Although I've complained about English food more than once since arriving at Newcastle, I do absolutely love Grainger Market, and wish I could transport it back to Baltimore with me. It is located just a short walk from my dorm, and I am able to purchase all of my fresh produce and meat from here each week. Not only is the food fresh and delicious, but it is also extremely cheap. I once bought two weeks worth of food for a mere 25 pounds, which is the equivalent of roughly $40 back home. This market caters to literally any mood I'm in. I know I can come here to search for vegetables, fruits, or meats, as well as sit down and enjoy a slice of "New York style" pizza or grab a coffee and pastry with a friend. It is amazing to have so much at your fingertips in one cohesive place for such a low price!
This place did sound pretty amazing from some of the journals. I wish we had more of these in Baltimore. Some cities in America are very good about these types of markets. We do have a few food markets in Baltimore, weekly ones, that are pretty popular.
As completely unrealistic as this is, I don't know how I will survive without some of my English friends at home. I have been secretly potting ways to take them back to the states with me when the semester is over.
We quickly established the obvious differences in our lives (growing up in two completely different countries). But we moved past all that after a few days and moved on to become great friends. My flat mates and I helped each other out tremendously in the adjusting process. I gave them advice on how to survive as first year students at university, while they directed me on how live in England and not stand out as an obvious American. As amazing as it would be for them to come visit me in the states once the semester ends (one of my flat mates and I are already planning her trip to New York next summer for the 4th of July) I can't imagine being anywhere with them besides England. So as much as I want them to come back to Loyola with me, I secretly want to just live in Newcastle with them forever!
This is really nice to hear, that already you have a good collection of people you want to stay with over there. The fact that one is planning to come over here to see you says a lot. The connections through traveling are endless, especially with today's technology.
What I would, and really hope to, bring back with me is less tangible than a specific food or person. I would love to bring back the adventurous feeling of living in another country, with so many other places at our fingertips. Every person we meet is a potential new best friend, and every weekend holds the possibility for an exploration of Cork, somewhere else in Ireland, or practically anywhere in Europe. With flights from Cork to other countries being as low as 12 Euros (the equivalent of about $15.00, we've joked that we could go to a different country for dinner each night. And the crazy thing is that this is actually a possibility for us for the next few months. I would love to bring back to Loyola the feeling that anything is possible, that every day is a new adventure to be capitalized on, and that every meal, museum, tourist attraction, trip to the grocery store, and just every moment is something to be savored and enjoyed.
Nice! Maybe you'll be able to see other areas of Baltimore (always an adventure) and even places in your own hometown, surrounding area, that you never had a chance to look at before.
There is nothing in this nation or on this earth that I’d like to have with me at all times more than hygge. It’s a Danish term that has no literal translation to English, but it’s a feeling that certainly has the ability to transcend national boundaries and oceans, and one that I believe should be a much greater part of the human experience worldwide. It kind of means “cozy,” but it’s so much more than that. While I can’t actually translate hygge (roughly pronounced “hyoo-guh”) for you, I’ll explain it (everyone’s take on hygge is slightly different, so here’s mine): it's the concept of that most delightful feeling that you get when it’s cold and windy outside and you’re in a warm, comfortable, well-decorated living room, surrounded by friends, family, any group of loved ones, all of you wearing sweaters, sitting with each other, drinking tea, coffee, wine, eating snacks, listening to music, chatting the evening away, the room illuminated by nothing but what seems like a hundred different little candles, all their scents filling the air in a harmony of fragrance—the long, cold, Copenhagen winter barely exists when you have hygge. We of course have scenes like the one described above at my house in New York, but there’s just something about the hygge in Copenhagen that is richer than anything I’ve experienced before. (I think the main difference is that the feeling in Denmark has a name. No bother, though, I’ll begin using the term as soon as I make my return to the States!) Denmark doesn’t really do Halloween, so I’ve decided that I’m not going to either this year. Of course, Thanksgiving isn’t a recognized holiday here either, so everyone’s been decking the halls since the lousy weather began to settle in. The whole city has started to take on a very hyggelig ambiance—I can’t wait to see how delightful it will be once we’ve officially entered the holiday season!
Seeing as I leave Bangkok in less than a week and come back to America in a matter of 12 days there are several things I would love to bring back with me. I would try to stow away some of my favorite Thai people on the airplane because they are the ones who have made my abroad experience so amazing. But if I could only bring one Thai person back it would be Tio, my rotti boy. He stands out on the street corner by the local bars every night making the most delicious fried dough dishes. For 50 cents I always go for the chocolate rotti, but sometimes I splurge and get peanut butter and banana. He's one of the most friendliest people I have met in Thailand. He knows I live in the area because I am constantly passing his stand and he always asks "Where you go? Beer?" He finds it hilarious when he sees how much beer the American kids consume each week. I remember one time I came home from dinner and decided to go get a rotti. Tio was out of chocolate and to make it up to me, he let me make my own rotti. I was the happiest girl in Bangkok that night. Of course, it did not compare to his, but it was still fried dough and that's all that matters. Tio's one of the several Thais around the Hua Mak area that I want to take back to the US with me. I've decided that seeing as I am coming home broke, a way to make money would be setting up a roadside van bar with cheap kabobs and rottis.
As much as I would like to show all my Argentine friends that the United States isn't all that it's cracked up to me, I'd much rather bring back the type of friendships I made here. They're different from at home in a way that's hard to describe. When originally I got placed in the residence with my roommate, Valentina, I was a bit nervous that we wouldn't get along. But I realized that here, friendship is based on a lot less than at home. It's just about being together in places, experiencing new things together. The majority of my friends here I may not get to see every day (or even every week), but the way we greet each other after time apart is as if nothing had passed. There is no need to constantly communicate through texting, Facebook, etc. It's just a simple friendship between two people, and I really admire that. It's like the friendship I have with my best friend at home, who moved to California when we were 15, and now goes to school in Oregon, but it's just nice to have that with most everyone you meet.
If I could, I would bring back Thalia, Reuffel, and generally every German bookstore in existence. It’s always been difficult and expensive for me to purchase German literature in the States -- not even Duden, the extremely popular so-you-thought-you-knew-German-well-think-again language series, is available. The only German texts that are generally accessible in the US are old historical and literary works found online at Projekt Gutenberg; anything else requires its own banking account to cover the cost of shipping. In Germany, you can order a much needed book to your local bookstore and it will not only be shipped free of cost, but arrive the following day! It makes getting lecture-assigned literature incredibly easy. Since bringing bookstores back with me would be quite ... impractical, I’ll just have to settle for a suitcase full of books.
Although there are so many things that I would love to bring home with me back from Thailand, the one thing that I am constantly wishing I had in America was the fruit stands that line every corner here in Asia. On most street corners, or at the beach, or the market, you can buy small bags of fruit for less than fifty cents USD. Watermelon, pineapple, papaya, honey dew, and even more native Thai fruit are only a few steps down the road and open throughout the entire day. The fruit is always fresh and because the people always see us passing along the street, they now wave to us and ask about our trips and practice their English with us. In America, even though fruit is accessible at the local grocery store, it comes in certain seasons and is not nearly as cheap, especially if it is organic. Because of the climate in Thailand, all of these amazing fruits are always in-season and they are always organic, which is a huge bonus. I will miss having this delicious fruit as a quick snack between classes or a healthy addition to any of my meals.
I would want to bring Ireland's beauty home with me. When I look outside my window, I can see the River Lee right across the street, and it never ceases to catch my attention. Although I'm living in a city, when I look at the river it feels like I'm in the Irish countryside. I wish I could take a little piece of the countryside and move it into my neighborhood at home, so that all I have to do is walk around around the corner to spend some time there. I also wish I could bring the English Market home with me because everything is so fresh and looks so lovely in that sort of markety atmosphere. Shopping there makes me feel like a real European person, and whenever I'm there I really feel like I'm abroad. I can't think of anyplace like it in America, and I prefer it so much more over supermarkets. I could wander through the stalls of the English Market for hours.
If I could bring anything home with me from Belgium... My first response would be the food. The stereotypical Belgian cuisine: waffles, Belgian fries, chocolates--all of it, is truly what they make it out to be--amazing. But most of all, I would say the Belgian beer. Seriously, Belgians take pride in their beer, and consider it more of an art than just a way to get drunk. Frankly, American beers do not stack up. I have have had the opportunity to taste/enjoy so many beers, and I have learned how to truly appreciate the drink. Aside from food and drink, the Belgian way of living is something I would like to bring back. Everyone has their problems, but the Belgians seem to maintain a light-hearted atmosphere that I appreciate very much. I love it.
I am responding to Andres' comment because I feel exactly the same way. There is something special about Belgian food that is entirely different from that of America. Sure it is fatty as well, but I feel as though everything they eat, or drink in the case of the beers is for the purpose of feeling good and rich. Fries are the go to food when you are out partying and you just need a little sustenance. There are entire restaurants dedicated just to friets and I find myself bonding with people there over the food and the seven sauces they eat on them. That being said. The chocolate and beer manage to warm your body. Not one is alike any of the others. Because Belgium takes such pride in their chocolate and beer, each different one is meant to be experienced. In America you drink a beer to have a good time with your friends, or maybe once in a while you can have a beer with a mind-blowing flavor. But here, I rarely will drink the same beer twice because there is so much to try and each one is absolutely incredible. Beer and chocolates alike, are trademarks of Belgium that I would love to, and will definitely be bringing back to the states with me. I can only hope the light-hearted feeling Andres is talking about comes with them. AND if it doesn't, luckily I have another 6 months ahead of me in Belgium!
I think I would have to bring back what I like to think of as my adoptive Irish family. Though I live in an apartment and not a home-stay, my dad's desire to become lifelong friends with everyone he meets somehow ended up getting me a contact in Cork - a contact who turned out to be the president of my school. Thinking that the president and his family would never contact me and being far too intimidated to contact them myself, I accepted the fact that it would be several months before I could enjoy a home-cooked meal. About a week after arriving, however, I got a call from Sioban, the president's wife, inviting me to what turned out to be a delicious dinner, where I met the family including their three wonderful kids- who were so eager to impress the new American girl that one got nervous and put salt in my tea instead of sugar. From my first visit to their home, the Murphys have taken me in, for reasons I will never understand, since I didn't even know them before coming. They have me over for dinner whenever I like, they offered their functioning washer and dryer to me (since mine just seem to make my clothes dirtier) and, most of all, Sioban got me a job. I work at the Gallery at Loyola and absolutely love it, and hope to someday work in either a gallery or museum. I would have settled for any job here that could bump my sad budget up even the tiniest bit, but Sioban not only got me a job at the gallery she manages, but allowed me to be the first student curator in the gallery's history. The Murphys have taken care of me in every way imaginable, even remembering to send me "Happy Thanksgiving!!" texts on Thursday morning because they knew I was upset about missing the holiday. I would be grateful for all this alone, but what really strikes me is that they have no obligation to me - the friend who got me in contact with them, also originally from Cork, is actually just a friend of a friend, and could have simply given me their contact for an emergency situation rather than making sure I had a family here in Cork. The Irish are well-known for their incredible hospitality and kindness, and the Murphys really are a true embodiment of that and, besides a metric ton of Cadbury, the one thing I wish I could bring home with me.
I really appreciated this post because my daughter, away in France this semester, loved her host mom, and, in turn, so did I. She has been so very good to my daughter and I have come to really appreciate what people do for those of you who travel abroad. I know it's not always a great situation, but many people open their homes to college students traveling from all over the world, and that kind of generosity can help you adjust to a very different situation.
And whether you lived with a family or had a family or a few people adopt you, keep an eye on you this semester, help you out at times, you know they were special people.
Having been home in America for almost three weeks now, I cannot help but become overwhelmed in thinking about New Zealand and what I miss about it. Had it been possible, I would have filled an entire airplane with people and things that I would like to have with me here. The invaluable memories that my five months in New Zealand gave me are ones I did not even imagine were possible before I got there. Though it pains me to pick just one thing above all that I would bring with me here, I would without a doubt pick Waiheke Island. I fell in love with this small island that sits just a short ferry ride away from bustling Auckland City, the minute I first saw its welcoming shore. My first visit to Waiheke was with my Loyola group of just eight students in early August. Though we still knew little about each other at that point, we spent hours on the glistening beaches hunting for sea stars and perfect shells (of which we found many)! We hiked nearly eight miles in one day to get the best views of the small islands breath-taking views. Just a few weeks later, we returned to Waiheke for a trip to a Maori Marae, where we indulged in Maori culture, food, and tradition. After just a short weekend at the Marae, we were a close knit group, bonded by deep life discussions and personal story sharing, encouraged by the openness of our Maori guides Bianca and Noa. Waiheke brought us all together in a way I don't think anywhere else would have, and thus gave me seven of the best friends I am thankful to have. Between the welcoming and relaxed vibe of the residents, and the seemingly limitless list of things to do in such a small, yet remarkable place, Waiheke Island made a mark on me that I will never forget and is somewhere I wish I could visit on a regular basis to detox from the stresses of school and life. Lucky for me I was able to smuggle some white Waiheke sand and perfect shells from Wiaheke's Oneroa Beach through U.S. Customs and now have a constant reminder of the place I adore so much.
I'm really liking this theme of relaxation, less stress; many of you feel more relaxed abroad than at school and I hope you can bring that back with you.
I have been back exactly one month now, and each day I miss Thailand more and more. I yearn to go back and live again in the culture and embrace the Thai lifestyle. I woke up every morning and was happy, and I am still searching for what that is.
Although I've complained about English food more than once since arriving at Newcastle, I do absolutely love Grainger Market, and wish I could transport it back to Baltimore with me. It is located just a short walk from my dorm, and I am able to purchase all of my fresh produce and meat from here each week. Not only is the food fresh and delicious, but it is also extremely cheap. I once bought two weeks worth of food for a mere 25 pounds, which is the equivalent of roughly $40 back home. This market caters to literally any mood I'm in. I know I can come here to search for vegetables, fruits, or meats, as well as sit down and enjoy a slice of "New York style" pizza or grab a coffee and pastry with a friend. It is amazing to have so much at your fingertips in one cohesive place for such a low price!
ReplyDeleteThis place did sound pretty amazing from some of the journals. I wish we had more of these in Baltimore. Some cities in America are very good about these types of markets. We do have a few food markets in Baltimore, weekly ones, that are pretty popular.
DeleteAs completely unrealistic as this is, I don't know how I will survive without some of my English friends at home. I have been secretly potting ways to take them back to the states with me when the semester is over.
ReplyDeleteWe quickly established the obvious differences in our lives (growing up in two completely different countries). But we moved past all that after a few days and moved on to become great friends. My flat mates and I helped each other out tremendously in the adjusting process. I gave them advice on how to survive as first year students at university, while they directed me on how live in England and not stand out as an obvious American.
As amazing as it would be for them to come visit me in the states once the semester ends (one of my flat mates and I are already planning her trip to New York next summer for the 4th of July) I can't imagine being anywhere with them besides England. So as much as I want them to come back to Loyola with me, I secretly want to just live in Newcastle with them forever!
This is especially nice to hear! and they are planning visits, too!
DeleteThis is really nice to hear, that already you have a good collection of people you want to stay with over there. The fact that one is planning to come over here to see you says a lot. The connections through traveling are endless, especially with today's technology.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would, and really hope to, bring back with me is less tangible than a specific food or person. I would love to bring back the adventurous feeling of living in another country, with so many other places at our fingertips. Every person we meet is a potential new best friend, and every weekend holds the possibility for an exploration of Cork, somewhere else in Ireland, or practically anywhere in Europe. With flights from Cork to other countries being as low as 12 Euros (the equivalent of about $15.00, we've joked that we could go to a different country for dinner each night. And the crazy thing is that this is actually a possibility for us for the next few months. I would love to bring back to Loyola the feeling that anything is possible, that every day is a new adventure to be capitalized on, and that every meal, museum, tourist attraction, trip to the grocery store, and just every moment is something to be savored and enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteNice! Maybe you'll be able to see other areas of Baltimore (always an adventure) and even places in your own hometown, surrounding area, that you never had a chance to look at before.
DeleteThere is nothing in this nation or on this earth that I’d like to have with me at all times more than hygge. It’s a Danish term that has no literal translation to English, but it’s a feeling that certainly has the ability to transcend national boundaries and oceans, and one that I believe should be a much greater part of the human experience worldwide.
ReplyDeleteIt kind of means “cozy,” but it’s so much more than that. While I can’t actually translate hygge (roughly pronounced “hyoo-guh”) for you, I’ll explain it (everyone’s take on hygge is slightly different, so here’s mine): it's the concept of that most delightful feeling that you get when it’s cold and windy outside and you’re in a warm, comfortable, well-decorated living room, surrounded by friends, family, any group of loved ones, all of you wearing sweaters, sitting with each other, drinking tea, coffee, wine, eating snacks, listening to music, chatting the evening away, the room illuminated by nothing but what seems like a hundred different little candles, all their scents filling the air in a harmony of fragrance—the long, cold, Copenhagen winter barely exists when you have hygge.
We of course have scenes like the one described above at my house in New York, but there’s just something about the hygge in Copenhagen that is richer than anything I’ve experienced before. (I think the main difference is that the feeling in Denmark has a name. No bother, though, I’ll begin using the term as soon as I make my return to the States!)
Denmark doesn’t really do Halloween, so I’ve decided that I’m not going to either this year. Of course, Thanksgiving isn’t a recognized holiday here either, so everyone’s been decking the halls since the lousy weather began to settle in. The whole city has started to take on a very hyggelig ambiance—I can’t wait to see how delightful it will be once we’ve officially entered the holiday season!
Is Christmas looking beautiful there? I hear it is a wonderful city for Christmas.
DeleteSeeing as I leave Bangkok in less than a week and come back to America in a matter of 12 days there are several things I would love to bring back with me. I would try to stow away some of my favorite Thai people on the airplane because they are the ones who have made my abroad experience so amazing. But if I could only bring one Thai person back it would be Tio, my rotti boy. He stands out on the street corner by the local bars every night making the most delicious fried dough dishes. For 50 cents I always go for the chocolate rotti, but sometimes I splurge and get peanut butter and banana. He's one of the most friendliest people I have met in Thailand. He knows I live in the area because I am constantly passing his stand and he always asks "Where you go? Beer?" He finds it hilarious when he sees how much beer the American kids consume each week. I remember one time I came home from dinner and decided to go get a rotti. Tio was out of chocolate and to make it up to me, he let me make my own rotti. I was the happiest girl in Bangkok that night. Of course, it did not compare to his, but it was still fried dough and that's all that matters. Tio's one of the several Thais around the Hua Mak area that I want to take back to the US with me. I've decided that seeing as I am coming home broke, a way to make money would be setting up a roadside van bar with cheap kabobs and rottis.
ReplyDeleteI would love to take back the prices and cost of living here, but as a tangible good, it would have to be rice. Sounds cliché, but rice is always welcome. One of our liaisons once joked that if we ate enough rice and noodles our "eyes would get slanty." All jokes aside, portion size here is quite small, but the addition of rice adds some extra weight in your stomach and subsides unwanted hunger. It also helps to avoid calling McDonalds delivery late at night.
ReplyDeleteIt would be ideal too if somehow people in America could become as friendly as Thais. It will be a huge wake up when I go into a store and am not greeted with a huge smile and bow.
also by rice, i mean the ability to have a lot of rice at every meal.
DeleteAs much as I would like to show all my Argentine friends that the United States isn't all that it's cracked up to me, I'd much rather bring back the type of friendships I made here. They're different from at home in a way that's hard to describe. When originally I got placed in the residence with my roommate, Valentina, I was a bit nervous that we wouldn't get along. But I realized that here, friendship is based on a lot less than at home. It's just about being together in places, experiencing new things together. The majority of my friends here I may not get to see every day (or even every week), but the way we greet each other after time apart is as if nothing had passed. There is no need to constantly communicate through texting, Facebook, etc. It's just a simple friendship between two people, and I really admire that. It's like the friendship I have with my best friend at home, who moved to California when we were 15, and now goes to school in Oregon, but it's just nice to have that with most everyone you meet.
ReplyDeleteIf I could, I would bring back Thalia, Reuffel, and generally every German bookstore in existence. It’s always been difficult and expensive for me to purchase German literature in the States -- not even Duden, the extremely popular so-you-thought-you-knew-German-well-think-again language series, is available. The only German texts that are generally accessible in the US are old historical and literary works found online at Projekt Gutenberg; anything else requires its own banking account to cover the cost of shipping. In Germany, you can order a much needed book to your local bookstore and it will not only be shipped free of cost, but arrive the following day! It makes getting lecture-assigned literature incredibly easy. Since bringing bookstores back with me would be quite ... impractical, I’ll just have to settle for a suitcase full of books.
ReplyDeleteI wish you cold bring them back, too. I love bookstores. But we do have a few cool independent ones in Baltimore that are still going strong.
DeleteAlthough there are so many things that I would love to bring home with me back from Thailand, the one thing that I am constantly wishing I had in America was the fruit stands that line every corner here in Asia. On most street corners, or at the beach, or the market, you can buy small bags of fruit for less than fifty cents USD. Watermelon, pineapple, papaya, honey dew, and even more native Thai fruit are only a few steps down the road and open throughout the entire day. The fruit is always fresh and because the people always see us passing along the street, they now wave to us and ask about our trips and practice their English with us. In America, even though fruit is accessible at the local grocery store, it comes in certain seasons and is not nearly as cheap, especially if it is organic. Because of the climate in Thailand, all of these amazing fruits are always in-season and they are always organic, which is a huge bonus. I will miss having this delicious fruit as a quick snack between classes or a healthy addition to any of my meals.
ReplyDeleteI would want to bring Ireland's beauty home with me. When I look outside my window, I can see the River Lee right across the street, and it never ceases to catch my attention. Although I'm living in a city, when I look at the river it feels like I'm in the Irish countryside. I wish I could take a little piece of the countryside and move it into my neighborhood at home, so that all I have to do is walk around around the corner to spend some time there. I also wish I could bring the English Market home with me because everything is so fresh and looks so lovely in that sort of markety atmosphere. Shopping there makes me feel like a real European person, and whenever I'm there I really feel like I'm abroad. I can't think of anyplace like it in America, and I prefer it so much more over supermarkets. I could wander through the stalls of the English Market for hours.
ReplyDeleteIf I could bring anything home with me from Belgium... My first response would be the food. The stereotypical Belgian cuisine: waffles, Belgian fries, chocolates--all of it, is truly what they make it out to be--amazing. But most of all, I would say the Belgian beer. Seriously, Belgians take pride in their beer, and consider it more of an art than just a way to get drunk. Frankly, American beers do not stack up. I have have had the opportunity to taste/enjoy so many beers, and I have learned how to truly appreciate the drink. Aside from food and drink, the Belgian way of living is something I would like to bring back. Everyone has their problems, but the Belgians seem to maintain a light-hearted atmosphere that I appreciate very much. I love it.
ReplyDeleteI am responding to Andres' comment because I feel exactly the same way. There is something special about Belgian food that is entirely different from that of America. Sure it is fatty as well, but I feel as though everything they eat, or drink in the case of the beers is for the purpose of feeling good and rich. Fries are the go to food when you are out partying and you just need a little sustenance. There are entire restaurants dedicated just to friets and I find myself bonding with people there over the food and the seven sauces they eat on them. That being said. The chocolate and beer manage to warm your body. Not one is alike any of the others. Because Belgium takes such pride in their chocolate and beer, each different one is meant to be experienced. In America you drink a beer to have a good time with your friends, or maybe once in a while you can have a beer with a mind-blowing flavor. But here, I rarely will drink the same beer twice because there is so much to try and each one is absolutely incredible. Beer and chocolates alike, are trademarks of Belgium that I would love to, and will definitely be bringing back to the states with me. I can only hope the light-hearted feeling Andres is talking about comes with them. AND if it doesn't, luckily I have another 6 months ahead of me in Belgium!
DeleteNice, so glad you are both able to enjoy good quality beer and chocolate there!
DeleteI think I would have to bring back what I like to think of as my adoptive Irish family. Though I live in an apartment and not a home-stay, my dad's desire to become lifelong friends with everyone he meets somehow ended up getting me a contact in Cork - a contact who turned out to be the president of my school. Thinking that the president and his family would never contact me and being far too intimidated to contact them myself, I accepted the fact that it would be several months before I could enjoy a home-cooked meal. About a week after arriving, however, I got a call from Sioban, the president's wife, inviting me to what turned out to be a delicious dinner, where I met the family including their three wonderful kids- who were so eager to impress the new American girl that one got nervous and put salt in my tea instead of sugar. From my first visit to their home, the Murphys have taken me in, for reasons I will never understand, since I didn't even know them before coming. They have me over for dinner whenever I like, they offered their functioning washer and dryer to me (since mine just seem to make my clothes dirtier) and, most of all, Sioban got me a job. I work at the Gallery at Loyola and absolutely love it, and hope to someday work in either a gallery or museum. I would have settled for any job here that could bump my sad budget up even the tiniest bit, but Sioban not only got me a job at the gallery she manages, but allowed me to be the first student curator in the gallery's history. The Murphys have taken care of me in every way imaginable, even remembering to send me "Happy Thanksgiving!!" texts on Thursday morning because they knew I was upset about missing the holiday. I would be grateful for all this alone, but what really strikes me is that they have no obligation to me - the friend who got me in contact with them, also originally from Cork, is actually just a friend of a friend, and could have simply given me their contact for an emergency situation rather than making sure I had a family here in Cork. The Irish are well-known for their incredible hospitality and kindness, and the Murphys really are a true embodiment of that and, besides a metric ton of Cadbury, the one thing I wish I could bring home with me.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated this post because my daughter, away in France this semester, loved her host mom, and, in turn, so did I. She has been so very good to my daughter and I have come to really appreciate what people do for those of you who travel abroad. I know it's not always a great situation, but many people open their homes to college students traveling from all over the world, and that kind of generosity can help you adjust to a very different situation.
DeleteAnd whether you lived with a family or had a family or a few people adopt you, keep an eye on you this semester, help you out at times, you know they were special people.
Having been home in America for almost three weeks now, I cannot help but become overwhelmed in thinking about New Zealand and what I miss about it. Had it been possible, I would have filled an entire airplane with people and things that I would like to have with me here. The invaluable memories that my five months in New Zealand gave me are ones I did not even imagine were possible before I got there. Though it pains me to pick just one thing above all that I would bring with me here, I would without a doubt pick Waiheke Island.
ReplyDeleteI fell in love with this small island that sits just a short ferry ride away from bustling Auckland City, the minute I first saw its welcoming shore. My first visit to Waiheke was with my Loyola group of just eight students in early August. Though we still knew little about each other at that point, we spent hours on the glistening beaches hunting for sea stars and perfect shells (of which we found many)! We hiked nearly eight miles in one day to get the best views of the small islands breath-taking views. Just a few weeks later, we returned to Waiheke for a trip to a Maori Marae, where we indulged in Maori culture, food, and tradition.
After just a short weekend at the Marae, we were a close knit group, bonded by deep life discussions and personal story sharing, encouraged by the openness of our Maori guides Bianca and Noa. Waiheke brought us all together in a way I don't think anywhere else would have, and thus gave me seven of the best friends I am thankful to have. Between the welcoming and relaxed vibe of the residents, and the seemingly limitless list of things to do in such a small, yet remarkable place, Waiheke Island made a mark on me that I will never forget and is somewhere I wish I could visit on a regular basis to detox from the stresses of school and life. Lucky for me I was able to smuggle some white Waiheke sand and perfect shells from Wiaheke's Oneroa Beach through U.S. Customs and now have a constant reminder of the place I adore so much.
I'm really liking this theme of relaxation, less stress; many of you feel more relaxed abroad than at school and I hope you can bring that back with you.
ReplyDeleteI have been back exactly one month now, and each day I miss Thailand more and more. I yearn to go back and live again in the culture and embrace the Thai lifestyle. I woke up every morning and was happy, and I am still searching for what that is.
ReplyDeleteI hope you can spread some of that feeling around campus when you return in January!
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