Shopping with a Suitcase

As already stated elsewhere in this blog, one of the biggest lifestyle adjustments we had to make was abandoning car ownership.  In suburban Iowa, owning a car was just a rule of life.  Most families owned multiple cars- because Iowa (and much of America) has so much darn... space!  The sprawling nature of many towns AND the long distances between towns and cities makes car ownership necessary in all but the biggest cities.  The increased space also means we have room to hold all of these cars in attached (or detached) garages, wide driveways, and curious covered carports.

Here, nuh-uh.  No Irish driver's licence, no money for a car payment, and no interest in ever operating a vehicle on the streets of Dublin are just the first few on the long list of reasons we don't (or can't) own, keep, and use a car here.  This means, of course, that all of our errands must be done without the aid of personal four-wheeled transport.

The Options

Well, when we need groceries, our nearest supermarket is about a mile from our apartment.  There is a bus that could take us from our corner down the street to the supermarket- perfectly acceptable.  The trip would be short and comfortable.  What's wrong with that?  Well, a lot.  First, much of our shopping time would be spent waiting for a bus, especially if we went during off hours.  No criticism of the bus system, they have budgets to keep, of course.  Speaking of budgets, buses here are expensive (for us...) and taking two people on a round trip would add up to about 10% of our weekly grocery budget.  Really not worth the cost.  See also: taxis.  That might be 20% of our weekly budget.

We do have bicycles, and they are a great way to get around mostly flat Dublin.  We use them for shopping when we need to make quick trips for a few items.  Anything more than a few pounds (on each bike) makes the return trip rather dangerous, with sagging, overloaded backpacks catching the wind and blowing us into lanes of traffic...  Not to be used for the main weekly trip with the sacks of flour, jugs of milk, and bags of potatoes.

In many American cities (a bit sadly, really...) the mere thought of walking a full mile each way to the supermarket would bring cries of terror and much gnashing of teeth.  "Good Lord, Helen!  And to think, on the mile walk home from the store they are carrying their groceries!"  We are by now fully acclimated to walking most places, budgeting extra time and wearing comfortable shoes when we need to.  The mile to the market only takes 15 or 20 minutes, and takes us through quiet, green, and pleasant neighborhoods.  The character whining to Helen earlier does have a right point about the weight, though...  Walking that mile with sagging shopping bags can really lead to sore shoulders and stiff backs.

The Solution?

We had seen in the market shoppers with specially designed wheeled trolleys just for grocery shopping.  They are built on a sturdy lightweight plastic frame with several sizes of soft, zippered compartments.  The wheels are large diameter fixed casters for easy rolling over cracked sidewalks and curbs.  Many shoppers bring these to the market, put it in their cart (called a trolley here) while shopping, and fill it up for the trip home.  For a few weeks, we marveled at them, thinking, "Wow, what if..."

Then it happened, one day we saw a young couple with a baby at the market with a large wheeled suitcase in front of us in the checkout line.  We were just dreading our walk home that day, loaded with lots of heavy goods as we were, and seeing this other couple with another solution gave us a start.  "We have those!  We have five of them from our checked-luggage-move!  We don't have to buy one of the special shopping trolleys!"

Wow, what a difference.  Heavy goods are no longer a problem.  We can load up the suitcase with just about anything we could possibly need on a grocery trip.  Sometimes we carry fragile goods like eggs and  bulky-but-lightweight items like toilet paper- but all the cans, liquids, potatoes- in the suitcase.

A Perfect Solution?

In short, no.  It isn't perfect.  Our one particular gripe is the size of the wheels and their tricky nature over rough ground.  Travel suitcases weren't designed to be pulled over bumpy, cracked sidewalks- through piles of rotting autumn leaves blown into a corner by a wind eddy- over corners without ramps down to the street and back up to the sidewalk level on the other side.  They were designed to be packed gently and carefully with soft, light items like clothing and pulled over smooth, freshly buffed and polished airport floors.  Sometimes it's a bit of a struggle to get the overloaded suitcase over the bigger bumps without shifting the contents too much.  It takes some careful packing and some artful tiptoeing on the way home to make it- but as they say, "If it isn't hard, everyone could do it!"

... Or something like that.

How Much?

How much can we fit in the suitcase?  On a recent trip to the market- the first one of the month when we had the budget flexibility to get all the things we had used up in the last lean week of the prior month- we got a pretty good pack in our trusty shopping helper.  Observe in the (poorly lit) photos below-

A Full Load

We packed in flour, sugar, and other baking goods.  We packed in rice, pasta, and beans.  We packed in milk and butter.  We packed in some meat (kept separate from the other food in a re-used SPAR bag.)  We packed in fresh produce.  We packed in everything.

Extreme Grocery Close-up!

Just another work-around we use to keep ourselves healthy and sane.  I hope that walking to the market for all of our goods will become a habit that stays with us wherever we live.

Travel with Bus Eireann

After our quiet and relaxing Christmas Day walks in Cork, we were set to depart back to Dublin. It was a quick trip, but we still had a great time seeing the sights and tasting the food of Ireland's second largest city.

Our travel to and from Cork was made easy and affordable by Ireland's nationwide coach bus service, Bus Eireann.

It should be noted right away that we are not spokespeople for B.E., nor is this a B.E. promotion.  Just some honest thoughts and observations about traveling Ireland by coach.

What's The Big Deal?

It is great to have a service like this at our disposal.  When I talk to Irish people about Iowa, I have to drop the factoid that Iowa is three times larger than Ireland with half the population.  The population is spread out and the Western third of Iowa- apologies to Storm Lake, Council Bluffs, and Sioux City- is particularly sparsely populated.  Most of the Midwest (think roughly a chunk of the U.S. from the Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains and South to the Texas state line) is the same way- big hunks of land with a few medium-sized cities separated by hundreds of miles of farmland and small towns.

What does all that have to do with buses?  Everything, really.  Given such a large land mass and low population WITH the American standard of multiple-car homes, it should come as no surprise to learn that the Midwestern U.S. has very few public transportation options.  Larger cities have buses and commuter trains, of course.  Some cross-county bus services go through the Midwest, but usually following the Interstate Highways, of which Iowa has two (I don't count I-29 here, sorry again Sioux City and Council Bluffs!), forming a rough cross-shape through the center of the state.

...So if you are living in the corners of the state and need to travel, better gas up your truck and get on the road.

We don't have that option in Ireland, of course, but not to worry.  Ireland is smaller and more densely populated (relatively speaking) than the Midwest, AND public transportation is more culturally acceptable in Europe generally, so an overland bus service does make financial sense.  I am amazed with the ease and affordability of these services.  Someday I may be jaded and complain about the full buses or the cost, but for now, it's all fresh and new.

...On Bus Eireann

When buying a ticket, one can reserve online, buy a ticket at the station, or hop on a bus and buy one from the driver.  When we booked our tickets to Cork, we noticed that it was easiest and cheapest to buy an advance ticket for a date rather than a specific departure time.  We bought a return ticket departing on December 24, and we could use that ticket on any bus going from Dublin to Cork on that day.  Because Cork is a larger city, there are many express buses between Dublin and Cork everyday, so we had our pick.  All we had to do was get to the station.  We decided to take the first (bus departing at 08:00) to maximize our time in Cork.  We caught the first Dublin Bus up to Busáras and got to the station before 07:30.   

Aside-  I like bus and train stations.  Maybe for slightly different reasons than the narrator of Love Actually describing airports, with all that lovey-dovey mushy gibberish.  I like to see the mix of people of all colors and classes waiting to depart.  This form of public transportation is cheap enough for people of lower income to use, but convenient and comfortable enough for suited-and-skirted business travelers.  People watching, for me, helps alleviate the general misery of a long wait on uncomfortable wooden benches.

So, it's 07:30 on Christmas Eve and the station is busy with holiday travelers.  The longest line, of course, is the bus to Cork.  Because the tickets aren't reserved for a specific bus, most people had the same idea we had- catch the first one and maximize Cork time.  If this bus had been full, we'd have had to wait to catch the 10:00 bus- not a huge deal, but we were excited to get there, and the ride would be about four hours...  Not to worry!  We (and all the passengers who arrived after us behind us in line) were able to board the almost full bus, and we were off!

Being an express bus, there were only a few stops, and those mostly in the second half of the journey.  We admired the view of the countryside- even from the motorway it was beautiful.  Everyone here recommends traveling off the motorways to see some of the more picturesque small towns and country scenery.  I guess that is something Iowa and Ireland have in common- crappy sightseeing on the big highways...

Anyway, two of the stops we made were in Cashel and Cahir, both towns on our "to see in Ireland" list because of their ancient fortresses.  The Rock of Cashel is well known as a church attended by St. Patrick, and Cahir Castle is a well-preserved stone-walled hulk.  Both of these monuments are right in the center of town, so we got a nice view of each as the bus made its way through the very cute town squares.

The return ticket system is also very convenient.  When purchasing a ticket, one selects the first departure date only.  Once the driver punches the departure, the ticket is good for thirty days for a return trip.  Any bus, any day.  When we were leaving Cork, we could take any of the buses departing on that date.  It was the day after Christmas, called St. Stephen's Day here, and it's also a public holiday.  As such, buses were running a more limited schedule, so the express Dublin bus was running every four hours instead of every two.  No problem- we waited at the station (observing the ever-interesting human bus station mix) and caught our bus home.  Extra classy note that I must document here- on the return bus someone a few rows in front of us had a bottle of cheap red wine stoppered with a wadded-up paper towel.  Every time he took a pull from it, we got that nice whiff of grocery-store-special wine.  Some might have found it annoying, but it was all I could do to keep from laughing and asking him to pass it back.

It really is great to have access to such an efficient and convenient public transport system.  Car-less as we are, we feel like the whole country (and Northern Ireland, the other country on this small island) is open and easily accessible to us- and we plan to take full advantage of that while we're here.

The Rinse Sink

Learning to live small small was a bit of an adjustment for us when we first arrived.  We had been living in a three bedroom single family home, and a two bedroom apartment with a large kitchen before that.  Cooking in the small kitchen means a hard and fast "one cook at a time" rule is always in effect.  Using a small fridge means adjusting the shopping schedule to account for less cold storage.  We've noticed refrigerated foods here have shorter shelf lives, anyway.  No dishwasher means sink washing dishes every day, which isn't a big inconvenience, but must always be planned for.

One small change that makes a big difference in the routine (and the efficiency) is the small rinse sink.

Wash and Rinse Sink

We've already commented on the some of the energy and space saving innovations used here, but we've yet to mention this water (and counter space) saving development.  Think about it, rinsing dishes takes less water and volume than washing dishes, especially if they were washed thoroughly.  Using a smaller (and shallower) sink for rinsing makes a lot of sense.  The small sink is especially handy for our European equipment because kitchen tools like cutting boards, spatulas, ladles, knives, and others seem to be a bit smaller than their American counterparts.  

Extreme Rise Sink Closeup!

The sink setup not only saves water with each use, it also continually saves precious counter space.  In the photo, the whole sink setup is seen with the wash sink, rinse sink, and drip drying surface.  When sink washing dishes is an everyday routine, a good system (with a hands-off drying rack) is important.  The reduced counter space taken by the whole setup allows the cook (or dishwasher) easy access in the narrow kitchen while freeing up corner space for the hot water kettle or additional prep space.

Of course, the small sink can't completely submerge everything in the kitchen.  Our large roasting rack and pan has to be carefully rinsed with the faucet head, and cutting boards have to be rinsed using the "dip and splash" method.  These minor setbacks, like everything, have been something to learn to live with and plan for.

I'm glad we are getting a chance to live small (as we would say in suburban Iowa - here, it's just called living) because it gives us the the chance to appreciate some of the luxuries we had (and hopefully will have again) while realizing that life can go on without them.  If we were philosophical bloggers, we could venture into expanding that metaphor into all of the American/European/Suburban/Urban/House/Apartment differences we've experienced here.

...but we're not. Whew!

Plastic Bag Tax

Litter is bad.  Period.  We all know it, it isn't new, it isn't novel.  Why does it still happen so much?  How do we fight it?  Local governments around the world are trying one idea to make a difference- a tax on plastic shopping bags.

In many urban areas, shopping bags blow through the street like tumbleweeds.  Attempts to make the city more appealing with sidewalk trees are made ugly with little plastic bag wind socks stuck in branches at every level.  Such is not the case here in Dublin, and hasn't been since the introduction of this tax.

A bag like this'll cost ya

Today, a plastic shopping bag will cost the shopper 22 cents.  This isn't a charge by the stores, but a mandated government tax to discourage their use.  Stores now offer a wide variety of reusable bags right at checkout for those who forget to bring them along for their trip.  This is very handy, and if one does forget one's bags, it is a preferable choice to buy a new reusable bag because they are the same price as three or four plastic bags.

This has decreased plastic bag use (and plastic bag litter) drastically.  Based on observations we've collected from our local friends, Dublin used to be a plastic-bag nightmare-scape.  Today, one can enjoy the beautiful parks and streets free of plastic bag trash.  If only we could find a way to reduce the litter of bottles, cans, candy wrappers, cigarette butts, gum, newspaper, spent lighters...

We have had to get bags only twice since we have been here, and we have made a point to reuse them ourselves, simply because we had to pay so much for them!  What an idea.  I hope more and more places put laws like this on the books.  Plastic bags will still be used, and still be thrown away, but we will save a huge volume of plastic litter and trash in the landfills of the world, and that can never be a bad thing.

Abolishing the Senate?

Today, the 4th of October, the people of The Republic of Ireland will decide a crucial issue.  We have been seeing political signs and banners on both sides of this incredible (to an American) issue.  The people are going to vote to keep or abolish the Seanad Eireann or Senate of Ireland.  Wha!?

Growing up in the States with our famous bicameral legislature, the thought of simply getting rid of one is incredible.  "Let's just get rid of the US Senate, ya know, to save some money!"

Astoundingly, as I write this a few weeks before the election day, there isn't much in the news about it.  On the radio, it is usually mentioned between other small headlines.  It sounds like a minor detail, like business as usual.  I can't even imagine what would be happening in the American media two weeks prior to a national vote to shake the Constitution like an Etch-A-Sketch and rewrite the distribution of power.  The television and radio pundits would get months of material.  Political action committees would buy all television commercial time- no more ads for cars, breakfast cereals, beer, or check-cashing stores- just smiling suits framed by waving flags and amber waves of grain pushing a political point.  Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, and Al Franken would get (even more) lucrative book deals after screaming at each other for hours on television.

For our non-American readers, here's a primer of my native legislative context.  The US, in its infancy, wanted to divide the legislative power among the original 13 states.  They stumbled upon a problem in equal distribution.  If they assigned representation simply on population, the larger, more populated states could overpower and bully the smaller states.  If they gave each state equal representation, the small, less populated states would have the balance of power tipped too far the other way.  The framers of the constitution wanted, at all costs, to prevent too much power going to too few, so a compromise was reached.  There would be two Houses of Congress.  The House of Representatives would have power divided by state population.  The biggest states had more representatives and thus, more voting power in this house.  As a balance, they also established the United States Senate.  The Senate was to have two representative from each state, regardless of geographic size or population.  The two houses were both to be elected by popular vote of the people of the States, and prospective laws would have to be written, evaluated, and approved by both houses.  This is, of course, putting it overly simply.  I have avoided (mostly because I don't remember the details...) the complex system of checks and balances between the two houses that keep either of them from pushing the other around.

I was inspired by this issue to look further into the Irish legislative branch and how this vote came about.

The Oireachtas is the entire Irish Parliament.  It consists of two houses, the Dail (think like US House of Representatives) and the Seanad (not quite like the US Senate, as we'll see).  The Dail is elected by popular vote of the people and handles most of the real legislative work.  The Seanad is NOT elected by popular vote, but rather appointed by a number of interesting channels.  Some members are appointed by the Prime Minister (not the President, different office), some members are appointed by alumni organizations of two Irish universities (!?), and most are nominated to special Seanad committees by members of the Dail.

Because the Seanad is not directly elected by the people, they serve a less direct role in lawmaking.  The Dail makes and votes on most proposed bills, and the Seanad seems to act in a more advisory role.  It is likened by some to the House of Lords in the UK.  Having watched the House of Lords in action in London (A bunch of super-rich hereditary title-holders congratulating each other on their general superiority over the Cockney rabble eating garbage in the gutters of Westminster, aka the House of Commons) I certainly understand why the people are proposing the abolition of this government body.

Allow me to ignorantly slam the English for a while.  The UK holds on to those lousy Lords because... "Ahem, I say there, ol' chap!  Does Democracy have a place for us?   The fief-holders?  My family's title came from King Longshanks as a reward for attempting genocide!  Doesn't that have any relevance today? I say!"  As an American, I have been raised under the old 'American Dream' line, where (theoretically) everyone is equal, and anyone can become wealthy and powerful by their own hard work.  No one is inherently "born better" as our UK friends still want to believe.  My thoughts on the Monarchy will have to wait for another post.

In fairness to our UK friends, we did see the House of Commons in action in London, too.  I admired the passion and efficiency of that house- even with such a demeaning name as "Commons."  The commoners in that house debate and vote on action that has real political impact.  In a refreshing change of pace, the Prime Minister of the UK has to stand up in front of the commoners periodically and listen to them heckle, shout, and otherwise question his or her choices- and the Prime Minister has to answer them directly. No pre-planned speeches and canned responses, just old fashioned verbal bar brawls until everyone is exhausted, bleeding, and singing and drinking arm-in-arm.

The Irish Senate doesn't seem quite so backwards as the House of Lords to me, the American, from the land of the Electoral College.  Still, keeping a government body without much political weight at the expense of a country struggling with a recession does seem a bit silly.  Most of the political materials here urge voters to vote for abolition.  It stands to save the country hundreds of millions- no small potatoes.  If the Senate is abolished, the few duties the Senate does hold will be transferred to the Dail without much fuss.  It will simply cease to be.  While I don't have a vote or a voice in this matter, I hope my new Irish friends and neighbours will forgive my curious observation of a young(ish) nation stripping itself of some of the old, tired traditions of its colonial past.

Street Signs

An open letter to our new Dublin friends and neighbours-

I am an American recently relocated your great city, and what a great city it is. My wife and I have sincerely enjoyed our time here so far. The people have all been welcoming, friendly, and eager to strike up a conversation with any smiling stranger within earshot, the historic buildings and landmarks are inspiring, and the bustling city is a welcome and refreshing change of scenery. In fact, in Dublin, I am strongly reminded of my own American hometown.

Dubuque, Iowa has an interesting history. After being established on Fox Native American Tribal lands by French lead miners, a booming manufacturing community sprang up. This boom town was quickly populated by a large influx of German and Irish immigrants. This volatile combination led to some interesting community development. The two disagreeing clans built and maintained two separate communities with their own schools, banks, and churches. In fact, St. Mary’s (German) and St. Patrick’s (Irish) Roman Catholic churches were built within sight of one another and attended along strict national lines. The industrious and penny-pinching Germans settled and developed the North side of Dubuque with square single family homes with square gardens built on grid-patterned, numbered streets. The Irish immigrants, just as frugal and hard-working, built their neighbourhoods of multi-family row houses along cobbled streets built upon winding cattle trails established by farmers and ranchers decades earlier. The Irish families built lively social communities in the bird’s nest of streets winding through what Dubuquers now call “Little Dublin.” Happily, these nationalistic disagreements faded as-maybe sadly, certainly inevitably- the immigrants were assimilated into the modern American industrial culture. I, like many modern-day Dubuque natives, am proudly descended from robust Irish and German stock. The South End of Dubuque is a civil engineering nightmare, but it has something Dublin does not- consistently well-marked streets.

How many times a week is the average Dubliner stopped for directions by a wide-eyed, confused-looking individual? I myself have been stopped more than a dozen times in two months. Even when wearing my Iowa tee shirt and white Auburn University baseball cap- might as well be a full-size American flag- I am waved down on the street by these lost souls. The fact is, no one from out of town (or even from a different part of town) can hope to find their way around this wonderful city. The reason, of course, is the street sign plan.

Back to Dubuque, and every other old American city. Confusing tangles of streets are, of course, not unheard of, but all roads and intersections are clearly marked on all sides with a brightly coloured sign, well lit at night and high above street level. The more confusing intersections have large signs 50 or 100 metres before them on all sides, warning and preparing drivers of roundabouts, multi-road intersections, and unusual turning lanes. Drivers and pedestrians in America can depend on these high-up, bright signs at every intersection, period. When driving in an unfamiliar city, anyone who doesn't know the name of a road need only proceed to the next intersection and look up. There is never a doubt, and lost navigators never have to go more than one block out of the way to get a reading on their location.

In Dublin, the road signs seem to be placed wherever and whenever convenient. Garden walls, brick buildings, and wrought iron fences at corners are all candidates for signhood. Signs are pretty, to be sure. Always printed in both Irish and English, they have proven invaluable to us learning snippets of the Irish language. Practical usefulness to drivers? Not very often. Too many intersections have inadequate signage for drivers and walkers. Many signs are stuck low on garden walls and overgrown with hedges. Many intersections are marked by signs that are visible from only one side. Cars going north can see a sign, but the southbound travelers have to go with their best guess. Many intersections have no street signs at all. None.  Not one. To Americans (or any visitors), these are maddening. Drivers may have directions such as, “follow This Road, turn right on That Lane.” Simple enough, except when the corner of This and That has no sign for either. Drivers on This Road won't know they've gotten to That Lane and vice versa. Confused yet? So are we. And maps? Forget maps in a car. What good can a map be without the satisfying physical reinforcement of a sign? 

Even out-of-town Irish drivers seem to have a difficult time here in the Big City. During the Dublin Horse Show at the RDS, I nodded solemnly as I saw car after car with Irish license plates driving aimlessly in Donnybrook. I recognized the faces of hopeful show goers in the cars. I saw the hope drain from their eyes while frustrated and scared adults desperately scanned the surrounding buildings, fences, and trees for any trace of a road sign and impatient youngsters cried for mercy and freedom in the back seat. On the main suburban roads heading into town, the routes are wide and well-marked. The lanes are marked by route names and numbers at every interchange. Getting into the city is not a problem, it’s navigating within the city that gets drivers in trouble.

Maybe our new Irish friends and neighbours enjoy being asked for directions. They are certainly always eager to help strangers from what I've seen. Maybe they depend on confusing signage for entertainment! My best guess is that they are going with the old line, “it’s worked for centuries, why stop now?” It’s a fair point, I must admit. The city seems to function just fine with things just as they are. Why make expensive changes to a usable system?

Of course, by pointing out these differences, I am pushing a perfect example of American excess onto our European friends. What else is new? Putting up signs on every street corner in Dublin would cost a fortune. Signs are expensive to produce, maintain, and keep lit. Maybe I'm spoiled. I guess the only thing I can do is get used to it. Get used to making wrong turns and discovering new and interesting places. Get used to asking friendly strangers for directions, usually leading to a great conversation. Get used to always being lost in this big, busy, smiling, breathing, fascinating old city.

…Maybe the street sign plan isn't so bad.

All-Ireland Gaelic Football Final: Dublin Wins!

In Ireland as in any country, the people honor and uphold the traditions that define them as a great people.  Of the many Irish traditions, the loudest and most exciting (from our observations so far) are the Gaelic Sports.  Of these traditional games, the two most popular are Hurling and Gaelic Football.

The final for Gaelic Football was held in Dublin on Sunday the 22nd of September this year.  The finals for these great games are all held a historic Croke Park.  "The Croker" is also home to the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) headquarters and a museum devoted to the history and development of the Gaelic Games.  We will be visiting the stadium next year when Penn State and Central Florida bring American college football to this historic and storied field.

Each county in Ireland assembles a team of amateur players to represent them in the Gaelic Sports.  A regular season pits these county teams against each other on weekends through the summer.  A knockout-style playoffs determine who will play for the final and the traveling cup.  This year the final was a showdown between the side from County Mayo and the local "Boys in Blue" from County Dublin.

We knew this game was going to be big for our neighbors and friends here.  For at least a week, homes, businesses, and cars began sporting flags, banners, and signs with the county colors and logos of the two teams.  Mayo flags are red and green and the Dubs wear two tones of blue.  The teams are only identified by their county name, there are no official nicknames like "Dublin Vikings," "Mayo Spreaders," or "Tipperary Tippers."  Missed opportunity, maybe? "Kilkenny Kenny-Killers?"  I could go on and on.  The counties are also identified by their names in the Irish language.  Dublin is Atha Cliath- referring to an ancient river fording spot on the River Liffey.  [aside- the English word Dublin comes from the Irish dubh linn meaning black pool, maybe that was easier to pronounce in English than Bhaile Atha Cliath for the city name?  End aside.]  County Mayo is Maigh Eo meaning "Plain of the Yew Tree."  This is one of the many cases where the English name is just a re-spelling of the phonetic Irish pronunciation.  Try it, Maigh Eo sounds like "my-e-oh."  Say it a few times quickly and you'll get to Mayo.

The rules of Gaelic Football make it (in my very honest and humble opinion) a far superior game to world soccer to an American.  I know world soccer has a few (hundred million) fans, but Gaelic Football really has something special about it.  I am writing this description based only on my observations after watching one match- on purpose.  We will be watching many more of these games when the season rolls around again, and I will have a more comprehensive grip on the rules by then.  For now, I am just recording my own knee-jerk reactions to the game.

The game is played with a soccer-size ball with two goals on either side of the field (pitch.)  The goals have two parts- a lower goal guarded by a goaltender, just like soccer, and a high goal that extends infinitely above the lower goal with goal posts.  Players can score in the lower goal for three points or put the ball high above the goalkeeper through the goal posts for one point.  Players can move the ball and score by kicking the ball or by slapping or bumping the ball from their hands.  Yes, in this game, the ball can be carried and moved with the hands of the players.  The ball cannot be picked up from the ground with hands, nor can it ever be thrown, but players can use hands to catch a ball from the air and carry the ball for up to three steps before passing, shooting, or dribbling (Yes!  Dribbling!) the ball on the ground or off of their foot.  When players need to send the ball a long distance, they usually drop-kick the ball to send it high and long.  When a shorter, more accurate pass or goal shot is required, the players mostly used a volleyball-style bump or a slap of the ball.  Throwing at any time is illegal.  The game is also much more physical than world soccer.  Because players can carry the ball with hands, there is much more upper-body and hand contact between players.  It's not ice hockey, but it isn't tiddlywinks, either.  Fouls (and a good number of yellow warning cards!) are called for excessive holding, pushing, or tackling.

These generous rules make the game much more high-scoring than a world soccer match, mostly because of the easy one-pointer goals.  These easier scores still have to be earned, but they ensure that matches have some scoring throughout the flow of the game.  Players still have to get the ball within range of a high kick, get open enough to make the kick without an opposing defender getting hands, feet, or face (yeah!) in the way of the shot, and send the ball accurately through the posts.  The high scoring and more physical nature of this game gives a soccer-weary American a reason to cheer.

The Dublin-Mayo game was a good one.  The lead went back and forth in the first half mostly on high one-pointer goals.  The Dubs did get a low goal on a great play with a high pass getting over the goaltender and a well-placed Dub spiking it in with his hands.  That's right soccer fans!  No offside call!  Scoring with the hands!  FIFA should take note.

After halftime, Dublin took control.  The boys in blue extended the lead throughout the second half.  Late in the game, a series of desperation plays got Mayo much closer.  As injury time (yes, injury time.  No game can be perfect...) ticked down (er...I mean ticked up), Mayo was awarded a penalty shot when down by two points.  If they made a goal for three points, they could have taken the championship.  The player instead opted for the chip shot over the bar for one point in the hopes of getting the ball back before the refs (when they felt like enough time had elapsed...injury time...) blew the final whistle.  Dublin cleared the ball out wide until the refs (deciding, 'yeh, I think that's enough time.') ended the match.  Here's how the final score reads:  Dublin 2-12 Mayo 1-14.  The first number is how many three point goals scored, the second number is the one-pointers.  Dublin had 18 total to Mayo's 17.  They made it close and exciting, but the local Dubs beat the Mayans (not really called Mayans, but should be) to come out on top.

We watched the match from our favorite local pub in Donnybrook.  We got some help on the rules of the game and some stories of championships past from some of the great neighborhood people while we enjoyed our thick, sweet Guinness.  Here's to the Dublin team's great victory and to us getting some regular season GAA Football tickets next summer!

Power Socket Switches

We continually marvel at the ideas used here (in Ireland or maybe more of Europe?) to save energy and money.  After getting our first power bill, we know why.

Remember the article about the immersion water heater?  In it, we discover how to heat water as needed instead of keeping hot water available at every instant.  The comedian Des Bishop points out the stingy Irish relatives in a panic when the heater was left on too long.  Jokes aside, saving power is taken seriously here.

We discovered that drawing power as needed isn't limited to the water heater.  Our power outlets are all armed with a rocker switch to awaken or kill an outlet.

Kitchen outlets

In America, recently, there has been a push to unplug chargers from the wall.  The hot tip is to plug all chargers for cell phones, music players, and e-readers into a switch-equipped power strip.  "Turn it on when you're charging, turn it off when you're finished!" is the line.  Here, that idea is taken to its ultimate level.

The Immersion Water Heater

Water heaters.  Modern homes could not function without them.  All of us in the developed world rely on them for our safety and comfort.  This is the kind of appliance that can be totally ignored until something goes wrong.

In Iowa, we were blessed in our home to have the American standard water heater.  By American standard I mean the heater most Americans have in their homes:  "That big tank thing in the basement about which I know nothing, not even the brand!  It just works and has hot water ready when I shower!"

Ours did what water heaters do- it kept water hot.  All the time.  At at comfortable temperature.  All the time.  I never turned off the water heater in the four years we lived in that house, and never gave it a second thought.

Enter the new system of which I approve very much, the immersion heater.

It's difficult to photograph the workings of the water heater, but the basic principles can be explained.  Instead of a 50-plus gallon tank heated to a comfortable temperature at all times, we use a small tank with an electric element immersed in the water within.  It works much like the electric kettle we use to boil hot water for coffee, tea, and cooking.  The electric heating element blasts the water within, boiling the water touching it almost instantly, taking no time at all to get the full container nice and hot.  When hot water from the water heater is needed, flip the switch to turn on the unit, and the whole thing heats up in about 30 minutes.

"But what about that small capacity!"  One might say.  True, that much water might not be enough for a long shower or full bath.  We get around that with high temperatures.  The water is the American water heater is set to a safe and comfortable temperature that can be used full-strength if you're tough.  This heater gets the water blazing hot.  I mean hot.  It can not be used full strength from the tap without scalding.  Even the taps and pipes get too hot to touch when this water is flowing through them.  The result of this is, of course, a shower or bath that uses a much lighter mix of hot and cold water to create a safe and comfortable water temperature.

Now for the trade-off.  To get this efficiency, we sacrifice some of the convenience of the good ole American Huge Tank.  Hot water requires advance planning.  There are no spontaneous showers here.  For a morning shower, we usually flip the switch just as we wake up.  After coffee and breakfast, we are set to go.  Some households here have automatic timers to get around this problem, but we haven't found a way to hook one up on our setup.  If we ever need a small amount of hot water in a pinch for dishes or shaving, we just use our small electric kettle.

This product seems like it will save a lot on energy use and bills.  I admire many of the small innovations we have seen here to save energy and materials.    Stay tuned for many more of the small changes that will add up to big savings of money and environmental impact.

Update:  An Irish friend recommended a great stand-up routine by Des Bishop, an American comedian living in Ireland.  After watching it, I think he captures the American perspective on the water heater change perfectly.  Thanks, Lord Stilton!

More about Des Bishop here.