There have been so many highs and lows when it comes to this experience here in Dublin for the past year but one of the very best things about this experience has been meeting people from all over the world.
Living in the hostel has had its lows for sure, I mean you basically forfeit any personal space or alone time which can at times be a bit overwhelming. There's also the fact that I have very little space to store food leaving me eating the same things all the time and as someone who was writing and testing new recipes and ideas every week, it's especially difficult to be eating the same shit every day. There's the not being able to have pets thing which is also not my favourite thing. Despite all of this, meeting people from all over the world and engaging in meaningful conversation with them has far overshadowed any of the negative things about this trip. I've had the pleasure of connecting with people from every corner of the globe and it has really opened my eyes to some of the differences, struggles, and positive things about living in different parts of the world. You know, we all have our perceptions about different cultures based on what we've read or what we're told but often times, we couldn't be any more wrong. Last night, I spent over 3 hours speaking with an older German lady about everything you can think of. We discussed her thoughts on living in Germany versus being here in Dublin and her perception of Germany was so different than what I had experienced in my four days there and also speaking with her shattered that age old perception that German people are cold. She was so friendly and engaging and really loved Dublin because she said she felt like people come together here and want to be together despite having to work which she said was so different in Germany. People there she said, only come out on the weekends and often times the streets are bare through the week because people don't care to go out or do things when they have to work the next day. Also, she had a very fond perception of Canada despite never having been there. Canada typically is seen in a favourable light although I've had a couple older Irish people who still associate us with Britain and despise us for our connection. As I said, it's so interesting to hear other perspectives from across the globe, it just goes to show me that we all have our own misconceptions or ideas about people, places, or things, often because of what we read or are told but never because we have experienced it ourselves. If this experience has taught me one thing, it's that people from all over the world have their own problems but that we are all the same. The grass is not always greener on the other side despite sometimes feeling like where you are is the worst, we all have issues. It has taught me to be more patient with people who speak English as a second language although I was never necessarily impatient, but it has taught me just how difficult being somewhere and not speaking fluently can be. I'll tell you, being in Germany or Holland and having people be patient with me and speak English to me was such a warm and welcoming feeling, it really made me appreciate the struggle that people who come to Canada with little English go through. It has also taught me that we all need to be more open and helpful to one another. As I said, there's a general consensus that all Canadians are super sweet but having lived there, it's not necessarily the truth. I've witnessed the negativity in my hometown when it comes to immigrants, or homosexuals etc., I've seen the hate or lack of tolerance or understanding. The fact is, we as humanity need to be more tolerant and helpful to one another, we're all cut from the same cloth and face struggles in our everyday lives. That's why it's been so important for me to go through this, it really opened my eyes to so much about different cultures and different types of people. I've really grown this year and I think that's been the very best thing about this experience. HAPPY VEG
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