Arcadia Ireland

I have just left a meeting chaired by our Vice President Lorna Stern. All seventy-eight people from the College of Global Studies Community sat together around the virtual table to share stories, reflect on the week that has just passed and to be grateful for the happy moments even in the sadness of the premature ending of programmes around the world. In many ways this meeting reminded me of an Irish wake. In times of loss we are reminded about what we once had and what we have now lost. It created a place for people to tell their stories because telling a story brings people together and perhaps allows people to put words on thoughts that had been free flowing and muddled. We have an opportunity to think about what it means to have a sense of belonging and the healing that community brings.

Our Taoiseach (Prime Minister) said last night that “we are all in this together” and in that moment I feel that he brought hope to our nation.  In the Arcadia community we are also in this together, we are all thinking of you and of your parents. We are aware that for many of you this journey of study abroad began years ago at a kitchen table or maybe it was a lifetime goal to visit Ireland.  We know that you are grieving and we too are feeling a huge sense of loss. Our goal is to make each Semester and Academic Year a rewarding one for all. We hold farewell events to chat with you and to reflect on the Semester and to be without that this year brings sadness. No need to change that feeling right now but as I suggested last week, it could be good to think about all that you have achieved in your short time in Ireland. The things you have seen, the people you have met, the love that you may have found, the stone that you have kissed and the proper Irish tea that you have drank. Not everyone gets to do this.

As a way of bringing all of this together we would like to invite you to share your stories of Ireland, the highlights of your time here, your photos, your comments, your feelings, whatever you like! Perhaps you would like to send something on what it feels like to be back home. Around the time of our Farewell events at the end of next month, we would like to be able to show some of the highlights of the Semester. Please send these to me by email (handg@arcadia.edu). Carly is only with us for a short time longer but watch for an update from her on this. She may even entice you with an amazon voucher!!