Ugg Boots and Sperry Loafers -- It's All the Same

I just realized that I have gone this entire time without actually explaining why I am in Ireland.  I am completing my masters in education and I have come to Ireland to do my student teaching in the local Catholic all-girls secondary school.  Considering I am not Catholic and had never stepped foot inside a single-sex school before, coming here was certainly a transition.  But let me tell you, the students are incredible.

The first day in one of my classes, I had an out-of-body experience.  My cooperating teacher had not yet arrived, so when I walked through the door, the students were sitting on their desks, eating snacks, and chatting away.  As soon as they spotted me, they immediately jumped to their seats, put their bags away, and waited quietly for me to approach the front of the room and speak.  I had never experienced anything quite like this before.  At first the students were little shy around me, but as they became more comfortable, they wanted to know all about America.  And what were they most curious about?  Cheerleaders.

“Miss, do you really have cheerleaders in America?”

“Do they wear their uniforms to school everyday like they do on television?”

“Do they only date the jocks?”

They listened with fascination as I described what cheerleaders in America were really like.  It had never dawned on me that there are no cheerleaders in Ireland.

“Oh, I want to be a cheerleader!” one girl sighed.  Several others also sighed in unison.

“Miss, were you a cheerleader?” another asked.

I paused for a moment—should I admit to it, or should I say no? 

“Yes,” I replied finally.  All the girls erupted with joy.

And I have gotten some other funny questions, including, but not limited to:

“Miss, who’s your favorite singer?  Is it Justin Bieber?”  (She was quite disappointed when I told her that he was not.)

“Do teenagers in America look older than us?  They look so old on My Super Sweet 16.”

“Do you just eat fried chicken in Kentucky?”

“Are there really ‘cliques’ in American secondary schools?”

“Have you ever met anyone famous?” (I don’t think they quite realize that Kentucky is not exactly California).

The other day, one of the girls asked me how Irish teenagers are different from American teenagers.  My answer?  Not very.  Just like back home, Irish teenagers wear their Ugg boots and Sperry loafers, giggle incessantly about boys in the halls between classes, sneak their phones into school, gorge themselves on candy, roll up their uniform skirts when the nuns aren’t looking, and are constantly fighting for their right to be independent.  It’s comforting to see that this is all a part of growing up, no matter where you’re from.  And I love that I can have a part in this stage of their lives.