My Study Abroad Experience

The summer of 2017, I had gone on a study abroad program that had taken me to multiple cities in Ireland. This trip had a lot of firsts for me. It was my first time out of the country, it also was the first time I wasn’t traveling with any member of my family. And, of course, I was very nervous because of these facts. The day I was to leave for Ireland, I thought the whole plane ride: did I make the right choice, and what was going to happen once I had gotten there? Even though I wasn’t alone, I was with a group of people, but I didn’t know all of them that well, so it hadn’t helped my nerves at all.

But despite all of this, the trip was the best decision I have ever made in my life. I had done so many things and I had tried many new things as well. I had kayaked in the little village of Sneem. I tried real Guinness and blood sausage, which is actually quite good. I had seen incredible sights, like the cliffs of Moher, the book of Kells, and so many castles as well. We also went to a medieval banquet in Bunratty. Not to mention all of the museums we visited, like the Dublina, which shows the history of Ireland from the Viking times, the medieval time and the archaeology behind finding the information at the museum. This was a great stop to make. The museum was interactive; you can touch the displays and play games while you are there. They also had costumes to try on. We were taught to play Hurling, which is almost like the game of lacrosse.

Ireland is a beautiful country with such a rich culture of storytelling. In Ireland, one can become a professional storyteller. In Sneem, we had met one of these professionals at a pub night. We were also treated to Irish music and dancing performances. But the best thing about the study abroad program was not just what I had learned, but what the whole group had learned. We had learned something important and that was to never be afraid to try or do new things. We learned not to let fear get in the way of gaining a new experience. Two of the female members of our group learned it a big way. At the very same pub night in Sneem each one of these girls went up to the microphone and performed a song for the people in attendance. And because of this, we all discovered the talent they had; one had sung opera for us. The rest of the night they were complemented by everyone and it had made their night. They were so happy they had performed.

Because we had gone on this trip and had done and seen so many amazing things, we all came home with new memories and incredible stories to tell. One other lesson, I had personally learned, was how to be independent. Since I was so far away from my parents, I had to make a lot of decisions by myself and not to ask for help from my parents. This trip had given me so much experience and knowledge that I can use later in my life. And ever since I had returned from Ireland, people would find out about my trip and would immediately ask about the trip. I had been asked many times, how was it, what did you do, what did you see, and the biggest question of all is would you go back? My answer to that last question is “I didn’t even want to leave and I would go back in a heartbeat.”