Ireland: the au pair’s perspective
Call it an acute sense of national insecurity if you will, but if Ireland is such a wonderful place to come to, then why do so many of us go as far away from it as we can afford to whenever we can?
The view of the foreign au pair is, in principle at least, about as objective an analysis as you can get: they come from outside the country, they’re in a unique position to observe our society from within, they’re only here on a short-term basis and they’re young enough to say what they think without worrying about offending anyone.
So what impressions are these people left with from their brief stay in our little republic? Do they return to their own countries full of more enthusiasm and positive vibes than a million Fáilte Ireland campaigns? Many of them also come from warmer countries than us, so what have they to say about our awful weather? Is it really that awful? Are we still really friendly? Were we ever?
Here are a few sample testimonies:
“I had very little knowledge about Ireland before coming here. I expected a few things about Ireland like being green, raining a lot, having a big drinking culture and having nice people. All my expectations have pretty much been true.
“The landscape here is absolutely beautiful, there are rolling hills in every direction and it really is so green and picturesque.
“The pub is a huge aspect of life in Ireland, along with drinking. I have never been to a pub before and seen so many drunken people still being served alcohol. Usually in New Zealand you would either be kicked out or not allowed any more to drink.
“I struggled immensely understanding the Irish accent at the beginning. I met an Irishman at the airport awaiting my flight to Ireland; he was the first person I had talked to that was Irish. I actually had no idea what he was saying, so I just sat there and nodded and if there was a pause on his side I answered with an awkward ‘Yes.’
“The Irish are big fans of the words ‘so’ and ‘like’. I noticed this the first week and when I talked to an Irish friend about it, they completely denied saying either of these words frequently, before ending their sentence with ‘like’. Point proven. I also think the Irish are very straight up and confident. They like to tell you how it is and are never afraid to speak their mind.
“I have been to a few places in the Republic and been on a tour of Northern Ireland. I thought Galway was a great city. I felt it had a lot of character and also was a little bit more modern and artsy than a lot of the places I have been to in Ireland. I had been told about the nightlife there so a few friends and I went for a weekend. Unfortunately, we all thought the clubs were incredibly average. Ireland should stick to what it knows best... pubbing.
“To me, Dublin was not Irish at all, but still a fantastic city — very busy and multicultural. Temple Bar is great at night. Adare has been a favourite of mine. The thatched houses were a great sight and within the small town there is so much history, from cathedrals to castles. Northern Ireland was incredible. It did shock me how divided the country was and it amazed me how so few Irish from the Republic have been up North. I had read all about it but to see it for myself was a huge eye-opener.
“I had to have a working holiday visa to come to Ireland. I had been given instructions to go to my local Garda station and register it with them. The local Garda had absolutely no idea what to do with my visa; he had never seen a working holiday visa before. Initially, he thought I might have been on the deported list so I sat awkwardly next to him whilst he scrolled down the list of names on the computer.
“It really is true that the Irish eat a lot of potatoes. I have been living here for six months now and I can count about two nights I have not eaten potatoes for dinner.
“I find public transport here to be really great. Generally speaking, the buses are reliable, reasonably priced and go through, or to, many towns around Ireland.”
“Before I left home, I made the decision that I would see as much of Ireland as possible; combining the au-pair experience with as much travelling as money and time would allow.
“Going on advice from my host family, friends and a guide book I bought en route from Slovenia, I’ve been to Adare, Bunratty Castle and Folk Village, Limerick city, Mountshannon, Dungarvan, Lismore, Tallow, Castle Lough, Garrykennedy, Lahinch and the Cliffs of Moher.
“But there have been destinations that have earned a special place in my heart, such as west Cork, Dublin, Galway and the Aran Islands. The trip to west Cork was absolutely brilliant. I went with my host family and it was like having a group of very good and entertaining tour guides. West Cork is known as the most fascinating region of Ireland and I could not agree more. The scenery is incredible, with all the picturesque hills, fields, lakes and amazing views. Springtime was generous with good weather and I was feeling quite adventurous, so I attempted a cycle around The Sheep’s Head Peninsula.
“It’s a small track and not even all the maps even mention it. That clearly shows in the relative lack of tourists there — which for me was a great thing to experience. It was very calm, with half-sunny and half-cloudy weather and a fresh breeze. According to Google Maps, I did around 60 kilometres and it took me from 10am to 6pm. It was a rather slow ride and I was stopping a lot to take photos of the coastline, landscape, the road, half-demolished castles and sheep
“When I arrived at the little café at almost the very end of peninsula, I left the bike there and walked for about two kilometres past postcard-perfect images of sheep calmly grazing on cliff-tops to reach the final point of the peninsula; the lighthouse. The view from there is just amazing.
“I cycled back on the other northern side of the peninsula. Although it’s only a few kilometres from the south side, the change in landscape is huge. It’s a lot hillier — like Sicily with 20 degrees less heat.
“I think I’ll have to repeat the experience of going places by bike. It gives you much more than just having a drive through. You can stop wherever and whenever you want, you get to see much more, and it is all much more peaceful. This unique experience was something I would really recommend to anyone who has the time to do it and is not afraid of risking getting soaked by an unexpected shower — it is Ireland after all.
“Dublin has also earned a special place in my heart. It’s a lovely capital, with everything within walking distance and it never lets one down when wanting to go out and have the craic of a lifetime. Galway, I must say, never let me down in that respect either, but there is something about Galway that just makes you like it. No matter whom I talk to, whoever has been there, loves it. It’s the same story with the Aran Islands.
“I would have a very hard time deciding on my favourite spot in Ireland. If push came to shove, however, I would have to pick the little park at the end of Salthill promenade in Galway, with that lovely view over Galway Bay.
“But I’m still not sure, so after I left Ireland in May last year, I decided to return here in September. I currently live in Blarney, a couple of minutes’ walk away from the famous Blarney Castle — still working as an au pair for a lovely family and still in search of new travelling destinations to help me find my definitively favourite place in Ireland.”
“I’ve been in Ireland since April this year in Corroy — just south of Ballina, Co Mayo. I’ve been taking care of three little kids aged one, two and four years old.
“Although I’d a good standard of English before I came here, there’s definitely a difference in the English I learned over the years and ‘Mayo’ English. Most of all it is the pronunciation. I can hear a lot more of the ‘t’ in the words and the ‘r’ is pronounced better too. I think that I was taught American English at school and via the movies.
“It took a while for me to get the hang of strange words such as ‘spuds’ and ‘being bold’. Another Irish thing is the way people tell each other the time. When it is 10.30 they tell you it’s ‘half ten’. In Ireland, this just means it’s half past ten, but in Dutch when you say it’s half ten, you mean it is 9.30. It caused a lot of confusion in the beginning, but the family was very helpful in getting me to understand.
“I disagree with the Irish people who think that they aren’t friendly to tourists and others anymore. I’m from a small town (by Dutch standards anyway) with about 15,000 inhabitants and I’m pretty sure that if you ask someone directions, about 75% of the people would just keep walking without reacting to your question at all. In my experience, people over here are much nicer and more open to other people than the Dutch people are.
“Before I came here as an au pair, I had come to Ireland twice as a tourist — once to Dublin and once to Killarney. I visited Dublin with a friend to see if I would like to become an au pair in Ireland for a year. My family and I went to Killarney because my brother’s girlfriend was doing an internship at the Killarney National Park. Other than that, I’ve been to Ballina, Castlebar, Enniscrone and Achill Island. All I can say with absolute certainty is that Ireland is amazing and the people are always very kind.
“Ireland’s tourism policy seems very good. Also, the arts seem to get a lot of funding; the museums are mostly free or very cheap. One other thing I noticed was that the library is very cheap too. Back home you would have to pay about €50 for a yearly membership and that doesn’t include things like films or CDs. Over here it’s only about €3, everything included. Being a total book nut this came as a big surprise.
“Holland, in general, is a little stressful. Everything is planned into timetables and nothing is spontaneous. People are generally late and always in a hurry (and sometimes even a little cranky) as a result of that. In Ireland, people are very calm. There is nothing wrong with a little chaos. If everything is planned all the time there would be no surprises or some spontaneous events, parties or other things. It’s not good to not have a little chaos in your life. If you don’t have chaos you will never learn to take a chance with something or somebody. You will never end up travelling, learn to love a new band or even work in Ireland as an au pair.”
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