My name is Jenna Merony and I went on a study abroad trip this summer to Ireland. I decided to take this trip going into my third year at MSU because I felt the most prepared. The program was called “Literary studies in Dublin,” and covered Irish literature, film, and plays. Being a Professional Writing and English major, I fit right in. All the books, plays, and films we read and watched were so fascinating. We got to meet four Irish authors, two poets, and two novelists. They were all so sweet, kind, funny, and gave great advice to those of us who would like to write books in the future.
Even though the program was named “Literary studies in Dublin,” we actually got to travel around much of Ireland. We started off in Galway, which is in west Ireland, and stayed a week there, taking some classes and exploring the town. I learned more about Galway and how it is a small city known more for the hills and greenery than the shops and buildings. Near Galway was the Cliffs of Moher, which I also got to visit. They were so beautiful and probably my favorite part about our stay in Galway. Galway was also the place known for the Claddagh ring and its story, so of course I got myself one! The crown means loyalty, the heart means love, and the hands mean friendship. If you are in a relationship you wear the ring with the heart facing you because your heart connects with the ring heart, but if you are single you wear the heart away from you.
From Galway, we headed north and went to Sligo for a day. While we were there we got to see the Lissadell house which is historic and known for its occupants, the Gorebooths, particularly Constance and Eva. Then we took a tour of Yeats country, which was my favorite part about Sligo, because of all the beautiful sights we were able to see and all the poetry we got to learn about. The tour covered mostly about W.B Yeats but also mentioned some of his family who were also very creative.
After the tour, we went east to Belfast for a few days. We got to take classes at Queen’s University. The building was so gorgeous, I was honored to take classes there.
There I got to meet our first author, Medbh McGuckian. She is a fascinating poet who found most of her inspiration in women’s history. A few days and a few classes later we were off to our final destination — Dublin! We stayed there for three weeks. My favorite part in Dublin was the Irish Film Institute, where we went every Wednesday to watch an Irish film. It was so cool listening to the dialogue with an Irish accent rather than American. My favorite movie was called Michael Collins and was about the Irish revolution. It had great actors in it and was a true story about a soldier who did everything he could to get Ireland its independence. In the final week of our stay a few girls and I got together and went to see Riverdance, which is an Irish entertainment group who focus most of their performing on Irish step dance. Those dancers can move their feet so fast, it was a blast to watch!
Those movies and seeing Riverdance was just one way of learning/seeing the culture in Ireland, while being able to walk around and experience all the places myself was another way. The community in Ireland was very nice, the people, the places, just everything. I didn’t have a bad experience once, especially with my dietary issues and having to ask the waiters questions about the food. They were always so kind to help and make sure I didn’t eat something that would upset my stomach.
It was also very interesting to learn about the culture there. The music was probably one of the biggest differences. For instance, there were always extremely talented street performers. In one class we got to learn about the history of Irish music and all the different instruments, the main three being the whistle, the pipes, and the fiddle (violin). I loved hearing all the different types of instruments and music there is with them being played together or on their own.
One challenge I had when adapting to the new environment was probably the tipping, at some restaurants they would take tips but then at other places they didn’t, and in America, tips are always welcome so I had to get used to that. Another change was streets. They were so small, so riding in a bus as it drove down what looked like a one-way street but then multiple cars coming at you in the opposite direction took getting used to and took a lot to not freak out every time I thought we were going to crash.
Besides those worries, I had a great time and would say my favorite part about the five weeks were the fun trips we got to take on the weekends. A couple of the girls on the trip and Itook a weekend trip to Cork, Ireland (in the south) to hit all points on the compass and I wanted to compare how Cork would be from all the other places we went to. Cork was a combination of Dublin and Galway, a small city like Galway but with a couple more buildings than greenery like Dublin. On the last day a few of us took the D.A.R.T. to smaller towns outside of Dublin to see more of the mountains and the coast. Being able to be independent and make our own trips was great and gave me a lot of confidence.
My confidence and independence grew a lot after this trip. Being able to take charge and do what I wanted to do, go where I wanted to go, allowed me to find myself and become more of a leader which I think in the long run helps be to become a better Citizen Scholar. Being able to believe in myself and take charge helps me to come into my junior year ready to take on what is next and challenge myself to be a part of more around my community and share what I have learned and what I am passionate about. If you are ever debating about studying abroad, I say go for it. Save up, apply for scholarships, and enjoy the trip of your life! I guarantee you will not regret it!