Arcadia Ireland

We are excited to hold our very first virtual farewell event this week. It marks the end of Semester for our Spring students and although we have had quite a few strange months, we are surviving. Usually staff are on the road during this time making their way to all of our programme locations for a long relaxing dinner filled with laughter and reflections on the semester. It therefore feels a little strange to be getting psyched up for this event but not moving outside the parameters of our living rooms or home offices!

Goodbyes are important though. They perhaps give us a chance to think about what has just happened and what lays ahead of us. They allow us to think about the connections that we may have made with others experiencing similar things. Many people describe their feelings immediately after saying goodbye and depending on the nature of the event there is often a strong sense of loss. On the other hand, there is also an opportunity to see this as a celebration of what we have been a part of as well as the contribution we may have made and the things that we have learned along the way.  

One of the things we cover in orientation is asking students about what their story of study abroad might look like in a few years from now as they sit inside a job interview. We encourage people to think about how they might articulate all of the things they have experienced or what they may have discovered about themselves in terms of strengths or even weaknesses.

 I’ve been thinking about how this story of Covid-19 will be narrated in years to come as we sit with our children or grandchildren or young relatives or friends. It might be difficult to put into words the pandemic that we are all in together now but each person’s story will be story will be very unique as we reflect on what we are all in together right now. The departure from Ireland was urgent back in March and unsurprisingly we’ve heard people talk about the things they didn’t get to do before their time ended in Ireland so abruptly. The cities they didn’t spend time in, the foods they didn’t try, the Ryanair flights they bought but didn’t travel on. All of these things, coupled with returning to a strange environment of eventual lockdown, will undoubtedly made people feel a  huge sense of loss.  We as a staff felt it too because one minute, we were fully present to the Semester and all the wonderful participants on our programmes along with our upcoming co-curricular events to exciting places. The next minute we were being sent to work from home indefinitely and within hours, those we had grown very fond of had booked their seats, packed their bags and cleared their rooms and departed on flights back to the States. I think my story will always include that day back in March when Ireland learned of the enormity of covid-19 and the new measures we would have to put in place to stay safe and stay well.

The University of Michigan have built a wonderful model on resiliency and they open their page on what it means to be just that – “Resiliency refers to the adaptability of individuals or groups of people after experiencing adverse events”. They continue to talk about the five factors shown to help foster resiliency; flexible thinking, self-awareness, connection, self-regulation and optimism. An interesting exercise over the next while might be to make a list of all of the things that you have had to overcome since beginning the journey of study abroad. This means thinking beyond right now and the things we may have missed out on. It means much more than that and is a chance for you to even think back to application stage, bringing yourself back to all of the obstacles you had to cross to get to where you are right now. I’ve said this a few times but I’m going to bring it up again - even in the short space of three months, people have done more than some will ever dream of doing! Students attended orientations, played Gaelic Games, got to know Dublin and other locations in Ireland, understood (or not) an Irish accent, registered for classes here, adapted to a completely new academic system, settled into a new accommodation, participated in our Ealu (Escape) Community weekend and lots more. Maybe you had forgotten about this? It is worth remembering the little and bigger things that you have done in Ireland and beyond as we say goodbye to Spring.  This is part of your story of study abroad and stories don’t always have to end on a perfect note. Sometimes the less than perfect endings can highlight strengths we didn’t even know we had within ourselves.