My name is Linda and I am from the United States, Orange County California to be exact. I live 20 minutes away from Disneyland and the famous Mickey Mouse. At the moment, I live and work in Cork.

When I was planning where to go in Ireland, my thoughts first turned towards Dublin. I am a city girl and I had heard Dublin was called "little London". However, I had already experienced London so I thought something different might be a bit more appropriate. I knew (thanks to the internet) that Cork was a college town. I figured a town full young people couldn’t be that bad, plus, my church, (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) is in Cork. So here I am.

After getting lost for the first three days, I finally began to get settled. After a lot of hard work a job came my way. I secured a flat pretty easily thanks to the help of the Evening Echo. Now, I feel like an old regular. I am an odd mix because I speak with an American accent but use an assortment of British and Irish slang!

Since my time here I have noticed a lot of differences between Cork and Orange County (OC) some of which are

1. Operating hours of shops and businesses. Here, stores close down by five or six pm at night. If you are lucky, they’ll be open until seven. In OC, stores will stay open until nine or ten at night. Some places even operate on a 24-hour basis. I work as a waitress back home at a 24-hour dinner. I used to work the graveyard shift from 9pm until 2 or 3 in the morning.
   
2. Texting and mobile phones. Texting has caught on back home but not to the extent as over here, or in other European countries. I come from a culture of talkers not texters. This difference might stem from the many different types of calling plans available. Back home, whether you make or receive a call you are using up minutes – or credit. After a certain time, usually by 9pm, calls are free. A popular phone plan is called "nights and weekends free". There are many different mobile phone providers just like in Cork. The term cell phone is used back home instead of mobile phone.
   
3. The "pub culture scene". Yes, there are bars and nightclubs in OC but not so many and never so close to each other. I don’t drink alcohol so I’m talking a little out of turn here. Within a five minute walk of my flat in any direction, you’ll no doubt hit at least three pubs. I do enjoy pub lunches. I don’t get that back at home.
   
4. The currency. Here I can say "in America" because each of the 50 states uses the same kind of money. The notes are all one color – green. They come in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100. We also use coins. Their amounts are 1, 5, 10, 25. Sometimes you will see a half dollar, a 50-cent piece. We also have a 1 dollar coin but in my experience, they aren’t used as much as the 1 dollar bill. Notes are called dollars and the coins are called cents.
   
5. Automobiles. Almost everyone drives a car where I come from. America is a big busy place. To go from my home to a club or cinema takes at least 20 minutes in a car. You can get a learner’s permit to drive at age 15 and a half in California. That age might differ with other states.
   
6. Public transportation. Public transit is only ok in OC. It is gradually getting better but it pales in comparison next to places like London or Dublin or even Cork for that matter. I’ve noticed that the buses in Cork play music sometimes. You won’t find that in California.

Cork and California are two very different places – but they are also similar. The people in both areas are nice and friendly. The kids my age back home go to concerts, bowling, and to the cinema in their spare time. I didn’t come to Ireland to say "well back home we do it this way". I wanted to become like the people of Cork. I wanted to assimilate myself into the culture and the society. That is one of the best ways to understand how a certain group of people are.

There are many different nationalities and cultures represented in Cork; Orange County is very similar. Throughout the course of my travels I have learned to appreciate people for who they are and what they have to offer. I have just about three months left in this wonderful country. I would like to travel around Ireland to get a glimpse of how people in different areas live. My horizon has been broadened but I’d like it to stretch a bit further.

For now though, Cork is home and I couldn’t be happier.