Student Stories

 Preparing for Re-Entry & Maintaining your International Connections

• What have you missed most about the United States? What will you miss about your host country when your return?

I’ve missed many things about the United States during my study abroad. For one thing, the food. Our Fear an Ti (host) is an excellent cook, but I do miss a few things I’m used to having at home. I’ve also been eating very healthy here because someone else prepares all of my meals for me. I am definitely going to make a fast food stop on the way home from the airport!
On a more serious note, I know I am going to miss Ireland. It feels like I’ve only just gotten here. I am going to miss the friendly people and the beautiful views of the sea and rolling green hills. I will also be sad to leave the friends I’ve made here. All of us girls staying with the same host family have gotten really close. It will be a challenge to keep those connections once I return home. I am also going to miss speaking Irish with fellow learners and with native speakers. At home, I am alone in my study. I don’t know anyone in my area with an interest in the language. It has been a great opportunity to learn and practice here with other people who share my same passion. I will miss being able to say Dia Dhuit! To people I pass on the street.

• Do you think you’ll experience reverse culture shock when you return? Do you have a plan for how you can immerse back into home campus life and share your experience with family and friends?

Ireland’s culture is definitely unique, but I did not experience extreme culture shock when I arrived here. Some things were different, like the Hiberno-English and how the cities are set up, but I didn’t feel too out of place. Consequently, I am not expecting to experience reverse culture shock when I come home. I definitely want to share my experience with others. I was able to keep my family and friends updated through my blog and through these travel writing posts. It will be fun to share the photos I have taken here and talk about my experiences.
I have over a month when I get back before my classes start, so I will have the chance to get adjusted. I think that will make the transition back into college life much easier. A few people in the program with me go back to their universities the day after they get home. That would be a hard transition, so I would say anyone planning on studying abroad needs to pay attention to how their program dates coordinate with their university schedule.

• How do you plan to keep your study abroad experience as a key factor in your life; maintaining friendships, language skills, staying internationally engaged?

I made some friends here in Ireland, and I want to keep in touch with them so we can practice our Irish language skills together. I think we will probably do this through email or over the phone. I also want to keep up my studies on my own. I have learned so much after taking the class here in Carraroe and I don’t want to forget what I have learned. I want to save all of my notes so I can study them later on. I would like to come back to the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area) some day. Perhaps I will make it a regular thing in my life.