 |
|
Oolong Flower Power: you can just imagine the smell that
three hundred jars of tea can create!
|
Now that I’ve satisfied my knee-jerk reaction to food blog,
on to more complex subjects that what my stomach is demanding today.
I’ve been confronted with a dilemma lately that I believe
many study abroad students may be facing during this time. It’s about 30 days
out from my departure from Ireland and my return home. The mix of emotions is turning
a different shade. I am experiencing a combination of homesickness, awe at how
the time has flown, and encroaching panic that I have not exhausted all of my
opportunities while here. This last one is the most terrifying of all. Lost
opportunities, especially while abroad, can often mean that you never let your
inhibitions and comfort zones be breached. I hope that many of my fellow
international students would agree that this exploration outside our normal
routines is the core attraction of study abroad, and to feel that you have not
done enough of that can be nerve-wracking.
These thoughts have been lingering in the back of my mind
for about two weeks now, brought about by the shrinking number of days on my
calendar between today and June 2nd. I genuinely thought that my
time in Ireland was quickly disappearing and to spend even another day without
doing something new and novel would be a day wasted. Crazy sounding? Maybe. And
acknowledged.
I finally got past this mental roadblock, but it took some
time. I had to realize that running through Dublin, the rest of Ireland, and
greater Europe could still be done, but not at the breakneck speed and
intensity that I thought was required to have a good time. At this very moment
I still have 32 days here. That month is already chock-full of a jaunt up to
Copenhagen, two final exams at Trinity, a week in Portugal and Barcelona, and
rounded off nicely with my mother and little brother coming to visit before we
all fly back home. That, if I do say myself, is plenty. Plenty of time to be caught up in the bustle and motion of
hostel-hopping travel, but also time to simply enjoy Dublin as just another
member of its community adopted into the Irish ways and loving every minute,
whether it is caught up in a crowd watching an impromptu High Kings concert in
the middle of O’Connell Street or sitting here sipping tea. My time here is of
the highest value, simply because I spent it in a way that is meaningful to
myself.
I hope these words and my thoughts resonate with other
soon-to-be-returning study abroad students. If our entire experience living an
international lifestyle were smooth sailing with not a sign of doubt on the
horizon, it would not be the challenge we have chosen to undertake. As John A.
Shedd’s collection of sayings, “Salt from My Attic” put it, “A ship in harbor
is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
---
Colleen Boardman is a Junior in the Fulbright Honors College
at the University of Arkansas, working her way towards dual majors in English
and Chemistry. She is spending the Spring 2015 semester at Trinity College
Dublin in Ireland. In addition to her college classes and researching her
honors thesis topic, she is also exploring the culture of her new home by
taking Irish language and dance lessons.
