If you’ve ever watched a Monty Python film, you might be aware that there are some lexical differences between the Brits and Americans. We’re two countries separated by a common language. Being in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK (the residents are British, not Irish, thank you very much), we’ve experienced a few of these differences in regular conversation.
When we met Sidney, our contact at Causeway, she gave us a quick rundown of what we could expect culturally from the people and what the general environment of the town consisted of. She finished her pep talk with a lovely hope that we would all be able to have a good crack while we were here.
Um…what?
I’m pretty sure every racer had a look of sheer confusion on their face. Fortunately, Sidney is a perceptive woman, and noticed our befuddlement and explained that to have a good crack (actually spelled craic) means to have fun. On a similar note, asking someone, “What’s the craic?” is like asking, “What’s going on?” Since that first encounter with the phrase, I’ve heard it a good five or six times, occasionally from a seven-year-old. I aspire to add it to the stateside lexicon. I think it’s got potential to catch on.
Coleraine is an adorable little town. There’s a pedestrian street running through the centre (British spelling to honor the location), and a church in the middle of the street. I’ve been pretty shutter-happy so far, and hopefully I won’t get camera burnout. For now, here’s a look at our first home.
The main pedestrian street. Flowers, locals, and service trucks are everywhere on this bricked road. It’s captured my heart, and it brings back fond memories of Florence’s pedestrian section.
The church at the head of the pedestrian section of Coleraine. Seriously, can I move here? Also, that’s about the clearest the sky has been since our arrival.
I’ll add more photos gradually, since they take a LONG time to upload, but know that I’ve fallen in love with an adorable British community in Ireland full of people who are still divided over religious philosophy. Sidney told us to stay away from the pubs in the town because they are territorial: there are Catholic pubs and Protestant pubs, and neither takes terribly kindly to unfamiliar faces.
