Really tying back into the last blog post, the communication difference in the workplace is probably the hardest thing I’ve had to get used to here in Ireland. It’s not just about the accents or the terminology—although those can throw you off too—but more about how direction and expectations are delivered (or not delivered). It can be easy to feel dumb or slow when you always have questions about what to do, especially when the people around you don’t seem to have those questions. But luckily, I’m used to a work environment that thrives on stress and pressure, so I was quick to get used to that uncomfortable feeling and learn to ignore it, at least enough to function and keep pushing forward.

Back in the States, I worked as a server and bartender for years. It was loud, intense, and full of people who often didn’t care how you were doing, just that you weren’t in their way. If I was slow to pick something up or made a mistake while the restaurant was packed, it would be met with yelling, harsh criticism, and sometimes flat-out humiliation. The pressure didn’t just come from customers or management, either—your coworkers could be just as cutthroat. People were constantly looking for ways to gain leverage, whether it was to secure better shifts, get promoted to a bartending position, or just look good in front of the boss. If you made a mistake, it wasn’t just a mistake—it was an opportunity for someone else to step over you. That kind of environment taught me to keep my head down and roll with the punches no matter what was going on around me.

I learned that mistakes are going to happen no matter who you are, and what really matters is how you handle them—and how often they happen under your watch. I learned to only take on what I knew I could handle, especially during high-stress shifts. If things were getting busy and chaotic, I had to trust my instincts and not overcommit. That way, I could prevent problems before they happened while still managing the inevitable slip-ups like a pro. Whether it was dropping a glass, getting an order wrong, or getting double-sat with two big tables, it was all about keeping a cool head and adapting quickly.

Compared to that environment, being confused all the time in an office setting was a cakewalk to get used to. Nobody’s yelling at me, nobody’s trying to sabotage me, and nobody’s throwing me under the bus to climb some invisible ladder. In fact, the team I work with here in Ireland is genuinely helpful. That part still catches me off guard sometimes. There’s no underlying competition, no ulterior motives—just a group of people working toward the same goal, supporting each other in their own way. And even though I still find myself lost or unclear about certain things, I’m getting better at reading between the lines and picking up on the signals. Understanding things like the scale of the changes I’m expected to make to the website, or when something needs immediate attention versus when it can wait, has really helped me get into the flow.

There’s also a kind of patience here that I wasn’t used to before. In the U.S., especially in the service industry, everything moves at hyperspeed. You don’t have time to explain things twice, and asking for clarification too often can make you look incompetent. But here, there’s an understanding that onboarding and adjusting takes time, especially when you’re new to the country and adapting to a different workflow. That unspoken patience has allowed me to focus more on learning and less on performing. It’s a luxury I didn’t have in previous jobs, and I don’t take it for granted.

In all honesty, I love working here in Dublin. Sure, the workflow could probably be optimized in some areas. I still think things would move more smoothly if people were a little more direct about what they’re doing or what they want other people to do. I’m used to bluntness, to “get this done now” or “don’t touch that.” But here, things are often phrased more softly or left a bit open-ended, and that can lead to some miscommunication or second-guessing. Still, it’s not wrong—it’s just different. And despite that, we get a lot of work done. The results are real. The site gets better. We make progress every week. That says a lot about the strength of the team and the culture we’ve built.

There’s probably some perfect middle ground between the hyper-efficient (but cutthroat) work environments I was raised in and the more collaborative (but sometimes vague) structure I’ve stepped into. And maybe that’s what I’ll take with me wherever I go next—the ability to blend both approaches and find something sustainable. But for now, it feels good to be in a space where I’m learning, growing, and being treated with respect while doing it.

This experience is absolutely worth its weight in gold.