Phone Etiquette

Why is it that some people are not aware of how to use phones in public situations? They don't put their phones on silent at the cinema, they talk loudly on public transport or prefer to communicate on their phone rather than with the person in front of them?

I often see the panic on people's faces to respond to their phone during a lesson even when I am waiting for an answer to a question I have just asked. It seems that we sometimes pay more attention to this little devices than to the people around us as if this type of 'human' contact is more important.

Another things that irritates the hell out of me is when people decide to share their taste in music in public spaces. Headphones? No? If the music was good I wouldn't mind so much but it's always the same type of Euro disco crap. I have often thought about counteracting this by blaring some Neil Young or some Simon and Garfunkle on a bus or train just to see the reaction.

The interesting thing is that mobile phones are still a relatively new piece of technology but can we spend time without them? How did we contact each other in the past? I guess it was more about planning in advance. Perhaps we were more punctual as we had no way to inform someone we were going to be late.

Of course, there are some people who don't use them. Once I heard about a manager of a language school who doesn't have a phone yet somehow she manages. Try going out without one for a day. It's a very liberating experience.

Three Christmases

This is the first time I have experienced three Christmases. One is usually enough but this season consisted of even more eating and drinking for me than in previous years.

On the 24th of December I celebrated a traditional Polish Christmas with dumplings ("pierogi"), vegetarian "bigos" (sour cabbage and mushrooms) and some wine. Perhaps the latter is not traditional but the cheesecake we had for dessert was.

On the 25th of December I had my Irish traditional Christmas meal minus the turkey and ham. This meant lots of potatoes (baked, mashed and also disguised in the form of croquettes), broccoli, carrots, roasted parsnips and best of all, stuffing. This was followed by pudding and other sweet treats.

After that, on January 6th it was time for the Ukrainian Christmas. This time I was more involved in the preparation of the food. I made dumplings stuffed with sour cabbage and potatoes ("varenyki"), cabbage leafs with buckwheat and mushroom filling ("holubtsi"), doughnuts with rose and poppy seed filling ("pampuszky") and a dessert called "kutia" which consists of poppy seeds, nuts and raisins. There was also beetroot soup ("borsch") and sour cabbage salad with beans all washed down with cognac and vodka. Fish is eaten on the 6th while meat is eaten on the 7th of January.

There are many differences between these different traditional meals. In Ireland we have a candle at the window to welcome in strangers while in Poland there is an empty space at the table reserved for a possible guest. In Ukraine bread is placed on the table as well as a candle which is a reminder of the star of Bethlehem. There were also four cloves of garlic placed at the corners of the table. In Ireland we pull crackers which doesn't happen in Poland or Ukraine. However, in these countries carol singing at dinner is common while in Ireland, it is not.

There are many more differences depending on the region of each country but this year has certainly been full of interesting opportunities to compare and contrast different traditions as well as eating and drinking more than my fair share.