Arcadia Ireland

The spring semester at the University of Limerick recently ended so that meant that it was time for one of us from the Dublin Center to take the train journey from Dublin to Limerick to meet with our students and I was delighted that it was me! All ten students streamed in as a group promptly at 6pm ready for a delicious three course meal at The Castletroy Park Hotel. They informed me that they had not eaten much all day in preparation and were looking forward to a nice meal, as it was the remaining days of the semester they certainly weren’t used to eating out in hotel restaurants! For being in the midst of revision, study and exams they were all cheerful and chatty.

I was curious to know what they experienced, whether it lived up to their expectations and how they were feeling about their imminent return home. I heard about one of their experiences of being invited to their Irish friend’s family home in Kerry - the true testament of being immersed in Irish life! I heard stories from their travels to numerous European countries - one student ticking off eleven! I had to ask whether love was found, with romantic notions of a transatlantic relationship, but with giggles and eyes shifting between two of the students around the table I realized that it took two American students to come to Ireland to find each other. I hoped that they lived close by back in the States so that their relationship which originated in Ireland could continue, and they said that they live ‘close-ish’, oh just about an eight hour drive apart! Apparently that’s not long distance in American terms. I discovered another love story has started in Limerick but will continue to Colorado as a summer trip to the US is planned by the boy from Clare so that he can meet his American girl again. It was amusing to hear them laugh about the subtle but obvious differences - how the Irish say the word ‘three’ and how we pronounce ‘r’ within a word, Irish guys and their obsession with Hollister and A&F- that’s so high school apparently! They commented on how the exams at UL are very formal and strict - it is not like a test in the classroom that they are used to, it’s a different environment which they had to adjust to. And on top of that, exams are worth a major percentage of the overall grade. Professors seemed almost surprised if they went to talk to them after class and asked questions and this often turned into a thirty minute chat with them having to answer the Professor’s questions about America and how they ended up in Limerick!

Living on campus at UL sounded fun with the noisy cows in the field beside Cappavilla becoming part of your daily wake up call! Oh I mean ‘Cappa’ - not Cappavilla, because that’s what it’s referred to as by the students! Hearing that they were on first name basis with Professors, the Accommodation Office staff, the bouncer at the Stables Club, the DJ at Friday International night (he really needs a new playlist though!), made me realize that a study abroad student at UL seems to become part of the community and experiences a true sense of being just a student at UL, not a study abroad student. When I asked ‘Will you return to Ireland in the future?’ it was an immediate and resounding ‘YES!’. I think that says it all.

The last time I had a meal with this group of students it was the very start of the adventure for them, at orientation, when they were jet lagged and overwhelmed, now they were telling me their stories, laughing (a lot), wondering how they will go back to using dollars instead of Euro and Fahrenheit instead of Celsius! It was a pleasure to enjoy dinner with these students, a two and a half hour dinner, which seemed to pass quickly as the conversation was fun and full of laughter. It is exciting to see students at the end of their study abroad semester as they contemplate what is next and although their time in Ireland has come to an end it is really only the beginning of their adventure.