Filed under: irish language, patriotism, proverbs | Tags: irish, language, proverb, teanga
Irish seanfhocail (proverbs) often come to my mind at the strangest times. Hungover mornings, I think ‘oíche aerach is maidin brónach’, which is a proverb and a life lesson I was never taught at school. It means ‘a good night and a sad morning.’ True that. Times of major stress or self-doubt I remember ‘ná mol agus ná cáin thú féin’ which means ‘never praise nor criticise yourself’. My personal favourite is ‘ar scáth a chéile a mhairimid’ which translates to ‘we all exist in each others’ shadow’.
Why are Chinese proverbs so commonly quoted, and the Irish ones consistently overlooked? How did the Chinese end up with the reputation of wise sages, and the Irish somehow became whisky-loving, rainbow-chasing, reel-dancing drunkards? I actually enjoy the reputation, as any Irish person who has ever left the country probably does. But I’m starting to worry about the lack of recognition our language, our history, our heritage is getting. There’s more to Ireland than Arthur Guinness and Riverdance.
Last night I watched an episode of ‘Glas Vegas’, an Irish language talent show on the country’s only Irish TV station. (I should clarify that when I say Irish TV Station, I mean the majority of the programmes shown are in the Irish language.) I was amazed that most of the contestants didn’t speak a word of Irish, and that those who did spoke it badly. Can anyone tell me what the point is of filming a show like that? Is it to highlight the desperate need for a revival of the Irish language? I hope so. If it was simply meant to entertain, it fell way short of the mark.
Give me back my language, please. I’ve decided to take part in EVERY Irish-language event held in Ireland’s south-east this year, and to speak Irish with anyone who could string a reply together. There’s one beautiful Irish saying I haven’t mentioned yet – ‘tír gan teanga, tír gan anam’. ‘A country without a language is a country without a soul’.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: calvita, Coopers Pale Ale, couscous, fridge, gathering dust, lake king, leftovers, love at first sight, swan draught, western australia
I just opened my fridge to see if I could create anything edible from it’s contents. I couldn’t, seeing as said contents were:
3 bottles Coopers Pale Ale
3 cans Coke (now 2)
1 bowl unidentified leftovers, belonging to my flatmate
Calvita cheese, also my flatmate’s.
So, no food. Again. I haven’t been shopping for what feels like weeks, and have been doing tastelessly creative things with couscous and veg just to avoid the inevitable trip around the shops. But the Pale Ale was a pleasant surprise – I’d forgotten all about it.
My love affair with Pale Ale began around a year ago, in a Western Australian intersection the locals call Lake King. I worked in the tavern/motel/social hub of the surrounding 70 square miles. I was sharing a house with the other motel workers – Jenna, from a one-harvester town further north, and the girl who became known as Fred, a German backpacker who’d arrived a few weeks before me.
One typical Lake King evening a few nights after my arrival, we had an impromptu gathering of inebriated locals in our house. As the evening drew on and the flow of booze slowed, I enquired as to the ownership of the last drink in the fridge - a bottle of Cooper’s. Fred claimed it as her own, and I warned her that I’d drink it if she left it there. She went to bed, I drank it, and the next day I realised that a) she hadn’t taken me seriously and b) it was the last Cooper’s in town.
There was no Cooper’s in town for around three weeks after that, and as we waited in anticipation for the delivery dude, we cemented our friendship over Swan Draught and sneaky vodkas as we worked the bar. We played pool, we talked shit, and we laughed like maniacs. After a particularly eventful Easter weekend we ended up in my car with a bootful of camping gear, and stayed together ’til the day I flew home.
I guess it was love at first sight.
And the Pale Ale in my fridge? Gathering dust, if that’s possible in a fridge. I had one eagerly anticipated bottle, chilled to perfection, rolled carefully before opening, and… it wasn’t quite the same. Without the humidity, the red dust, the dead roos, and Fred.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: business, german, headache, nomad, pirate, vienna
I feel like I should begin with an introduction of sorts, and wonder if there’s a ‘my first blog’ template anywhere that I could copy and paste. I think I’ll just mention a few important (?) facts before I get started:
1. My boyfriend isn’t really a pirate, but wants to be one. This I recently discovered after booking us and a group of our friends on a 3-night boat cruise. I’m excited. He’s googling Jack Sparrow costumes.
2. I’m a nomad at heart, but I’ve been relatively ’settled’ for around 8 months now. So settled I’ve actually started to accrue belongings again, including a fabulous Krups espresso maker and this bargain laptop. Thanks Dell.
3. I’m in the process of setting up my own business. What fun!
Fact number 3 is the reason I get out of bed most mornings, and the cause of many headaches. Setting up a business is fine, and quite an adventure. I’m lucky enough to have a wonderful business partner (who also happens to be my sister) who is on call 24/7 for cups of coffee and reassuring chats.
In fact, the ONLY setbacks we’ve had so far are down to other businesses. Take printing, for example. We’ve ordered a whole heap of leaflets from a certain online printing company, after doing extensive research. These guys are cheap, they’re fast, and, it turns out, they’re useless.
After numerous failed attempts at paying with a credit card and through paypal, my order was finally placed last night. The confirmation page was in German and seemed to contain important info about the file upload process. I’ve spent all day making polite phonecalls (holding off on the anger ’til our stuff is delivered), getting increasingly frustrated, and drinking coffee alone, as sis is in Vienna.
Wouldn’t life, and business, be much more straightforward if you only had to rely on yourself?
Filed under: Uncategorized
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