Impressions of Dublin -- things I love most (Ⅰ)

Being in Dublin for 4 months, I am asked the feeling of this city sometimes. To answer questions like this, I tend to list the things I love most and least of the city.

So far, there are three things of Dublin I love most.

No. 1 People

Irish people are friendly and of spirit of equality.

If you ask for directions in the street, you will always get an answer to make you better off. Even if the person you ask does not know the way to the place, he or she will help you to google it with the phone or ask somebody else, or at least tell you to whom you can turn for better help. Anyway, you will definitely get some improvement by asking them. Moreover, they are responsible for what they tell you. Once the person who had showed me the way a moment before ran to stop me just for checking whether I really understood him, because he found the way he had directed tended to confuse me after discussing it with his workmate.

I work with some Irish guys. They are always very patient to help me. They answer my questions about the language and local lifestyles very detailedly and graphically so that I will not be confused or embarrassed. Sometimes I cannot express my ideas clearly, they try many ways to catch what I mean and then teach me how to express in the right way. They are also considerate. If they find I have not said anything for a long time during the conversation with lots of people, they will change to the topics I know more so that I can join the talk.

They will never ask you to change for them, and at the same time they will not change for you. If you cannot understand them well because they speak fast, they will repeat again and again or change the way to explain it for you, but they will not slow down. Because they respect their own right to keep the ways they speak as well as they respect your right to understand them. Once you join their society, they treat you as a equal member as themselves. Nothing will change to meet your special requirement or discriminate you. The shop will not charge you more because you know less about the local price level. The taxi will not take the longer way because you are not familiar with the route. Likewise, your IT Services will not install a Chinese operating system in your computer especially. Even people walking in the street will not give you a second glance because your nose bridge seems lower than theirs. They have their own paces, nobody will speed up or slow down because of you.

(to be continued ...)