Weird Things About the Irish: A Work in Progress

Throughout the semester, as I find out more and more facts about the inhabitants of my host country, I will list for you the ones that I find to be weird. These are the ones I have so far:

1. They call Band-Aids "plaster"
2. They usually have more trouble understanding each other than they do understanding Americans.
3. They charge 22 cents per plastic bag at the grocery store.
4. Most pubs have at least one type of hard cider on tap (usually Bulmer's)
5. Irish boys try to get to know you before they hit on you (actually quite hilarious).
6. Dogs almost never have leashes and they can poop anywhere they want.
7. The clubs play almost all American music...that is anywhere from six months to fifteen years behind.
8. There is no such thing as a standard shower.
9. Secondary school (high school) is legitimately harder than university. This seems to be the standard across the country.
10. They call going to class "going to college."
11. There is no such thing as becoming well-rounded in school. Students know what they will be doing for the rest of their lives by age 16, so when they get to university they only take classes that pertain to their career plans.
12. Instead of saying a phrase such as "that meeting took like 30 minutes" they will say "that meeting took 30 minutes like."
13. Their roads are really only big enough for one car yet there seem to be very few accidents.
14. Anything that is half-past an hour is spoken as "half-four" rather than "four-thirty."
15. If you say something that surprises an Irish person, they usually respond with "fuck off!"
16. Fun is called "craic" (pronounced "crack"). When they use this word, it's usually in a sentence like "That was some good craic last night."
17. One common greeting in an email is "howaya" (say it out loud).
18. They don't refrigerate eggs. Seriously.
19. It is common for children to swear, and adults think it's funny.
20. A cupboard is called a "press."
21. Telling someone that St. Patrick's story isn't real is like saying Santa doesn't exist.