DERRY, Ireland - So I've been in Ireland for about a month now. The landscape is remarkable, the people are exceedingly friendly and the social atmosphere is warm and inviting. I'm amazingly glad I came to study this semester in Limerick, and I really have no complaints.
Yet, I've come to that time. That time when the magic of an unfamiliar place starts to fade a little bit and the fresh things in the new land start to turn a little stale. That time when the comforts of home start to sing like distant sirens.
Bluntly, I've started to miss stuff.
Some of what I find myself wanting, such as my family and friends, comes as no surprise to me. I am human after all.
There are certain things I find myself craving, such as microwave burritos and ESPN, that were not as expected. Still, they seem understandable. I mean, who doesn't love watching Sportscenter while munching on a piping hot Mexican treat?
One of the things I'm yearning for the most comes as total shock to me though. It came out of left field like a football thrown by Kobe Bryant. (I'm aware that I'm mixing sports here. It is to illustrate how great the shock was. Get it? Good.)
Ladies and gentlemen, I miss the great American superstore.
Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, Meijer: It doesn't matter to me anymore. I miss them all like freezing ears miss a stocking cap during a Muncie winter.
I know, I know. It came as a surprise to me too. Of all things I would want while I was in this fabulous country, why would a superstore be one of them?
The answer really comes down to one word: convenience.
At a superstore someone can get potatoes, pants, power tools and a pogo stick all in one place. Now that's convenient.
Over here, shops tend to specialize in one specific type of good. The few stores that do try to offer a wide array of items do not even come close to matching the glut that our American ingenuity has been able cram under one roof.
Not only can one get a plethora of varying products all at one time at a superstore, one can get them at virtually any time of the day. On the Emerald Isle, shops don't open as early and close far earlier than back home.
I've never considered myself a fan of the superstore. I found them to be a sign of some kind of decline in society. They feed our impatient natures and further emphasize that we are all just slaves to time.
I always championed a stop-and-smell-the-roses lifestyle. Take it easy. It will all be there tomorrow. What's the rush?
While I've been away though, I've come to realize that I'm a product of the ASAP, as-fast-as-it-can-be world I was raised in.
I like drive-thru restaurants. I like microwave dinners. I like being able to one-stop shop.
I'm not really sure which is better, the American way or the Irish way, but I do know this: I could really go for a Taco Bell run right about now.
Write to Cole at cpmcgrath@bsu.edu
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