Saturday, January 31, 2009
We landed in Dublin around 9 in the morning. After rounding up all of our luggage, we met up with Ruth, the program director, and headed out to our bus. Upon our arrival in Greystones, we dumped our stuff off in our rooms, ate lunch, unpacked, and then had a walk around of the town of Greystones. It was miserably cold and wet. Even the house is cold inside. I’ll have to get used to it.
Friday, January 30, 2009
It feels like just yesterday that I was filling out my application for the Irish Studies Program. I clearly remember putting my finishing touches on my essays at one in the morning. Now I am here in the car on my way to Chicago O'Hare International Airport. In only a few short hours I will board a plane bound for Dublin. Yes, I am very excited. With every breath my anticipation grows. I cannot believe that the day has finally come.
As I look out the car window, I realize how much I am going to miss it all: the snow-covered cornfields, the patches of trees, the flat land, the farmhouses that seem out of place in this barren winter world. I know that compared to the Green Isle, the Midwest is a wasteland, but to me it is home. There is nothing extraordinary about it. The Midwest is not a destination like the East Coast or the West Coast or even the Rocky Mountains. Unless you consider cornfields a perfect vacation spot, I don’t know what would attract anyone to come here. But to me, I don’t think I will ever find a location quite like it. I am going to one of the most gorgeous places in the world—and I will enjoy it with speechless awe, I am sure—but this grey, frigid plot of land is home to me. As I travel to foreign lands and am surrounded by breathtaking landscapes, I will still remember where my heart truly lies—in Indiana.
My bags are packed after spending a day and a half squishing sweaters, jeans, and everything else I’ll need for a semester abroad. With my passport and boarding pass in hand, I will board that plane with 20 other students bound for Ireland. I know I will cry at some point, but at the moment I am smiling because I know that I am about to spend the next few months in a place that will change my life forever. I know I will look back over my shoulder one last time at the world I am leaving behind, but there is no turning back. I am going to have the time of my life. When I step on that plane, life as I know it will change. So what do I have to say to that? Bring it on.
As I look out the car window, I realize how much I am going to miss it all: the snow-covered cornfields, the patches of trees, the flat land, the farmhouses that seem out of place in this barren winter world. I know that compared to the Green Isle, the Midwest is a wasteland, but to me it is home. There is nothing extraordinary about it. The Midwest is not a destination like the East Coast or the West Coast or even the Rocky Mountains. Unless you consider cornfields a perfect vacation spot, I don’t know what would attract anyone to come here. But to me, I don’t think I will ever find a location quite like it. I am going to one of the most gorgeous places in the world—and I will enjoy it with speechless awe, I am sure—but this grey, frigid plot of land is home to me. As I travel to foreign lands and am surrounded by breathtaking landscapes, I will still remember where my heart truly lies—in Indiana.
My bags are packed after spending a day and a half squishing sweaters, jeans, and everything else I’ll need for a semester abroad. With my passport and boarding pass in hand, I will board that plane with 20 other students bound for Ireland. I know I will cry at some point, but at the moment I am smiling because I know that I am about to spend the next few months in a place that will change my life forever. I know I will look back over my shoulder one last time at the world I am leaving behind, but there is no turning back. I am going to have the time of my life. When I step on that plane, life as I know it will change. So what do I have to say to that? Bring it on.
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