Over the Christmas holidays I traveled back to my hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, and was instantly greeted with a two-day snowstorm, which got me thinking about some of the cultural and social comparisons between the two places I find myself most- New England and Ireland.

Weather:

Coming from Boston, I felt prepared to handle the stereotypical Irish weather; I owned plenty of rain gear already, and I loved the fact that Ireland tends to stay lighter out later than New England. But I was surprised to find Maynooth much less rainy than many Americans assume. There are definitely days I need to wear a hat or hood to get to class dry, but the majority of days it doesn’t pour. I was caught off guard by the cold, however! A woman I met in a local cafe described it perfectly when I mentioned I was often windier than I thought I’d be- “American cold is cold in the air, Irish cold is cold in your bones.” Luckily, I love the cold!

Social Life:

In Ireland, I’ve found that many roads lead to the pub- and not just for drinking. Community seems to thrive in pubs, and Maynooth’s are full of students getting together for a wide variety of reasons, whether it’s sitting down to catch up with friends, going out for a drink with your class after exams finish, or staking out a trad music night.

Sports:

One of the biggest similarities between the two places seems to be our love of sports. I grew up fiercely loyal to both the Red Sox and the Patriots, and still track every Sox game on my phone no matter where I am. Ireland’s passion for their athletic teams rivals Boston’s in a way I’ve rarely seen before. Here, the most popular sports are GAA (Gaelic football, where players can use both hands and feet), football (soccer), and rugby. Sports are a huge point of national pride in Ireland, and it’s rare to go a few hours without seeing someone on campus wearing their favourite local or national team’s jersey.

One last note- Yankee’s hats are a huge fashion trend here, which never fails to horrify me!

Language:

I’ve found myself confused more than a few times with some of the differences in vocabulary between these two places! What constitutes chips still sometimes messes me up- what I call chips are crisps here, and what I call fries are chips. It also took me ages to understand that “grand” in Ireland only means fine, not amazing. Other differences in words refer to going abroad (vacation vs holidays), where food is stored (cabinet vs press), how you feel after a long day (tired vs wrecked), what being mad is called (angry vs raging), something that makes you laugh (funny vs gas), when something is cool (sick vs deadly), bad weather (pouring vs lashing), the back of the car (trunk vs boot) and how to refer to someone in conversation (that guy vs your man). It’s a long list, but the differences aren’t hard to adjust to at all, and it leads to great conversations!

Food:

I’m vegetarian, so I miss out on some of Ireland’s traditional dishes (like stew), but I’ve still found no shortage of options and I’ve loved trying out as many different foods as I can. I do miss American places sometimes- iced coffee, for example, is much harder to come by here, and staple fast food like Chipotle and Sweetgreen are notably absent. However, the dishes here tend to be very hearty and warm, and I’ve found great options in Maynooth, like the pancakes at Shoda or vegetarian shepherd’s pie.

Both cultures also love seafood- Ireland through their mussels or classic fish and chips, and Massachusetts with their staple lobster rolls and clam chowder. It’s also worth noting that I’ve noticed my grocery bills are significantly lower in Ireland!

As far as American cities go, Boston (and especially South Boston) claims strong historical ties to Ireland, largely due to the number of Irish immigrants that migrated here in the 19th century. We have the oldest St. Patrick’s day parade in the country, and even our basketball team’s name is a nod to Irish roots. This September, HelloFresh even published a study that found Boston to be the most Irish city outside of Ireland! I’ve loved my time in Maynooth so far, and I’m looking forward to the next semester of exploring the differences between Massachusetts and Ireland!