachers, it might be of interest to you that the Irish schooling system bears a lot of differences to ours. As an example, Primary school education lasts for eight years. Afterwards all students attend compulsory secondary schools and it is still common to have boys and girls schools, although mixed schools are getting more and more popular. Differentiation of tasks can get very difficult, considering the various ability levels combined in a class. Still, teachers as well as students have amazed me with the uncomplicated way in which daily school life functions – students may be rough and bold from time to time, but in general teaching in Ireland is a positive experience.
If I were now in Böll’s position and sat down to write my own Irish Diary, I would fill it with all these impressions and even more that I have not mentioned yet. As my stay in Ireland is not finished yet, it would not have a final line, but only a final statement: Ireland is a grand place to be.