Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The ignorance of my ways.

It all started when I wanted to get out of the Little Apple and venture out on my own. I planned all the places I wanted to go, what to do and what to see, but just recently I realized that I totally lack the knowledge that I should be getting familiar with. Think about it. If someone from another country were to land in the United States, would it not to be expected that they knew where New York was, or at least Texas?

It's not so much that I don't anything (I can point out where Dublin, Cork, Killarney, and Waterford are on a map), but I wouldn't have been able to tell someone that we were in the Provence of Munster, or that the city of Cork lies on the River Lee. That flying from Kansas to Ireland was the same distance as the United States from one side to the other, and the Welsh live right next door (How could I not have known that, despite it being underneath the UK?) It's only a miracle that I thought about checking up on these things five days before I went flying on over there.

The important thing here is that I at least know my way around, and I've already checked out how to get to the bus station, and the best place to shop for groceries. On the other hand, I really don't want to labeled as the typical "stupid American", the one that doesn't do their research and won't even bother looking up information that the average Cork citizen would know. So, now that I've gone the extra step (and in good timing), I'm hoping that I can prove wrong any harsh American stereotype, and for those who do decide to travel, make sure to do the same and save yourself any unneeded ridicule.

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