I’ve been lucky to travel to a lot of places, but I’ve never been anywhere as stunning as the Burren. Everywhere we’ve gone has beautiful scenery in every direction, and in our short week here, we’ve gone all over the wild landscape of the Burren and learned about its rich historical and geological background. We’ve seen the remains of cairns, dolmans, ringforts, all made from the stone that makes the surrounding landscape so unique. History and beauty are all around us here.
Beyond everything I’m seeing and learning, I’m adapting well to this lifestyle which is very different from my normal one. Living in the rural countryside, about an hour’s drive from the nearest city or a half hour’s walk from the nearby village, there is no Uber or Doordash or Amazon Prime, just endless expanses of green fields and a weekly trip to the grocery store. Instead of staying inside working all day, I am going out into the fields and cliffs to take photos and go on hikes. Instead of designing on my laptop, I’m bringing my creative work out into the studio with painting and charcoal.
With entirely different routines and habits, I feel like there’s a whole separate Me that’s studying abroad from the Me that I left at home in Louisville, Kentucky. This is my idea of my Study Abroad Self: the version of me who can adopt lifestyle upheavals and habit changes easily, who wakes up early and plays her ukulele while watching the sunrise over the moonscape of the Burren. Someone who is brave and independent, and who fantasizes about moving here and adopting those changes forever, living a simpler life in the countryside. Someone who eats healthy, fresh food because takeout isn’t an option. It’s strange how a 48 hour flight journey can serve as a portal to a whole new world; a bit of jetlag can kick habits I’ve been stuck in for months.
It’s easy to dip my toes into the water of a new life, to imagine it in my head in a wistful, distant sense, but those daydreams aren’t productive. The reality is that at the end of my 5 weeks here, I will return home to Louisville to complete my degree remotely. And then, who knows what I’ll do. Part of my being here in my last summer as a student is trying to figure that out.
While I like feeling like a braver alter ego through my Ireland Study Abroad Self, it’s more important to be able to merge these new lessons about who I am and what I want my life to look like with the life I already have back home. It doesn’t have to be the extremes of uprooting my life and moving to Ireland or else slaving away in a cubicle for life–it can be melding the old with the new.
This is how you grow from studying abroad. When your Study Abroad Self merges with your Home Self, you can create and adapt to your new normal. Personally, I hope that this kick into motion after a long period of staying inside will be something I take with me back home. Feeling adventurous and brave for the first time in a while makes me want to be brave and adventurous even outside of Ireland.
I can’t wait to learn more about myself in the coming weeks here in Ballyvaughan.
