By kennatim
I have had a hard time determining how the Irish really feel about Americans. Obviously, being American myself, opinions are probably held back. In my classes, my peers often attack U.S. foreign policy, but in conversation, everyone mentions their cousin on Boston, or wonderful holiday to New York City. It almost seems as if the Irish do not want to like Americans, but with the overwhelming influence of American pop culture here, from Burger King to House of Cards, it is impossible not to.
Being in a modern, international city like Dublin made me figure the consensus I have been witnessing is skewed. I thought that opinion skew would change when I made my way to Cork City. Cork is about three hours by car southwest of Dublin, much more off the beaten path, with rarely an international flight out of the airport. Though still one of Dublin’s larger cities, I considered it to be a better representative of the small town nature of Ireland outside of Dublin. Is location on the southwest coast is a bit remote and many Dubliners poke fun at the distinctive Cork accent. This was going to be real Ireland.
As soon as we got off the bus, I found the Cork accent to sound much different than I was expecting. The international influence was very surprising, and the “Cork accent” to me was any accent that did not sound Irish. I totally underestimated the cosmopolitan nature of the city. We met some Eastern European friends, stayed in an Airbnb with a Portuguese woman and German man, and ate at a restaurant owned by Brazilians. By the way, the food in what I thought was a quaint little Irish town made Dublin look like my middle school cafeteria.
We had a great time exploring churches, the waterfront, the nightlife, and even got a chance to kiss the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle. I learned that Ireland is truly a modern, living, breathing organism with a large variety of people and places that might not necessarily agree on anything, let alone their views on Americans. I have never felt uncomfortable, and with my red, white, and blue backpack I purchased here (getting ridiculed by my American friends, no doubt), that is saying a lot. So if you are looking for an international experience, or just looking for really good Brazilian food, look no further than County Cork.