Experience studying abroad Ireland

[Spanish_lady]

Last year, I studied abroad in Galway, Ireland. I lived there for 6 months and studied at the National University of Ireland Galway, and I can honestly say those 6 months are the best I've had in my entire life. I was able to travel around Europe fairly easily (than you Ryanair...) and saw things that I thought I would only ever see through Google images.

I feel in love with Ireland, the people, the culture, everything. I've gotten a few questions from those that knew I studied abroad, and wanted to open a topic for anyone that had questions. I'm by no means an expert, but I've had the experience of a college student abroad and might be able to help anyone who is interested in doing the same I did 

[TheWhite~Rose]

Maybe you can help me.  I'm seriously considering attending graduate school in either England or Ireland for medieval literature, but the truth is, I'm terrified of being alone in another country by myself, especially if it's going to be for a long time.  My question is, how do you cope with that?  What can make the experience less scary and more manageable?

[Spanish_lady]

Do you want to go for your entire graduate career or just for a semester or two? That makes a huge difference in my opinion.

Are you still in undergrad? If you are, sometimes they will offer exchange programs to other countries so you'll possibly be with a few others from you school. If you're not, I went with a study abroad program not affiliated with my college, but I was completely by myself. I was introduced to the others in the group, which was sometimes nice even though I didn't live near them.

If you're considering going all alone and without a program, don't worry! People in Ireland will surprise you with how nice and friendly they are. I coped with it by joining clubs and making friends with my roommates/their friends. After they found out I wasn't a native, they would invite me out for drinks or ask if I needed help I by nature am usually okay to wander off by myself, so with the friends I'd made from classes/clubs etc, I didn't have too hard of a time being in Ireland for 6 months alone.

Hmmm less scary...well to be honest for the first week or so I was terrified. Landing in London Heathrow airport for an 8 hour layover made me realize I was literally all alone across the world from home. But after a week or so you settle in and get comfortable in your new city. I had my teddy bear (yes, I promise I'm 21 years old...), and being able to skype home was a life saver sometimes.

The experience of being abroad and the fabulous things you get to see make up for the moments that you're scared or homesick. Instead of letting myself feel homesick, I would plan a trip somewhere (traveling is SO much less expensive in Europe) and would get excited to travel rather than focusing on wanting to be home.

Annddd I just realized how long my response was! Sorry about that! haha

[TheWhite~Rose]

Do you want to go for your entire graduate career or just for a semester or two? That makes a huge difference in my opinion.

That I'm still debating on.  I'm not entirely sure if I want to stay in Europe for the duration of graduate school, or just get my Masters first and then go to Europe for my PhD (or vice versa).

Are you still in undergrad? If you are, sometimes they will offer exchange programs to other countries so you'll possibly be with a few others from you school. If you're not, I went with a study abroad program not affiliated with my college, but I was completely by myself. I was introduced to the others in the group, which was sometimes nice even though I didn't live near them.

Currently yes, I am an undergrad, but I will graduating in December.  I don't plan on going to graduate school immediately following however because my finances are not in the greatest shape.  I'd like to get them under control before I start opening the books again.   So yes, chances are I will be going all by myself.  I understand that making friends helps a lot with the anxiety, but the truth is, I'm actually kind of terrified of speaking to people I'm not familiar with.  With that, you can imagine how being a new country would be terrifying for me.  However, I really don't want these fears to hold me back from what I want to do.  I'm delighted to hear how inviting the Irish are though.  I'm sure that helped a lot.

[Spanish_lady]

Haha I totally understand the fiances part! I'm about to graduate undergrad in a little less then a month and I will be paying back loans for a lonnnngggg time! As far as speaking with new people, people aren't kidding when they say the Irish love to talk! They'll tell you stories, and tell you about themselves until you felt comfortable talking back I would highly recommend having roommates while you're there. Mine were American, so we were able to "figure out" everything together since none of us really had a clue when we first got there!

Here is a link to the blog that I kept while I was abroad. The only entry that I haven't finished (a year later! geez I need to get on that...) is talking about how my sister and I went on a 2 week trip around Europe. We managed to go to about 10 countries in that time for only about $900.

http://ponderingsofireland.blogspot.com/

Are there any other questions that you have/any I didn't answer? Hopefully I've been at least some help!