Shippin' Up to Ireland: My Journey Across the Pond

            Hey everyone! I figured now was a good time to start this up again – I’m going back abroad! I can’t even begin to tell you how exciting this experience is for me. I’ve been working SO hard at my job and I don’t mean to sound full of myself but I think I have definitely earned this. In twenty-four hours I’ll be drinking a Guinness with my ancestors. Tomorrow, I go home.

            This trip is super important to me. I’m going to be connecting with my heritage, with my roots, in a way that I’ve never done before, in a way that few people can truly understand. I am one hundred percent Irish – not 50%, not 75%, not even 99%; 100%. You cut me and I bleed green (ha or Guinness!), and I know the words to at least a dozen Dropkick Murphy’s songs. I have a cool Irish cap that I wear sometimes, and if you still don’t believe me, let me just list the maiden names in my family: Carmody, McGlinchey, O’Neill. Sure, I might not have red hair and freckles, I might not speak with an Irish brogue, I might not celebrate my heritage more than once a year, but I had a poetry class where we studied Seamus Heaney and his poem about digging with a pen really speaks to the Irish writer in me. I think I just connect with Ireland in a way that not many people do, and this trip is going to cement that.

            I wonder if I’m going to run into any long-lost family members while I’m over there. It would be so meaningful, it would really enrich the experience and make it even more worthwhile than it already will be. We could talk about our shared experiences, our common memories, about our ancestors who tilled the earth and lived off the fat of the land. I used to work as a janitor during the summers so I’m no stranger to hard work!

            What I’m really looking forward to is that period when I come back, when all I can do is talk about how great the trip was. For weeks – even months – to come, all you’ll hear from me is how awesome the Irish are and how great the pubs are and how quaint the people are and how similar they really are to us when you get right down to it. You won’t even have to ask. I’ll just tell you, because I know you’ll want to hear all about it!

            I’m also just so thankful for the Internet and Instagram. When I was abroad last time, Instagram wasn’t really a thing, but now I get to document my travels so that everyone can see how great it all is. I’ll have #tbt’s for years to come! My first picture will obvi be a beer and I’m thinking the caption will be something super clever – so get ready to like it! Leave a comment if you want me to tag you in all of my posts so that everyone knows that you’re friends with someone who went to Ireland – because that is just so cool!

            Well, I better go pack (I won’t forget my SuperFan shirt – Go Eagles!). I’ll see you on the  other side. Erin Go Bragh!

 

Isn't this adorable???

This weekend = no words. No. Words. At all. Friday night, the host family I’m staying with let me throw a party for a group of friends of mine. If you Americans think you’ve seen crazy, let me tell you something…you haven’t seen crazy. Me and my new Moswetuset friends know how to drink the international way. We drank imported beers all night, played crazy drinking games, and took vodka bottles to the face. Can you say insanity? American parties I’ve been to can’t rival that at all. 

            Then, yesterday, I got to participate in some annual ritual that the primitive local people get all worked up about. It reminded me of the running of the bulls or a Spanish bullfight or the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest; it was that kind of crazy. The atmosphere was unbelievable. Basically, it was an excuse to get WaStEd lol. And me and my awesome new friends did just that. Walking around all day it was so fascinating to see the natives. They seem less-than-intelligent, its so funny to watch them interact. When the men try to talk to the women, it’s so cute! It’s just like back home, and it’s almost like they’re on an equal level as us, you know? But now I’m being silly. 

            OMG I forgot to write about Easter break! It was incredible. I took a bus halfway down the coast, got to take a dive in the ocean, AND I got to start writing my novel! I know it’s going to be a hit, since it’s about all of the things I’ve done this semester. And everyone  wants to hear all about all my ups, my downs, and my wild adventures.

If he can do it, why can't I??

            My semester abroad is starting to wrap up, so I feel like this is the time to look back and reflect on a semester well spent. I’ve backpacked across candidi, swum in the brisk waters of the Flynn, climbed the million pupa gradibus and even traipsed around the local portus But through it all, I haven’t forgotten my abroad mission: to learn as much as I possibly can, to see as much as I possibly can; to become the better person that I am now; to truly realize that, although our culture seems to be our everything, there really is a bigger, better world out there, a world full of wonder and good. I leave abroad with a belt full of new experiences and a head full of new ideas. I am in a unique position; I plan to use all that I’ve learned abroad – about the world, about different cultures, and most importantly, about myself – to make this world a better place, the way no-one else can.

            As the locals say…danza kuduro!

Spring Brake!

A few words come to mind when people mention spring break to me. Different. Crazy. Educational. Unforgettable (although some nights are hard to remember!). It started off like any other spring break - everyone leaving, me kind of stuck sitting around doing nothing. But then, all of a sudden, I spontaneously decided to take a trip. And where else to go besides the beach? I took a five hour drive through awful traffic and wanted to die it was so boring, but in the end, it was worth it. I got to spend a week in the sun getting my bronze on, feeling the ocean, and doing crossword puzzles (I'm boring lol). I went kayaking, I went kickboarding, and I even went to a nude beach! It was everything spring break is supposed to be. I'll spare you the rest of the details, because some shouldn't ever be made known to the public! But it felt good coming back to my home away from home the other day. My roommates aren't back yet, but don't worry, we're throwing a party the very first night they get back.

Today was a pretty incredible day. I actually got to race go-karts for a few hours, so that's always good motivation to get me out of bed in the morning! This afternoon I went for a nice quiet walk around the local "alveus" (it's just a fancy name for a lake) and before I knew it, it was time for me to be off to another museum.


Museums are a really interesting place. I mean, not only am I absolutely surrounded by history and culture, but it's a great place to people watch. I feel like at museums, I really get a sense for the locals. I noticed today that they had the cutest little interests in the quaintest little things. I saw one person (male) getting all worked up about what looked to me to be just a simple golfball. There was also an entire exhibit dedicated to barbershops. It made me really reflect on all that we have at home, and just how fortunate I am to call myself an American. It's amazing to see how enthralled a people can be with the simplest of things. I truly understand poverty now that I've studied abroad, and the problems of the world just make more sense to me; I can just relate, you know?


The other thing that struck me was the variety of languages! I must have heard five different languages at the museum today. Tourists. They don't have a clue, am I right? Anyways, I better get going. It's my turn to cook dinner tomorrow, so I have to go prepare my "farinam." Devium!

Serious Post.

So my dad got me this cute little portable radio that I can carry around with me (ever hear of an ipod dad?) and it made me realize yet another problem being abroad has caused; coming home, I'm not going to remember any of my favorite stations. Do you have any idea how frustrating that's going to be? I'm going to want to hear Rihanna finding love or my girl Kelly getting stronger or just some classic Black Eyed Peas (l'chaim!) and I'm not going to know which station to go to. That brings me to the theme of this post; abroad is super hard.

All you people who think being abroad is just some walk in the park, I've got news for you: it's not. The other day I was trying to get some food and I ordered a vacsora. You know what I got? I can't even explain it, that's how bad it was. I mean, I know I'm on a diet and everything but if I were home I would totally splurge and get like, Chicken McNuggets or something. You have no idea. 

Also, hello...abroad? Have you ever heard of cell phones? Because this black-and-white lump with keys is just about good for nothing. All it does is call and text. Seriously? I remember my first cell phone. It doesn't even take videos so I can't document all the cool stuff I want and I can't upload it all to facebook. What's the point of even having a phone, am I right?

My classes are super hard but so dull. The other day, my instructor started off by saying (in the local language) that this was all post-grad stuff he was about to teach us. It's an introductory course! Unbelievable. Plus, I hardly ever get homework, so I can't practice the stuff I learn in class once I get home. It's so unfair. I'm going to fail everything and then it's goodbye college. It's so hard to stay awake in these classes, one because I'm usually so tired from staying up late being crazy and two because it's like they're speaking another language to me :-D

OMGOMGOMGOMG

Sorry I haven't posted in like, forever! It's been super busy though with me getting used to everything here. I went without internet for almost a whole week, and I didn't have my phone for that long either. I know, how did I live, right? I couldn't even check my facebook. It was a total bummer. I missed out on so much! Not to mention the food was awful in the place I stayed all last week, but thats what you get for a room that was dirt cheap. I also had a roommate who snored, and it was like I had signed into Hotel Boring (lmao). All people did was sit around and read, do puzzles, and watch TV. No one went out a single time I was there. I actually could not wait to leave and get back to my good old otthon (home).

My host family is the. best. in the world. ever. We all get along super well and we really just love each other like a family. There hasn't been a single conflict yet and I doubt there ever will be. My roommates are AMAZING and we've all agreed (in the local language, of course!) that we're going to be best friends for life. I'm already dreading going back home just because I won't be able to say ¡ahoj (hello)! every morning to my new "vriende" (friends).

Life here is the best. It soooo beats anything back home. My courseload is so light, it's like I'm not taking any classes at all. I get to travel wherever I want, whenever I want, and I don't even have to run it by my roommates. I just get on the bus and go. And everything's so cheap here, it's practically a free ride. Today I walked around this site that was founded in the late 1800s. The old architecture and the green grass and the wind whipping through my hair made me stop and think for a second, and it really helped me put my life into perspective. I felt a part of something bigger than myself, you know? It was like I was connected to all those people who had been at this place before me. People from centuries ago were just brought alive to me. It was such an OMG moment, and I just had to come back and write about it immediately.

My host family is finally making a decent meal tonight. After weeks of living off of watery eggs and coarse meats, tonight they are making me a local dish. I'm not exactly sure what to call it. It's  some kind of fowl, covered in a crumb-y coating, a red sauce of questionable consistency and a slightly moldy-looking milkish substance. Whatever it is, I can't wait to try it! Because that's what being abroad has taught me. It doesn't matter what you think you know about a place; you really can't know it until you try it out. That's what all you people who stayed home are missing out on. Sure, we might not have the same semester of parties and drinking and hook-ups that all of you do, but we have the rest of our lives for that. What we have is something bigger, something better. We're becoming part of a community other than our own, hurling ourselves far outside our comfort zones. We are trying out a new culture, a new way of life; and I, for one, plan to taste every new culture I can. This experience is truly making me a better person.

That's all for now! I'll check-in in a few weeks for all my loyal readers who can't wait to see what abroad has to offer me next! Nähdään pian!

Finallyyyy

Today was the big day! Getting up at 4:30 in the morning doesnt exactly agree with me (lol) but today it was totally worth it. I hit the road at five thirty after some last-minute packing, and nine hours later, here I am! Everything looks about the same as I imagined it would, and this house I'm going to be living in for an entire semester is pretty cool, but some locals were telling me that they've had a mouse problem the past few months. Oh well. Can't have everything, right?

I tried some of the local cuisine this evening to try to acclimate to the local customs. It was delicious. It was this really exotic cheesy bread kind of thing. There was this orange-white cheese on top, mixed in with an interesting tomato cream or sauce or something, all stuffed on top of a really doughy, kneaded bread. It's then baked and cut up and ready to serve! I had five pieces all by myself!

I also tried a really interesting corn dish. Some bites were fluffy but others were teeth-crunchingly hard. A local showed me a trick to make it taste a little less bland - a few pinches of salt - and it made for a delicious snack. Hopefully I can find a place back home that sells it. Not that I have to worry about that for another few months!

I bought some Pacifico beer (or should I say cerveza!) at the local liquor store this evening to help get me in the mood to enjoy the local cuisine. Once again, I have nothing but good things to say. Some beer just goes down really smooth, you know? Sometimes you can just take a sip of beer and say "Now that's a beer," about it. That's what happened with Pacifico. I'm so glad I'll be studying here this semester. I can get it whenever I want.

Well, that's all for now! My roommates will be showing up in the next few days...I hope they're nice. I wonder what language they speak? They're from all different parts of the country I'm studying in. It'll be really interesting to get a glimpse of what the rest of the country is like. See you soon!

Jack

Last Days at Home

Today marks the less-than-one-week milestone before I leave! I'm super excited, and want to thank everyone who's been so supportive of me as I've been preparing for this experience that I'm sure to remember for the rest of my life.

As all of you who are going abroad know, the excitement is bittersweet. Sure I get to look forward to months of new adventures that include learning about a culture different than my own, mingling with the locals, and really broadening my horizons, but all that comes at a price. I have to leave behind friends, family, and everything I know and love, not to mention my comfort zone.

To be honest, I'm very apprehensive about the upcoming weeks. I already know a lot about the culture of the place the natives dubbed "Moswetuset," but what I've heard makes me pretty nervous. For instance, I know that it is rife with bad drivers and rude people. I know that sports are huge there and that to insult the local team is taking your life in your hands. I have met several people from the area, all of whom are obsessed with explaining why it is the best place on Earth, and why where I come from is somehow inferior. Also, the food is pretty lame. I know you can't get a good bagel or a solid slice of pizza for miles.

I'm also really worried about the classes I'm going to take. My schedule doesn't allow for me to take any electives, so they'll all be for my major (I know, awful, right?). I hope my GPA doesn't like, plummet lol.

Anyway, I have to go continue packing my life into that one tiny bag I'm allowed to bring, plus I have to start saying goodbyes to all those people I won't see for soooooo long. Adios!