A year ago, spending six weeks in Ireland would not have been on my radar. Coming from Michigan, I was nervous going to school nine hours from home. Though I was excited to meet new people and experience a different atmosphere on the East Coast, leaving the town I had lived in for my entire life was an adjustment. As a sophomore, receiving the opportunity to study abroad during the summer was one of the most rewarding and enriching experiences of my life. Villanova’s Office of Study Abroad, a magical office overflowing with opportunity in Garey Hall, is the secret tool to receiving a comprehensive and engaging Villanova education and experience.
Though I was adopted from South Korea as an infant, my family has strong Irish roots in County Cork. My father’s family fled during the early 20th century, as my great-grandfather was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) member and sought by the government. We have a few living relatives in Counties Mayo and Dublin. Ireland has always been a very large part of my family. My grandfather has been speaking of Ireland since I was old enough to remember. When I heard of the opportunity to study in Galway from a friend, I was instantly captivated. Dr. Cera Murtagh, a political science professor and an Irish native, led our program. Extremely friendly and encouraging, Murtagh was a great instrument in introducing us to the country and answering any questions we had.
The program began in Dublin, as we spent four nights exploring the city and its surrounding counties. We saw important sights, such as the National Gallery of Ireland, Kilmainham Gaol, Malahide Castle, the Long Room and Collins Barracks, as well as several exhibits, including Mother and Baby Homes and the Kingship and Sacrifice exhibition. Moreover, we spent plenty of time in nature. We visited Glendalough, a monastery, in County Wicklow and hiked to a beautiful lake. To finish off our orientation week, we traveled to Inis Mor, a remote island (part of the Aran Islands) off the central West Coast. This is an extremely simplified description, but, as a group, we bonded incredibly during this first week together. There were six students, which provided a great opportunity to create close friendships. Exploring a new country and immersing ourselves in Irish culture fostered an unmistakable connection which I truly do not believe I could have found elsewhere.
Upon enrolling at the National University of Ireland, Galway (known affectionately as NUIG), we were given the chance to decide which two courses we wanted to take, ranging from modern Irish history to a Villanova upper-level theology course. We had the chance to meet intelligent professors, some of whom were from the United States, others from various parts of Ireland, many of whom inspired me to minor in Irish Studies at Villanova. Outside of classes, we attended interdisciplinary seminars each week and went on field trips with our classes and assigned groups. The Cliffs of Moher, Clonmacnoise, the Ailwee Caves and Coole Park are just a few of the historical and scenic places we visited. We also received the chance to meet and befriend several other students from the United States and England who were studying abroad, creating friendships that lasted outside of the classroom.
But perhaps the most incredible experience was visiting my great-grandfather’s childhood home on the Beara peninsula, a rural point in County Cork. My father was able to visit me for a week. During that time, we traveled to find the family house. We had a surname, a general idea of where his house stood and an eircode (a code to pinpoint the area). After driving through the countryside for a few hours, we came across a collection of brightly colored buildings, surrounded by rolling hills on one side and the ocean on another. We drove around in circles, stopped in a local pub to ask for better directions and said a prayer to find his home. My aunt, who had traveled to the house before, was helping us. My dad sent a picture of a front yard, to which my aunt cried, “That’s the one.” We were greeted by a smiling elderly woman who lives in my great-grandfather’s house. The back window viewed the Atlantic Ocean, and her garden was full of flowers and hills with pastures and live animals. It was a sight I will never forget. It was so quiet, yet it spoke so many things. Without studying abroad in Galway, I could not have connected with my family in such an intrinsic and personal way.
I will forever be thankful for the opportunity that Villanova gave me to connect to the world and its people. I left the country unsure and unsteady and came back home a thousand times richer.
