Emails, Buses and Guinness - Aka a Tutorial on How Not to Make a Fool of Yourself
Me and the infamous Guinness pint When one moves to a foreign country, cultural differences are to be expected. Obviously, I was aware of this fact before coming here. What I wasn鈥檛 aware of however, was the amount of times I would unintentionally embarrass myself, in the most normal, common scenarios ever. Even though I love to get a good laugh at my own mishaps, you鈥檇 probably want to avoid the following list of common mistakes so that you end up with your confidence still intact.
Emails
Personally, I have always considered myself to be a polite person, whether that be in spoken or written language. Not once did the thought cross my mind, that I might come across as rude for the way I communicate - simple, to the point, with a few niceties added here and there. To be fair though, it was never the Irish who made me reconsider my phrasings, but rather my own conscience. After having received the umpteenth email beginning with the phrase 鈥淚 hope you are doing well鈥 or 鈥淚 hope your day is going well鈥- aka phrases I have normally never used in formal writing - I seriously started wondering if I had unintentionally been coming across as disrespectful or rude all this time. Rest assured, I鈥檝e been using these phrases too ever since. Moral of the story is, always go above and beyond when it comes to formal letters- not because they expect it, but rather for your own sake.
Buses
At home, I am the final boss of public transportation. I know every bus line, every tram stop, every hitch in our underground systems by heart. I always know which platform the train departs from, as well as the exact time - often times down to the second. And don鈥檛 even get me started on etiquette! I am proud to say, that I鈥檓 one of the few people who are actually aware of their surroundings, meaning that I never eat or drink, never take up too much space, and always offer my seat to those in need, when using public transport. When I came here, I seriously believed I had all the rules figured out. Obviously, I had to be humbled yet again, by the buses this time. When the first bus passed me (without even taking the stop into consideration) I was offended. When the second passed too, I started getting suspicious. And before the third could also blissfully ignore my lonely persona, just like the former two did, a godsent Samaritan (a normal, mundane commuter) did a miraculous (probably also mundane) gesture - they signaled, and lo and behold...the bus stopped. Okay, obviously I鈥檓 overdramatizing, but the point should get across: signal, if you want to get onto the bus, especially if you鈥檙e standing alone at the station. You might get lucky of course, but better safe than sorry (or late) in my opinion.
Guinness Beers
Unlike in the case of public transport, I am the furthest thing away from an expert when it comes to Guinness鈥r beer in general. The first time I ordered a pint here, I obliviously reached for it as soon as the bartender set it down, only to be ushered to put it back down. To be honest, I still have no idea why it鈥檚 customary here to pour 90% of your drink first, then wait, then pour the remaining 10% separately, but I suppose there are things I鈥檒l never truly get the hang of.
By Barbi Beck, Hungary
