So apparently St. Patrick's Day isn't as big in Europe as it is in the States. I learned this yesterday. According the French people that I spoke with, St. Pat's is just like any other day, and in no way a justification to get wasted and act completely inappropriate for 24 hours. My professors didn't understand why I acted as if it were blasphemy that they scheduled exams on St. Patrick's Day, and they definitely didn't understand or appreciate when I ranted and whined about why we shouldn't even have to come to class on St. Pat's. My French prof seemed to get into St. Pat's a bit, but her idea of celebrating the gloriousness that is this holiday was calling on students to tell the story of St. Patrick in French. Who knows the real story of Patrick? Something about snakes, right? Not my idea of fun and celebration.
Also, throughout the day, I observed who at AUP was wearing green and who wasn't and found that they only people donning their Catholic Green yesterday were Americans, but not even all the Americans, just the visiting students like me and my friends. I suppose I've just grown accustomed to the craziness in Boston on St. Pat's, because I was really disappointed in the lack of celebration.
Guinness and Kilkenny didn't flow through faucets, there was no loud parade barreling through the city, no cops were sharing beers with under-aged kids, nothing. There weren't even any specials on Guinness or Kilkenny at any of the Irish pubs I stopped into. Is it just me, or is that not crazy? I saw Derek at around noon in our London, Paris and Madrid class and I high-fived him for wearing his green Northeastern shirt with the shamrock on it. He asked me why it was noon and we weren't shammered yet. I replied, "Europe", and frowned. So yeah, St. Patrick's Day in Europe really made me miss Boston and the States more than I would ever imagine. Go figure.
