24 January 2011
16 January 2011
-28
I haven't updated in a while, so this is past due for those of you who have been following.
I've been home almost a month now, and I'm still adjusting.
My trip home started with sort of a jolt....I slept through the 4 alarms I had set and nearly missed our bus to the airport. Luckily one of my roommates called and woke me up, and Zach and Chris helped me finish packing and get my stuff out to the bus (talk about full circle! yes it was stressful, but I couldn't think of a better way to end it).
Once we got to the airport, things moved rather quickly. Before I knew it, we were all on the plane. Fortunately for me, I was sitting next to my good friend Corey; the second the plane took off, the two of us promptly started bawling (which was quickly followed by laughter).
Once we landed and collected our bags, the goodbyes--which were harder than I expected--began.
It was great to see my family; when we got back home my parents surprised me with my favorite Chinese food and some Smithwick's, one of my favorite. From there, though, the culture shock began. For one, I forgot where my parents kept dishes--I went straight to where we kept our dishes in Galway.
The next day, I went to a local diner with my mom and my grandma and was completely overwhelmed--the menu was too big, the people too loud, and the waitress too rude. And to top all that, they didn't serve a full Irish breakfast.
Over the past couple of weeks, things have gotten a lot better--I'm not completely overwhelmed by large crowds anymore (That in and of itself was weird since I'm definitely a city girl). However, every now and then I get homesick for Galway. For instance, I just tried to turn on the bathroom lights outside the bathroom itself, which is pretty standard in Ireland. And it's really upsetting, but I can't pinpoint why.
I was able to stop and see some of the Union kids from Galway on my way back up to school, which was fantastic. Even though it's been a few weeks, conversation flowed like we had never been separated.
One of my friends who studied abroad in Galway a few years ago recently told me that although "Galway withdrawal" gets better with time, it's never completely gone. The whole experience is starting to seem like a dream--one that you vaguely remember but leaves you with the most satisfying feeling.
So, that's all I've got for now.
I'll leave you with one of my favorite adverts from Ireland (one that admittedly confused the hell out of me until my flatmates explained it to me):
I've been home almost a month now, and I'm still adjusting.
My trip home started with sort of a jolt....I slept through the 4 alarms I had set and nearly missed our bus to the airport. Luckily one of my roommates called and woke me up, and Zach and Chris helped me finish packing and get my stuff out to the bus (talk about full circle! yes it was stressful, but I couldn't think of a better way to end it).
Once we got to the airport, things moved rather quickly. Before I knew it, we were all on the plane. Fortunately for me, I was sitting next to my good friend Corey; the second the plane took off, the two of us promptly started bawling (which was quickly followed by laughter).
Once we landed and collected our bags, the goodbyes--which were harder than I expected--began.
It was great to see my family; when we got back home my parents surprised me with my favorite Chinese food and some Smithwick's, one of my favorite. From there, though, the culture shock began. For one, I forgot where my parents kept dishes--I went straight to where we kept our dishes in Galway.
The next day, I went to a local diner with my mom and my grandma and was completely overwhelmed--the menu was too big, the people too loud, and the waitress too rude. And to top all that, they didn't serve a full Irish breakfast.
Over the past couple of weeks, things have gotten a lot better--I'm not completely overwhelmed by large crowds anymore (That in and of itself was weird since I'm definitely a city girl). However, every now and then I get homesick for Galway. For instance, I just tried to turn on the bathroom lights outside the bathroom itself, which is pretty standard in Ireland. And it's really upsetting, but I can't pinpoint why.
I was able to stop and see some of the Union kids from Galway on my way back up to school, which was fantastic. Even though it's been a few weeks, conversation flowed like we had never been separated.
One of my friends who studied abroad in Galway a few years ago recently told me that although "Galway withdrawal" gets better with time, it's never completely gone. The whole experience is starting to seem like a dream--one that you vaguely remember but leaves you with the most satisfying feeling.
So, that's all I've got for now.
I'll leave you with one of my favorite adverts from Ireland (one that admittedly confused the hell out of me until my flatmates explained it to me):
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