So, confession time: I am not an AMRS kid.
More importantly, though, I am personally acquainted with the mascot, and maybe ye of AMRS bent will get something out of the gibbering of an English/Anthropology/Sociology student abroad in Ireland.
They told us at Orientation that culture shock is a W curve. When you get here, you’re delighted with yourself and your surroundings. This honeymoon period is followed by rapid disintegration, which gradually gets better through “reintegration” until you reach “autonomy” in your new surroundings. That’s the first “U” of the W. Then you get to do it all over again when you get home. Luckily the closest thing I had to disintegration was a nasty bout of jet lag, which didn’t take long to kick.
Cork is a beautiful city, and very safe as long as you’re not on the street when the bars close. It is still a city. You get the occasional puke on the sidewalk or, as I witnessed recently, a fellow retrieving his stash from behind the shrubbery on the corner. But the groceries are close by, which makes a difference when you carry them by hand (do not take two for one deals on sacks of potatoes). I am fascinated by the nearby River Lee, which is pretty polluted but still attracts all kinds of birds, fish, and even the occasional seal.
The Irish academic calendar is very different from ours at OWU, so the true semester did not begin until late September. For American students, they offer 4 week Early Start programs in music, history, economics, folklore, literature, and archaeology. For the biased record, Archaeology is the best. A working knowledge of the last 10,000 years of Irish history is a good background for just about everything you encounter here, from Blarney tower house to the tombs of the Bru na Boinne. We got to see some of the most important and impressive monuments in all Ireland, and a few off the beaten path (the farmers didn’t mind). It’s nice to have travel, meals and hostels all arranged by someone else, in addition to having your own very knowledgeable tour guide. The only disadvantage is he has this nasty habit of quizzing us on our lecture notes as we stand before the object of interest, almost as though we’re supposed to apply what we’ve learned. The nerve.
I have been traveling outside of class as well: weekend trips to Killarney National Park, the Dingle Peninsula, Mangerton Mountain, West Cork, and Cape Clear Island. Traveling is never cheap unless you go with a group from the University, but it is made easier by a decent long-distance bus system and youth hostels. Cooking at the hostel is cheaper than eating out. Expect to do a lot of walking, but often the places of interest are scattered over a broad area and it is better to rent a bike or pay for a driving tour. Those early Christian monks didn’t build their beehive huts in town where they would be convenient for 21st century tourists, darn their hides.
It’s hard to believe how quickly the time goes by. I love being here, but I do miss my friends, my family, and watching movies without waiting for them to load. Enjoy that for me.
