Long story short, the clutch went out on our rental car and we got stuck in the middle of the road in the middle of nowhere- somewhere near Ballydesmond. So we needed to call AA (no not triple A, double A). After waiting a lot longer than an Irish 5 minutes AA arrived and I ended up next to him in his truck to get to the Shannon Airport.
Once he found out I was American he starting ruffling around in his side compartment, until he pulled out a large container full of CD's. After putting in ACDC, The Dropkick Murphy's, and Kid Cudi, he found the CD he was looking for-it was recordings of talk shows criticizing Bush, Tiger Woods, Paris Hilton, and other American icons. He laughed heartily, and I must admit that I thought it was pretty good stuff. He asked me about my opinions of former President Bush (who is apparently hated by nearly all Irish, and particularly by this man) and Obama (who the Irish were generally in favor of, mostly because he was going to visit Offaly county in May).
I, in turn, asked him about his opinion of President Kennedy, who all Irish seemed to love, to the point a main square/park in the large city of Galway was named after him after he visited for less than 24 hours.
The AA man seemed to have steadfast opinions on many American presidents and celebrities. However, as he said, to the Irish "the US is just good entertainment for us here overseas, just f***ing funny stuff."
Overall, this instance and the trip in general reminded me of how brightly the global spotlight shines on America. There are many stereotypes about American politics, tourists and general ways of life.
One article further highlights what the Irish and other Europeans think of us Americans. Is there a way to improve how we are thought of by the rest of the world?
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