In the short time I’ve been in Ireland, I think I’ve grown a lot and experienced so many different emotions.
So, I ’ve decided to just to give you a taste of the top four emotions I’ve felt so far.
1. Exhaustion
I arrived in Ireland and was immediately grateful to not be stuck on a plane anymore. The braid pigtails my mom had perfectly sculpted were frizzy and red lines of them were imprinted on my face from the complementary airplane pillow.
I questioned whether or not the cloth was made of sandpaper since it was unbearably itchy but decided it didn’t matter anyway. Sleep was just as evasive as it was the night before, I just hoped that there weren’t bags under my eyes deeper than the craters of the moon.
When the plane rolled into the terminal, the lights dinged on, making me squint. The pilot came on the loudspeaker, welcoming us to Ireland…. I zoned out for a little bit then stuffed my unicorn pillow pet (mature, I know) into my backpack and made sure my wallet and phone were in my purse.
Then I heard; “It’s a mild, windy day at 19 degrees Celsius” and I froze. 19 DEGREES! My brain panicked. I’m not dressed for 19 DEGREES, I was only wearing my baggy sweatshirt and Beauty and the Beast stained-glass printed leggings.
Were the Irish crazy, I thought. Surely, they don’t think that 19 DEGREES was mild weather. But then a light bulb went off in my head…… the pilot said 19 degrees CELSIUS not Fahrenheit. Celsius is much different than Fahrenheit but I forgot (which was no surprise, I’ve never liked math anyway). It was probably close to the 50s or 60s Fahrenheit, but I couldn’t remember the exact conversion method.
“ Well, Toto….” I whispered to myself, “we’re definitely not in America anymore.”
And with that, it was my turn to get off the plane…I was already exhausted and it was only 7:30 in the morning.
Ireland From Above |
2. Awe
When they say Ireland is green, they REALLY MEAN Ireland is GREEN. From the air, it looks like patches of green grass divided by little stone barriers, like it was woven into a big green quilt. There are also rolling hills that remind me of The Shire were Frodo and all the other hobbits were from The Hobbit. I believe the actual hobbit civilization is located in New Zealand though, but it still looks similar.
Anyway, Ireland is a writer’s jackpot for inspiration with all the castles (also known as tower-houses) like Blarney Castle. I know, I’ve talked about Blarney a few times but it’s one of my favorite touristy attractions that I have visited so far. It was built by the famous McCarthy family (the McCarthy’s were the clan in charge of Cork at the time).
The one standing there right now was built in 1446 and was the third erected on the site. There was a wooden structure before, that I think probably either rotted or burned down, so I guess they thought stone would last longer.
Stone was a smart choice since it’s still here today but the steep spiral stone staircases, not so much. I remember standing in the line of tourists that ran around the staircase and saying, “Do you think anyone died falling down these staircases?” The girl in front of me laughed, “ I dunno…maybe.”
The staircases up the towers seriously felt more like tiny stone caves with their stooped ceilings rather than stairs and hallways actual people used. “Maybe the Irish were agile and short,” I thought to myself.
But what about the women in their long medieval dresses? I tried to imagine myself in long a dress and not tripping up these stairs but I failed miserably. What a terrible way to die by falling down the steps.
When I finally reached the top of the castle that overlooked miles of tall trees and green fields, I closed my eyes and tried to picture what it must have been like years ago, but nothing came to mind. I was just in awe of the view and by the fact I didn’t trip once when climbing up the stairs. Goals in life, my friends.
The view from Blarney Castle. |
3. Anxiety
I’ve never been one for lots of people so when UCC in Cork officially opened, I felt completely overwhelmed. The place was bursting at the seams with people, not just Irish people but people from all over the world.
What didn’t help is that I got lost. Not a surprise really since I am always perpetually lost. One time, my friends even put me in the middle in a sort of caravan driving to my friend’s house just to make sure I stayed with the group.
At first, UCC felt like freshman year all over again and it took walking around in circles and through packs of clueless students to finally find my first class. It just so happened that I didn’t find it until it was half over. Ooops! I met a cool Irish freshman who’s going for food science though!
Getting lost was (and still is sometimes) one of my greatest problems. I kept a tally with my friend and counted ten times in the first month that I got lost.
TEN times! Part of it was due to not having a proper working international phone and needed a different Irish sim card so I couldn’t use Google maps. And, you guessed it, I couldn’t find the phone store either.
Now, this might not seem like a big deal but for someone who is naturally anxious like me, it’s not fun. I kept thinking that people were staring at me and that I stuck out as an American tourist since I was just wandering around the inner city with my face glued to my Google maps (at least once I had access to it).
After all, in the study abroad preparation meetings you’re told to “blend” in order not to get mugged. Also, I just didn’t want to be labeled as the stereotypical obnoxious American, I wanted to fit in.
I wanted to belong and I felt like I didn’t. And that always causes me great anxiety.
The Grand Parade which is also known as City Center in Cork |
4. Peace
I know I already mentioned that Ireland is beautiful, but it also has a sense of peace that isn’t found in Baltimore or my hometown. The River Lee that divides it is always like smooth glass, reflecting the image of the trees around it.
In the river, you can often find ducks paddling along, probably looking for food. They aren’t yellow like rubber ducks (unfortunately, there are no such thing as yellow ducks), but I always smile when I see them.
On one a rainy Friday I saw swans. Two of them diving with their long white necks into the water looking for food just like the ducks. I couldn’t stop myself from taking pictures at the time. After all, they’re swans and I hardly ever see them where I’m from and so forty photos later, I had documented their complete movements for five whole minutes. Later, I told my Irish friend about the pictures I took and he just chuckled at me. I guess I was one of the only American students in Ireland excited about swans.
Little pops of flowers decorate the stone walls that sometimes guide the sidewalks and I marvel at them, wondering how they could thrive so far above the ground in stone. It’s the simple things like this that make Ireland peaceful for me although some people hardly ever notice them. I realize now that at home I often ignore the simple things that give me peace. Coming here, it has reminded me to look for those little things of peace again.
And there have been so many more emotions the longer I am here in Ireland, some good and some uncomfortable, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
The Swans Diving For Lunch. |