I’ve been in Ireland for four days and though that doesn’t seem like much time, I think I’m finally getting the hang of this.

Public transportation has been the biggest culture shock for me. I’m so use to running downstairs to grab dinner or driving to Safeway. Limerick is on the country side so to even walk to campus from my apartment where the nearest food is, is about a 20 min walk. From there I can take a bus to town which will put me into the city in about 30 min. Grocery shopping is also hard because everything you buy you have to carry back with you. My legs and arms are so sore. HAHA.

Though I’m feeling more comfortable doing things alone and using public transit. HEY! I think I got this.

Yesterday  I took a tour of downtown limerick and Saint John’s Castle. Downtown Limerick is exactly how I imagined Ireland to be. It was the picture I’ve had in my head, put into real life.  I had my first Irish meal and it definitely wasn’t the picture I had in my head.. turns out shepherd’s pie is not a thing over, however big surprise…. potatoes are a huge thing. I ordered a baked potatoes and it came with french fries.. I ordered pizza a few nights ago and it came with chips and french fries.  At least it’s very filling.

The people here are also very friendly it makes me so thankful that I chose this country to study in.  The weather and the people are very similar to home. However, THESE PEOPLE DRINK SO MUCH. I’m not 21 so in the states I’m unable to drink. It’s weird enough for me to go into a bar let alone see how much these people drink.. do they actually get any studying done? I’m not convinced they do.

I met two of my five other roommates and they are very sweet. They’re two friends from Belgium. It’s less lonely having people in the apartment with me finally.

I’m starting to feel more at home here-like I finally have a grip on things. I think I got this.

My room which finally feels like home.

Seeing Ireland for the first time-one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen yet.

The 3 other members in the study abroad program

The center of campus here at the University of Limerick. It looks like a castle.

St. John’s Castle

Downtown Ireland-just as i’ve always imaged

As is every decision I’ve made in my life, the decision to travel to Ireland was made on a whim. I had just gotten home from a one-night stand and the uncomfortable reality of living in the same place for the last year had sat it. I was itching to move and experience something else unknown. I Google searched “Countries that speak English and drinking age is under twenty-one” The first result was Ireland and within two weeks, I had picked a program, submitted my paperwork, and had been accepted.

Over the last year I’ve been immensely in tune to the unhealthy characteristics I posses. The one that has been the most damaging is my racism. I grew up with my Grandma saying things like, “those damn Mexicans” and my father saying “Should I hit them cause they’re brown”? It wasn’t until now that I realized how detrimental it was for me to hear those words. I’ve began to notice that my jokes have became more and more racist, and though I label them as, “jokes” there is a degree of truth behind every racist word I speak.

I recently came across a quote by Wade Davis, which has begun to influence my change in thought process. Davis says, “The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.” In this quote, he’s essentially saying that just because other cultures are different from our own, it doesn’t mean they’re wrong. This quote has been influential, as I try to accept and embrace other races and cultures.

The biggest barrier that I aim to achieve while studying in Ireland is becoming more accepting of other cultures. I desperately want to lay my ideologies to rest about other cultures being “wrong” and instead, accept them in all of their beauty. I’m hoping that my traveling to Ireland can be a stepping-stone in my journey to accept other cultures.

There will be a lot of barriers that I face while traveling abroad. I like my solitude, I rely heavily on other people helping me, I get annoyed quickly in the behaviors of others, I’m uptight about everything, I make inappropriate comments, and social interaction gives me anxiety {though luckily I can drink in Ireland to aid in that}. All of these behaviors/luxuries that I enjoy are going to be ripped away from me while traveling over seas. I will be emerged in other people and other culture, the only person I will have to rely on for help is myself, I will be living in a house with at least four roommates, and I will not be able to avoid social interaction. If I want to make my living situation peaceful, I will also need to learn not be so uptight.

Traveling to Ireland is going to be scary and I’m going to face a multitude of barriers. But my hope in traveling is that I can lay be ideologies and uptight behaviors to rest, and can instead learn to be more accepting of other cultures, and a more fun person to be around.