So I’ve been putting this post off for a long time, possibly in the hope that I won’t have to really accept the fact that I’ve left Ireland behind and won’t get to go back for years. But my Ireland adventure has finally come to a close. After 5 amazing, insane, interesting, eye-opening months in Cork and traveling Europe I’m not sure I’m quite ready to get back to ‘life as usual.’ I mean, I had so much freedom over in Ireland and met so many amazing people, and now it’s all over. I truly don’t know how time went by so quickly—in the beginning all I wanted to do was get back to Bowdoin and NY and all my friends at home, but now I miss Cork and my friends there so fecking much. It sucks mostly because not only did I leave friends in Ireland, but my American friends are scattered around the country and who knows when I’ll see them again? But I’m trying to focus on the positives—namely how unbelievably fantastic my semester abroad was.
I definitely started off extremely homesick, wanting to just get it over with because I was not used to living on my own, so far away from everything and everyone I knew. At the same time, I knew I would get over it so I just gritted my teeth and trucked along through. It helped having Rafa there as a piece of home and someone I could talk to. To my everlasting shame, I didn’t befriend my roommates as early as I should have, because they were brilliant. Seriously, Jenna, Alyssa, Sarah, and Jessie were hilarious and fun and great to be around. Our love of Tasty Kebab knew no boundaries!
Joining rugby was one of the best decisions I made while abroad, not just because I got a huge amount of experience, but also I did make friends. Part of the reason I love Bowdoin rugby is because of the girls on the team, so I was definitely worried that I wouldn’t enjoy playing at UCC if I didn’t get along with the girls as well, or if I just didn’t become friendly with them. But no worries—they were welcoming and wonderful and I had a blast. By the end I realized how much I’d miss them, and I hope that if any of them ever make it to NY, they’ll look me up :P
I think my biggest regret about going abroad was missing the last semester of the 2011 seniors. I think I’m closest to that group of any other class at Bowdoin, currently or in the past, and it sucked not getting to see them graduate. I know I have no real right to be, but I’m jealous of the stories I heard and the pictures I saw because I missed my last opportunities to spend time with them. And who knows when I’ll get to see them again? But I did get to say my goodbyes and hopefully the ruggers will be at a reunion in the future :)
I even fell in love with Cork. Call me crazy, but I think of it as a 2nd home, at least for now. I cheered for every Munster and Cork sports game, and booed Leinster rugby any chance I got haha. I haven’t been that invested in sports since I realized I loved Boston! I even gained some of the anti-British sentiment, which probably wasn’t the best thing haha, but hey they were kinda jerks. The whole culture and atmosphere fascinated me, mostly how everything was so modern yet old at the same time; you could see the history in the buildings, roads, shops. Even traveling around Ireland, I would compare everything to Cork and come to the realization that, nah, Cork is so much better (similarly, now that I’m home I compare everything to Ireland haha). EuroTrip was a great, but not the best, part of my abroad trip. Sure, it was nice to see other countries, and the Stornoway concert was brilliant beyond belief, but at the end I was so glad to be home in Ireland. I loved seeing the Irish language on all the signs, and actually being able to read some of it! Tesco and the English Market made my life complete, and I still can’t really enjoy the butter and milk in the US (though the ice cream is miles better).
Getting to see the fam again was wonderful—I never realized how much I would miss them, because at Bowdoin they’d only been a phone call away, plus they came to visit at least once a semester. I loved taking Mom around Ireland to show her my favorite places, partially because we drove so I had a whole new perspective (aka not from a coach bus). And I saw so many new places as well—Ring of Kerry, Waterford, Newgrange. But once we were sitting on the plane all I could think of was seeing the rest of the family and showing them all the random things I accumulated over the months and finally getting to talk to them in person. I missed Coconut, my dog, most of all because while I could chat with the parents over Skype, Coco wasn’t all that talkative, and plus I couldn’t cuddle with her. Long distances are hard.
In a word, going abroad was grand. I grew up (I can shop/cook for myself, no problem), met new folks, learned cool things (Newgrange is the most amazing structure ever and Irish is a crazy-hard language), and realized that I could definitely see myself living in Cork. Crazy, but true. If I ever have a chance to go back, I would in a heartbeat. But, for now, this is the end of my travels and the return to normal life. So, signing off for the last time, thanks so much for reading this blog (or parts of it!) and I hope I’ve convince you all to go visit Ireland :D
Slán agus beannacht leat ♣
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