Student Bloggers

Here I am on the last day with the Spillanes. When choosing to use Arcadia as my program to study away, I discovered that I would get a weekend staying with an Irish family. I thought to myself that a weekend wasn’t much to get to know a family and it might be awkward to change up the routine I had become used to after a month in a new country! But how wrong I was…

The ride from Limerick to Cork was long and the 3^rd week of school had just finished but as soon as we drove into the meeting point my homestay partner and I were warmly welcomed by our host mother. We ended up talking the whole drive to our home for the weekend and found out that the family had been hosting international students for 15 years! That’s a lot of people to come into someone’s life.

I was in such awe coming to the house. Our stay was in a town called Carrigaline in the county of Cork. Even so, we were further into the countryside of the town. The house was so gorgeous and all around it were the most beautiful views of the countryside. Their backyard had numerous cows grazing and freely roaming wherever they pleased!

After a few minutes touring the home and dropping our bags in our rooms, our host mom had us sit in the dining room and brought out our dinner. Hot food! And I didn’t have to cook it which was so nice. Right as we started eating she offered us tea which I of course agreed to. That weekend I drank many cups of tea, I don’t think I ever refused an offer! I don’t know what it is about meals prepped by moms but they are always so much better. Even when she prepped my tea it tasted sweeter than when I made it myself!

We talked a little about where we were from and about the men’s hurling final rematch that would take place the next day. Our host mom was kind enough to offer us a ride into Carrigaline to catch the game at one of the pubs or to take the bus into Cork city. After dinner my homestay partner and I felt exhausted and headed into our bedrooms to settle down. I think every weekend that I have been in Ireland I have used to explore various parts of Ireland. Not a bad thing, but it was nice to feel at home and be able to take a quiet night in. I read one of my books and fell asleep quite peacefully.

The next day we got ready to head into Cork to watch the game. I gave my host family my gift from Washington (some Seahawks playing cards and a Washington state picture book). Our host mom dropped us off at the bus stop at Carrigaline and would come pick us up after the game ended. I was excited to meet up with some friends from Cork at one of the pubs they liked to go to. Though I was rooting for Tipperary and they lost to Kilkenny, I had a blast exploring the city and having time to watch a game, catching up with some great friends.

We got back to the house where another hot meal was waiting for us. I can’t express how much I appreciated that even for just one weekend, I had two-three nice meals a day! After dinner and tea we went into the living room to watch some television. I ended up talking for hours with my host mom about many things. I talked about my family, my friends, my career aspirations, music, concerts we’ve been too, where I’ve traveled and where I want to travel to. She talked about holidays in Ireland, her sisters, her sons, how her and my host dad met (coincidentally they met at the pub I went to watch the game earlier that day), the recession in the 80’s and witnessing the first fast food restaurants coming into Ireland around the same time. She told me the first fast food place to come in was a Pizzaland. She ordered a pizza with her friends but when it was brought out to them they had no idea how they were supposed to eat it! It was so interesting to hear how things were so different back then compared to how it was in America when I would listen to my parents talk about growing up. We went to bed after realizing it had gotten late and we were still talking!

The last day was nice and quiet. It was raining so we stayed in the house. My homestay partner and I talked with our host mom about pets, recommendations for places to see in Ireland and the series of Garth Brooks concerts that were supposed to happen in Dublin over the summer but were cancelled due to complaints from residents near the venue. I had no idea that Garth Brooks was so popular in Ireland, and I also didn’t know that Sinead O’Connor was still making music. I found out that Beagles aren’t pets in Ireland and they are only kept by hunters to hunt foxes. Our host mom found out several things you can make with pumpkins, to which I owe her recipes later!!

I finished up the time reading in the living room and having one last meal with the family before we had to be taken back to the meeting place so we could go to Limerick.

All in all, my expectations for the weekend were completely exceeded! In one weekend I felt at home with a family I had never met before. I enjoyed a break from cooking and learned more about growing up in Ireland from my host mom’s perspective.

To all those who will be going to experience a weekend homestay, my advice would be to embrace the new situation! They will be so polite and let you make your own decisions about how you want to go about your weekend. My host mom offered to drop us off at a pub after we had come back from Cork so we could “go out” but we declined. There are many weekends you can “go out” but there is one weekend you can stay in and get to know some of the sweetest people you will ever meet in your country! Offer to help out with any of the cleaning and accept the many offers for tea and coffee. Talk to your host parents, they are as interested in getting to know you as you are probably about them and they have great stories!! Overall, relax and enjoy a weekend home away from home.