Why Pinoys would love the Irish... or Ireland

... So I was chatting with Ets today, and she told me how her Irish boss is the funniest bugger she's ever met. Enter the next inspiration for my next blog topic... for some reason, Pinoys in general (okay, okay, Me, Ets and Girlie are the only ones I know so far), like the Irish. Personally, this is why I love the Irish, and Ireland (based on our PPSD study trip last September 2007)

1. The Irish humour matches Pinoy humour. It is the irreverent, make-fun-of-everything-including-yourself-and-the-fact-that-you're-family-is-dirt-poor and oh-yes-it's-raining-again... kind of humour. Most of the Irish people that we met are also great storytellers. Our tour guides in every gig that we joined were such masterful and funny weavers of tales that I really did find myself fascinated with Irish history, the oppression of the British, the rule of Catholicism and the fact that the library in Trinity was used as backdrop for the Harry Potter and Star Wars movies.

2. Catholicism with a twist. Our celtic tour showed us how the great ancient (feminine) celtic tradition was merged with Catholicism in Ireland. As the early Celts were such devout followers of their faith, the Catholic converters could only package Catholicism in such a way that was adaptable to the Celtic faith. Hence the Holy cross in Ireland is symbolized by the cross (Catholicism) with a circle (sun-worship).

3. Irish people love drinking, singing and making music. Even better than the pinoy's videoke nights, the typical Irish bar almost always comes with a group of musicians who play wonderful music. After all, this is the land where U2 and the Corrs come from. We were fortunate enough to live right at the night-life district where famous bars adorned the streets (and unfortunately, drunken men would be singing "twinkle twinkle little star" below our window at 2am). But it was quite a happening place, and it gave us a good feel of the partying affluence of Dublin. This picture of Isabelle and Tania nicely captures the feel of how I remember the Temple Bar area.

4. The Irish remember their culture and history. This is something that I really admired about the Irish-- their strong sense of history that drives them to do better. All around Dublin you see these random statues commemorating different milestones in Ireland, from the Potato Famine of the 18th century to the hit song Molly Malone (selling cockles and mussels!). I think that it's because they remember how they were once "the poorest among the rich", that they are driven to become what is now one of the fastest growing economies of the world.

5. Ireland is beautiful! People often say it's like Batanes. Have you watched P.S. I love you? Don't you want to just marry an irishman after that? (of course, after marrying a dutch man.. hehe). The rolling hills is just breathtaking. It does make you want to sing, make music or drink Guinness... Personally, i felt soothed.