Hi everyone! I’ve been itching to start sharing my study-abroad experiences here but that would have been hard to do seeing as I just left for my program this morning! Since I can’t yet share stories of ancient sites or amazing food, I thought I’d ruminate on some goodbyes I’ve had to do recently. My nine-hour layover in Montreal today has given me ample time to sit with all the complex emotions of leaving home for such a big adventure and I hope you find some shared sentiments here, whether you’ve strayed far from home before or stayed close.
I’m no stranger to being away from home. I spent 12th grade living in the dorms of my high school (where I previously had been a commuter student) to prepare for college life. This ended up being the training wheels I needed because I decided to come to the University of Denver which is roughly 2,000 miles away from my hometown in Pennsylvania. I, like so many other students, knew that I wanted to go away for school, but unlike others, I always knew it was going to be an emotionally difficult transition. Noah Kahan’s “You’re Gonna Go Far” has pretty much been on repeat in my head for the last four years.
I’m an only child of a single father with whom I’m extremely close and who has been my best friend + biggest supporter my whole life. I’ve also been blessed with friends who support me wholeheartedly no matter what. Coming to Denver is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, but the goodbyes every winter and summer break don’t get easier, I just get more used to them. Walking through security at the airport this morning felt like that but a million times bigger.
I’ve never left home for four months before. I certainly haven’t spent months in another country aided only by two comically large suitcases an ocean away. A seven-hour time difference, a totally new culture, and signage in an ancient language I will attempt to learn two days a week at 8:00am is a complete 180° from what my life normally looks like. Change is good and constant, but it is scary, too.
As trepidatious as I may sound, though, I am excited. Maybe even more than excited. As I take a break from pacing the International Departures Terminal at YUL to kill time, I look at all the departures happening around me, hear destinations I’ve never been to, and realize how little of the world I’ve seen (and I’ve been blessed to see more than many others.) Even though the last two weeks have been full of teary goodbyes, they have reminded me of all the “hello’s”, familiar and not, that I am going to experience in the upcoming months. It has been, and will always be, a privilege to have things in my life that make saying goodbye so hard.
Yesterday (September 3rd), I finally arrived in Cork!
It took two days worth of traveling- and a lot of nerves and anxiety- but it was not exactly the intimidating experience I was expecting it to be.
The night before I left, though, I was a complete mess of negative emotions. I was so anxious about the traveling process- not so much the flying part, as I fly back and forth to DU from my home state New Jersey- but about traveling internationally. Before this year, I had never even owned a passport. I was so worried that my luggage was going to go missing, or that I was going to miss my connection from London to Cork. And though I typically fly alone and have no problems with it, I was agonizing over completing the process by myself. Sometimes it’s just comforting to go through a brand new situation with other people who are also unsure of what they’re doing.
I flew out of Newark Airport September 2nd, on a flight that was supposed to take off just before 6 PM. But, of course, travel days do not go off without a hitch. The plane didn’t actually take off until around 8 PM due to an air traffic control malfunction, which meant that we would be landing in London (Heathrow) at about 7 AM the next day- seriously cutting it close to my connection at 9 AM. Two hours seems like more than enough time, but after getting off the plane, getting on a bus to go to a different terminal, and going through security and border patrol, it was almost 8:40 by the time I found my gate. I had about 10 minutes to sit down before we started to board.
At that point, I was completely exhausted. It had been a six hour flight from Newark to Heathrow- including a five hour time jump- and I had only gotten an hour or two of sleep. Heathrow to Cork was only about an hour flight, and I don’t think I opened my eyes until after we landed.
And then it was time to worry about getting through passport services. I knew exactly what I needed to bring in order to show the officers that I would be studying abroad, and getting a residence permit eventually. But it is a situation that, ultimately, is out of your control completely. I was standing in line for a few minutes, and then I started to notice that a few people- who looked about my age- were being told to stand to the side and wait. Eventually, it became pretty clear that these were all study abroad students from the U.S, and they were all studying at UCC (University College Cork), like me. I was so relieved that I had been lucky enough to be on the same flight with so many other people who were in the exact same situation I was. We all got to talking and I soon realized that it truly was dumb luck that I wound up on the same flight as them- they were all part of some third party program that had scheduled a group flight so that they could make their way to their accommodations together.
Their advisor/coordinator had already told them that he would find taxis for them, so I hung around in the hopes that he could point one out to me, too. After all, there were a few of us going to the same accommodation, so I was looking to split the fare with someone. But unexpectedly, the coordinator ended up paying for me and the other person I shared the taxi with- who happened to be from DU as well. It was so surprising and so generous that the two of us were taken aback. We couldn’t do anything more than thank him profusely, rolling down the window and calling out to him as we drove away.
Somehow- although the jet lag makes this somewhat plausible- I had forgotten that in the UK and Ireland, they drive on the left side of the road. I’m not sure if this counts as my first culture shock, but it was definitely disorienting. Every time our taxi driver turned right and then ended up on the left side of the road, I had to remind myself that he was not purposefully putting us in any danger.
Eventually, we reached our accommodation. We’re staying in a renovated building- formerly a furniture store- that has been converted into flats with shared kitchens and separate bedrooms and bathrooms. (You may be able to imagine that I am thrilled about the Irish cultural stance on roommates and living situations). I unpacked my things as quickly as possible- which was made even more convenient by shipping things like bedding and cooking supplies ahead of time- because I was so exhausted I was afraid I’d fall asleep standing up if I stopped. With most of that taken care of, and nothing to do for the foreseeable future, I accidentally took a nap. Which, apparently, you’re not supposed to do if you’re in a similar traveling situation as me. So I won’t officially endorse doing what I did, but I don’t think I would have gotten through the rest of the day if I hadn’t taken that two hour nap.
Later that night, I went to dinner with a few of the people I had met in the airport. We walked around the city for a while, looking for a place to eat. There are so many food options, which pleasantly surprised me. And all of the buildings, homes, and restaurants are so charming, with that quintessential style of architecture that I expected of Europe. That’s when it started to feel a bit surreal- I couldn’t believe that I was there. I had been planning on studying abroad for so long, wanting to do it so badly, that realizing I was actually there was a bit dreamlike.
We ended up finding a restaurant/pub called “The Woodford.” The interior had so much character- stained glass decor, interesting sculptures, and statement pieces like antique furniture which created a really comforting atmosphere. The food was really good and the staff were extremely welcoming and friendly. I was a bit apprehensive about being so obviously from the U.S., but Cork is somewhat of a melting pot. Walking up and down the streets, we noticed people from all different cultures- whether they were just visiting or were actually locals.
I just got back from my first day of orientation. The campus is beautiful and everyone I’ve met so far has been so friendly and welcoming, which is doing a lot to ease some of my worries. Even though I’ve only been here two days, I already love Cork. It is such an awesome city with so many people of different cultures, with so many things to do and see, and I can’t wait to explore more soon!
DU Abroad 