When I Die, Dublin Shall Be Written Into My Heart

(Sorry it's late - I wrote this on the plane ride home)

Dear Readers,
So my four month study abroad adventure has come to its end. What does that mean?

To be honest - I'm really not sure. I do want to point out that I said my study abroad adventure has ended, and not "my journey" or "my experience here", because I believe both of those have just begun...
What I mean to say is that my experience was.... how can you describe it in one word? Incredible? Fantastic? Life-Changing? Unbelievable? Unforgettable? Fun? All of the above.. It was a chance of a lifetime - I can't thank enough the people in my life who made it possible for me to go. It WAS life changing, but I can't tell you how yet. I don't know what about me has changed and I don't think I will know for a little while - or maybe even until I go back and see what my perception of Dublin, Ireland, and Europe is now. Maybe in a week, maybe in a month or a year, I can sit down and look at myself and explain how my study abroad experience made me a better person - I know that it has, I just don't know if I can put it in words yet. I guess I could try...
I know I'm more independent. I know now that living in a city is a struggle for me. I've learned my boundaries/barriers when it comes to being away from family and how much of that I can take. I've learned that I can take care of myself in foreign countries for four months and that I can interact and have fun with people of a foreign culture and enjoy both our similarities and our differences. I know that I have learned a deep respect for aspects of both the cultures I have visited, and for my own. I know that thanks to the school and our faculty, I have made connections with people in my career in the UK. I know that I did it - and a lot of people won't, or can't understand what I mean... but I know my fellow study-abroaders can.

The hardest part of leaving for me was the streets. I realize that sounds funny, but even if I didn't like living in Dublin and have realized that I'm not a city girl - I grew accustom to wandering its streets day and night. The city and the lifestyle had become a normal part of my routine life... and to think that I will never see those streets, at least in the way they are now, again is something I cannot quite fathom yet. I must say, I didn't take the architecture there for granted, even if seeing it became routine for me There were still some nights when I would stop and look up at the church spires framed against the Dublin sky and wonder how I could live any place where I couldn't see something as beautiful as that on my way home.
I will say also that I did struggle during my time there. It was difficult to juggle living in a foreign country, living in an apartment for the first time, taking classes, and traveling to other countries for four months. It was a struggle to manage the time difference to talk to my family and friends. It was a struggle to place myself out of my comfort zone. It was hard - probably the hardest thing *I've* ever had to do. But it was worth it.

So yes, Readers, I'm excited to get home. I'm excited to step on America soil once more, to see my family, to celebrate the holidays. But I do mourn the ending of my study abroad experience here. It is a semester that I will *never* forget.

If any students or parents of a student are reading this right now and have hesitations about studying abroad - I know what you're going through. I was there once. I remember the panic I felt when it came to finances, paperwork, security, and all the other concerns that fly through your head when you or your son or daughter is thinking about taking this step. I was there once, but I took that step, I began that journey, and I hope I have been able to show you how it has changed me. And now I urge you... no... I dare you to take the same step I did. I promise you you won't regret it.

I'll be making one last post sometime next week to talk about what it's like being home after being abroad for so long (it'll be as much of a surprise for me to see what I'll write as it will be for you!), but if you have >any< questions at all about my experiences - please don't hesitate to email me at heather.ryder@mymail.champlain.edu. (Just please make sure you include in the Subject something that tells me you have questions about my abroad experience such as "Questions about Studying Abroad" etc. so it doesn't get tossed in my spam folder!)


Happy Holidays every one - and I hope to hear from some of you after (or before =) ) all the celebrations

~Heather~