Being the Foreigner

Reader, 

I have never been more aware of the way I pronounce things. 

When I arrived in Ireland, I was so afraid of being flagged as a foreigner. I tried to de-Americanize myself in any way I could. I left American influenced clothing at home, tried to make myself quieter, and conformed in any way I could possibly think of. 

During my first day in Galway, Jules and I walked into a coffee shop and ordered. The barista asked me if I wanted sugar in my coffee to which I replied, "For suresies!" This sparked up murmurs and laughs from the employees as well as the people sitting inside. After realizing this is not something people normally say here, I was absolutely mortified. For the first month, I made mental notes of how people reacted to my speech and made slight alterations from there, trying my best to be the perfect representation of America that I could be. I was afraid of being perceived as obnoxious, so I lowered my voice in public places. I was afraid of being perceived as having a lack of cultural awareness, so I observed my surroundings more than I was in them. I was afraid of people knowing I was American. (They knew.) 

After living here for some time now, I've come to learn that generally, Irish people want to talk to me more because I am American. Whenever I sit down and talk to someone from this country, they always ask me about the same few things: Do you own a gun? Are you a patriot? Do you like Donald Trump? Is the moon landing real? What is school like at home and why does it cost so much? They want to know if I had ever heard of Galway before Ed Sheeran. (The answer is no, clearly.) They just want to know. Who am I to blame them? 

They are not upset that I'm here. Someone might mock your accent or ask some sort of taboo question but many Irish people have family that lives in the U.S. so they have a sort of appreciation for it. When people ask me things about where I'm from, it helps me stay connected to it. In a way, it's like I'm keeping places alive in my memory by talking about them. I hope everything is the way I remember it when I go home. I feel like I'm now stuck in this middle place between being the foreigner and being a resident.

Now, when I travel and I say I'm ready to go home, I'm talking about Galway. It's funny how things change so quickly like that. 

It is time to embrace the pronunciations. 

Ever yours, 

Gracie 

P.S. This photo was taken at Blarney Castle shortly before doing a backbend over a sheet of stone that's hundreds of years old just to kiss the thing.