Communicating

I moved to London in September 1989 to work in an inner city boys' school which was in stark contrast to my own convent education. And while that in itself was an experience, it wasn't what I found most difficult to cope with.In Ireland, people love having good heated, impassioned debates, where what you feel far outweighs in importance the amount of statistical information you have to hand. Therefore I spent many lunch breaks sitting feeling quite alienated as facts were bandied about, and I had no insight into what people actually thought about what they were discussing. I was also unfortunate enough to share a house with three women, who confessed after six months that their ideal was to live on their own, and they didn't really like having to talk to people at all. I really feel I wouldn't have returned to London after Christmas, except for the fact that I went to a great party full of very lively and chatty Scottish people. I later moved into a flat with some Irish friends, and over the years have met lots of London residents, whom I have bestowed honorary Irish status on due to their garrulousness, general lack of statistical information and love of a good argument.

These stories were contributed by individuals who were all involved in Irish Voices a project jointly run by Haringey Libraries and Moving Here.