An American Abroad: Chinese and Chips

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Chinese and chips. I just wanted to make that statement. Never have I ever been asked at a Chinese restaurant “would you like chips or rice with that?” John and I were enjoying some dinner at the Chinese restaurant in Larne, and after I ordered the server asked me that! HA! I am having a hard time getting over this. Plus, two times later I’ve encountered the same thing in Belfast.

Only in Ireland will they offer chips instead of rice, come on now!

Who would have thought I’d be attending an international XVs rugby match in another country before I would attend my own Green Bay Packers’ game in Wisconsin; slightly rude of me. However, I would like to point out that it is quite difficult to acquire tickets to a Packer game, unless they are playing a team no one cares about. I understand it’s like that with every professional sports team, but I think the Packers can get a bit extreme. For example, Da Bears (Chicago Bears) are a huge rival, and tickets can cost over $1000 each to go to one of those games. In general, it’s hard to find tickets under $150 each regardless of who they are playing. I hope that puts a better perspective on where I’m coming from.

So I was lucky enough to go to an Irish match amongst the Ulster matches I’ve already been to. This was a wonderful experience, and I intend on doing it at least one more time, if not more, in my life. This particular trip to Aviva Stadium started with a long bus trip from Belfast to the Dublin International Airport. John picked me up and we started our pregame adventure.

I would like to add that since I’m the passenger he always gives the Google Map directions to me… the foreigner who has no clue… and expects me to know where we’re going. So believe it or not, we take a wrong turn (my bad). However, we got to where we needed to be without losing too much time. Then it was time to go pick up the tickets and get “kitted out” for the match. With my new favorite hat, we headed to dinner at a delicious steakhouse and I had the most wonderful lamb chops ever! I would also like to add my love for potatoes, I feel as though it isn’t a meal without one. How am I not Irish??

With a full tummy we had to go and preview all the game day bars Friday night to decide which ones were worth a second round on Saturday. After that we went on a tour to The Hairy Lemon, which John has some history with, The Shelbourne Hotel and Café en Seine. It was a very fun and eventful evening, even ran into Paddy Jackson and had a little pre-game chat with him at the Shelbourne.

GAME DAY. The streets were lined with Guinness tents and Ireland gear for sale. Once we walked closer to Aviva the streets were just packed with people! The atmosphere was so cool, its like the whole town shuts down for the event. Once we got to the stadium we bumped into my friend from Bozeman, Montana! Ok, not really bumped… I knew he was going to be there. We shared a Guinness and some chatter then headed to our seats for kick off! But watching the game in the stadium was really awesome. Not to mention our seats were right up from the try line and we got a pretty sweet view of Tommy Bowe’s try.

I have also discovered Tag Rugby, which I think needs to happen in the states! In the states there are such leagues as softball, kickball, flag football and soccer. These leagues are either played at a local park or bar in the spring/summer/fall. I’d say the most common are bar league softball and kickball. Which in all reality aren’t really about playing the sport… it’s more about getting together at a bar once or so a week and drinking some beers while hitting or kicking a ball around. Don’t get me wrong there are some very competitive teams, but they tend to play at the local park recreational leagues versus the bar leagues. But my experience with tag rugby was just great! It’s like flag football, but rugby! I am really going to try to start a league when I go home.

Once upon a time I traveled to a little town called Omagh. Why, you ask? Simply because my roommate is from there and decided I should travel to see the country. Which was a really fun trip! We went to the Ulster-American Museum/Folk Park, Sally’s night club re-opening (in Omagh, right?!), McCan’s for the Best Guinness in Town, The Mass Rock, Pigeon Top Viewpoint, and just around the farm. I really enjoyed the museum; it reminded me of a similar place to it in Wisconsin called Old World Wisconsin. It is very similar in the affect you walk through different houses from the wealthy, the poor, the one room schoolhouse, the blacksmith, general store etc. My grandmother used to work there and I think she’ll just be tickled when I show her all my pictures from the Folk Park.

I also wanted to congratulate the Queen’s ruggers who played such a great game against Munster. It was a real honor to be able to play with such talented athletes and good-hearted ladies. I didn’t get to train too much with the Ulster ladies, but from what I did experience it would have been even more of an accomplishment to play with them.

The game was great to watch, aside from the soup, tea and coffee we were selling on the top of the stands which deferred my attention at times. The first half was great, but then second half everyone decided to stand and it wasn’t as easy to see over their heads.

I can’t believe that I will be leaving here in just two short weeks. The friends I’ve made, adventures I’ve been on and memories created are so amazing to me. I am really looking forward to next season and being able to come do it all again, it’ll be even better!


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