When I arrived back on campus this year, it felt crazier and weirder than usual because I hadn’t been here since last December. I, like many of my Colgate peers, decided to do a semester abroad, and I have to say that it was the best experience of my life.
I always knew that I wanted to study abroad because my dad did a year abroad when he was in college, and so did a few of my cousins. The idea of taking classes and exploring an entirely new culture seemed like a no-brainer, especially knowing I would be in my early 20s, the prime age for adventures like this. When it came time to pick a program during sophomore year, I had two conditions: I wanted to go somewhere English-speaking so I could take classes at a real, non-international university, and I wanted to go somewhere that not many other Colgate students were going. So, after much research, I settled on University College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland!
I was so excited to go and meet new people – my main goal for the semester. The first week was purely for orientation which both my approved program and UCD ran. I had enough time to acclimate to the school and city before classes started, which was really important for making friends and setting myself up for success.
On the third day of orientation, we had the “scarving ceremony” where UCD faculty welcomed all of us international students into the school. Before it started, I was chatting with the two girls who happened to be sitting in front of me. Their names were Elida and Katelyn, they went to big state schools in the Midwest, and, little did I know, they were going to be my best friends. We chatted about where we were from and activities going on, and they mentioned that they were going to go to the Irish football game that was happening later, which I was also planning to go to. We exchanged numbers, and I went to the game with them and their roommates, where we ended up meeting the group of people that would become our UCD friend group. Even though I ended up living with a few girls from Colgate, I took a risk that night and went out to the bars with these people I had just met a few hours prior, and the rest is history.
My classes were fairly light but interesting. I took a modern art history class, which ended up being my favorite because I saw the paintings that we discussed when I went to museums in the European cities I visited. I also took a class that consisted of two, day-long field trips to monasteries in Ireland. We got to learn so much about the landscape of the country and visit places in Ireland that I definitely wouldn’t have been able to visit otherwise. It was definitely a shock being in big, 100+ person lectures, but I’m glad I got to learn alongside Irish students and fully immerse myself in a different academic environment. I also had no class on Mondays and Fridays, which proved essential for my weekend travel.
While I loved getting to explore and know Dublin, a big part of my experience was getting to travel to other countries in Europe, because they were so close and the flights were cheap. I ended up visiting 11 countries, more than I could’ve ever imagined. Scotland was my first weekend trip with Elida and Katelyn, and some of our guy friends. It was a short flight from Dublin, but so fun to explore a new country with friends with whom I got so close on the trip! My next trip was to Madrid, Spain, to visit my camp friend who was studying there, and the tapas and completely different culture were my favorite parts. I went to Switzerland to visit my Colgate friend Amanda, and we went to Interlaken, which I’ll always remember for its magical views and “gingerbread” like houses. For the first half of spring break, Katelyn and I embarked on a 6-day trip that we dubbed the “PP Trip” because we went to Paris, France, and Portugal (3 days each). We ate the fluffiest pastries and saw the most stunning art in Paris, and I’ll never forget our wine and cheese sunset picnic by the Eiffel Tower. In Portugal, we had many a Pastel de Nata (Portuguese egg custard), and our sailboat ride on the water in Lisbon was a dream. At the end of spring break, Elida, Katelyn, and I went to Amsterdam, which surprised me with its gorgeous canals and beautiful tulips. Our 5-day trip to Rome was arguably my favorite weekend trip (if I had to choose one), because it was just perfect. We had the most delectable pizza, pasta, and, of course, Aperol Spritzes and saw the most gorgeous sights. We ventured to Florence and Vatican City for day trips and loved getting to know more and more about Italian culture and history. My camp friend and I met up again to do a trip to Vienna, where we had the best food and saw regal palaces, and Mallorca, Spain, where we relaxed by the ocean and enjoyed warm weather. My last trip was a day trip to London with Katelyn and Elida, where we took a 30 Euro flight (round-trip!) and saw Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, and more with just our purses.
I also cherish my travels within Ireland with hikes in coastal Howth and Bray, jumping off the Forty Foot in Dun Laoghaire, kissing the Blarney Stone, and having a solo day in Galway. I loved my weekends in Dublin, taking the 39A downtown and having Bambino’s Pizza picnics in St. Stephen’s Green. I feel like I really got to know Irish pub culture, slang, and history, and the country now feels like a second home.
Leaving in May was hard. I had made so many friends, memories, and got really used to hopping on a plane and having fun every weekend. But I feel so extremely lucky to have had the semester to grow and “find myself” (yes, I think this cliché is extremely true), taking risks and building connections along the way. I came back to Colgate a better version of myself and with much more appreciation for the beauty of the world we live in. If you’re reading this and deciding whether or not to go abroad, I recommend taking the jump because you truly never know what good is out there in the world waiting for you.
So much grá (love) for the people I met and places I went!