C'est la vie, Emily!: March 2016

Weekly Wonders

, by Emily Love

(Disclaimer: This post was drafted after a tough day when I was hitting a bit of a 2 months in slump... I grabbed some peanut butter from my stash and stopped feeling sorry for myself. It happens!)

As I've grown accustomed to Galway, it's become apparent that I fit in a little more now. I know my way around, and how to find something if I don't know where it is. I know the best local pizza places, good routes around campus and town, and I can use the local terminology without sounding too much like a tourist. People ask me for directions, instead of the other way around.

Throughout the various challenges of my first two months here, I haven't really felt the overwhelming homesickness one might expect for someone living in a new country for the first time. I've been busy with classes, making new friends, working backstage at the French society's play, adult-ing responsibilities, and of course, exploring Ireland as much as I can.

Thinking about home for a minute, I realized that I was missing what I didn't quite expect to miss when I left to study abroad. The little things from home, the things that make up my ordinary.

Anyone who's studied abroad knows the typical comments received before leaving; "I'd give anything to go back in time and study abroad!", "You're so lucky your degree allows you to do this!" "Have an amazing time, it'll be the best experience of your life!"

And, in many ways, it lives up to these statements. I'm meeting great people from around the country and around the world. I'm studying the division of a state within the actual country, and experiencing the 100th anniversary of a nation's fight for freedom. I walk past a beautiful cathedral on the way to class and town. Flights to most of continental Europe can be under 100 Euros round trip. These are experiences that really can't be replicated at home.

But.

I also want to drive my little Honda Civic wherever I want, rather than depending on a not-always-accurate, sparse on the weekends, bus schedule. I want to know the weather a few days in advance, and leave my apartment for a full day without the threat of rain. I want to shop at my favorite stores, my usual comfort foods, and as much fresh fruit as I can get my hands on. I miss seeing the little dancers while working at my old ballet school. Surprisingly, sometimes I even wish I had my usual coursework from home- frequent papers and professors' expectations that we participate in class discussions may be stressful, but it's what I know, what I've learned to expect, and I feel like I know what I'm doing- not always the case here.

Whenever I feel this longing for the little things, part of my mind is annoyed with myself. You get to spend five months living in Europe, explore a beautiful country, do a bit of traveling, and write fewer papers, and you complain because you're missing home a bit? All because you can't drive, see your dog whenever you want, eat Panera, and shop at J Crew Factory and Target? Really??? Really? Get over yourself, check your privilege for a second, I tell myself. Thousands of students jump at the chance to study abroad, and I'm lucky enough to have it built into my undergraduate degree.

But I remind myself; living in a new country is tough, but I'm supposed to feel like this- that's why my department sends us abroad to so many different places- to really jump into university life in a completely new place, without the security of our classmates from home. And when my semester is up, I'm sure I'll be both happy and sad- but also more prepared for wherever my career may take me!

So for now, I'm soaking up as much of this still new, crazy in the best way city, and reminding myself that it's okay to love this...