Submitted by Megan Garner on the 2016 fall semester study abroad program in London, England…
As I begin to travel outside of London, its becoming quite clear that one of two things is true: 1) I absolutely made the right decision choosing London for myself to study abroad to, or 2) the longer I spend in London, the more it has become my home. Probably, it is actually a mix of these two, but these facts became much more apparent to me during my visit to Ireland this weekend. Ireland was beautiful. It is definitely one of my favorite places I’ve visited; I would even consider making a return trip. Inspite of everything I loved about Ireland, its flaws continued to yell out to me far louder than anything else. Most of the food was just British food “passed of as Irish” in my mind, the public transport made me aching to be back on the Tube and the city just couldn’t manage to leave me with the “feeling” I find myself with in London.
Despite all of that, Ireland was as beautiful and amazing as I hoped it would be. We spent one day exploring Dublin and the second day we traveled by train outside of the city to a small beach town called Greystones. It was incredible to see the kind of jagged cliffs that form on the Irish seashore unlike anywhere I know in the United States and the large pebbles and stones that line the shore instead of sand. It was great to leave the busy hectic life of a city behind for a day. The best feeling though, that I’ve found that I’ve gotten every time we traveled, is the feeling of peace that washes over me on the Tube ride home from the airport. It’s as though I just immediately know: I’m back home.