There are two places I like to find everywhere I travel: a Catholic Church and a McDonald's. Probably not the first destinations you might think of when country hopping. Why would I go to McDonald's when I could try some fine local cuisine? And don't they all just look like old churches after awhile?
First off, both serve as points of familiarity in new environments. Maybe I don't speak German but I can still figure out how to order some chicken nuggets and when to do the sign of the cross at church. Side note: never ask me about my trip to Germany unless you have at least 10 minutes to hear me rant about dealing with ignorant people and how you should always listen to your gut... though it is a pretty entertaining story. Amidst the challenges of Germany, it was nice to hop over the language barrier to order a cheeseburger, and pick up a copy of the Prayer of St Francis that, although I couldn't read since it was in German, I knew what it said.
Let's focus on McDonald's for a minute. At some point in my fifteen and a half years of school, I learned that the best way to make comparisons is by changing only one variable. Suppose you were to ask me how the food in Ireland compares to America. I could tell you the butter tastes better in Ireland, but maybe I'm just buying a higher quality butter than I'd usually buy at home, and it might not be the same butter that you would buy anyway. But if I tell you that McDonald's is better here, it's a comparison that we can probably both understand from a similar perspective.
While the menu here has some different items than in America (I have yet to order the mozzarella sticks), I like to keep it consistent and try the same thing in each country. Some obvious differences pictured are the German word for cheese and the Irish beef label. As far as taste, a fast food burger is a fast food burger, but I think I've liked Ireland McDonald's the best. I have to say I can probably count on one hand the number of times I go to McDonald's in a year when I'm at home, and usually its due to convenience as opposed to a strong desire for anything on the menu. But let me tell ya, the fries at Irish McDonald's are something else and I will definitely be going back for more.
Now that I've got you thinking about junk food and fries, how about we switch gears and talk about church? I think little Christina's favorite faith formation lesson was the day we learned the meaning of the word catholic. At the time, I just felt really smart knowing that Catholic is the church and catholic is universal. But traveling has helped me to truly understand and appreciate the universal nature of the Catholic Church.
It's nice that I can go to Mass anywhere and have a general idea of what's going on. I can call my mom on a Sunday and and tell her about a particularly good homily and know that she can understand it in context because she just heard the same readings. I actually have spent most of my life going to Mass celebrated by Irish priests, so I feel especially at home when I go to church here!
That being said, all of the main similarities make the small differences feel like quite a surprise. The first time I went to Mass in Ireland there were 3 specific things that caught me off guard:
Irish people take about half as many breaths when reciting prayers. And if you pause at all the same times we pause in America, you're going to end up a few words behind.
Instead of saying "Lord hear our prayer" they say "Lord graciously hear us." I honestly thought this was kind of a cute little difference– what a kind way to portray the same message.
Communion is not a procession. Everyone just sort of approaches the altar at once and it made me feel very confused. Part of me thinks it's cool, as if everyone is so eager to get up there to receive Jesus. But the other part of me feels like it's a bit chaotic.
The differences I've found in church and at McDonalds are not a bad thing. I'm a big fan of trying new dishes like Guinness Stew, and seeing new places like castles, but its easy for these cultural things to start to feel normal now that I've been here for awhile. But when I go to environments that have been familiar my whole life and end up a few words behind during the Creed, or have some amazing fries with my burger, it reminds me to embrace the unexpected.
From big things like language barriers to little things like unbelievably tasty fries or asking the Lord to graciously hear us, living and exploring new cultures is a constant adventure.