Tell us about the people you have connected with in Northern Ireland.
I know this is supposed to be about an Irish person I met. It’s not said, but the prompt is pretty clear in its implication.
So, moving on then, something I would much rather talk about, as an American, is the beauty of the community of disparate Americans that we built at the Armagh Youth Hostel among my fellow writers in the IEI Media program. I haven’t really connected with any Irish people in my time here (except for that really intense connection with Martin Lynch where he said he would write a play about how we fell in love and he’s essentially 65-year-old me), but the people that I’ve shared the hostel with, despite earnestly knowing each other for all of twelve days, have coalesced into a loving community. Being separated from the things that usually define me: my family, my existing friends, my home, comforts at-large, has given me the chance to see what I value completely independent of the influencers of life.
This sounds really generic and embarrassingly schmaltzy, so I’ll illustrate with an example. There was one exception for me to the “completely unfamiliar” backdrop: Chloe McDaniel and I “knew” each other from school, in that we had a poetry class together in which we sat approximately three or so seats apart and didn’t talk to each other once. I knew her name and I knew her face when I saw the list of people that would be joining the trip, but that was about it. But, and this might be the most stupid thing I’ve ever said in my life, being compelled to exist in the same space as another person almost all the time changes things. Chloe’s a beautiful person, an absolute badass (although, to be fair, we all are, in our own special way), and a writer with more talent and creativity than my limited exposure to her gave credit. In short, my life would have been better had I really known her sooner.
So why do I push people away at home and embrace them here? Why do I refuse to talk to people I don’t know? Why do I compose such an intimidating, stand-offish body composition when I enter a new space? Because I clearly embrace discomfort and the unknown when all else is equal.
So, this self-indulgence has gone on quite a bit longer than I anticipated, so I’ll wrap it up in a grossly sentimental bow. I know the key feature of a study-abroad program is the immersion in a foreign culture and I’ve certainly loved experiencing Armagh, Northern Ireland at-large, and the conflicts and cultures of the Irish people. But, when all is said and done, I believe it’ll be the connections I made with the Americans I share the hostel with and my opportunity for introspection that will end up being the most valuable takeaways from this journey. Chloe, Kelsey, James, Katie, Allison, Savanna, Jonathan, Joan, Kimberley, and Terri will all hold a special, reserved place in my heart for the rest of my life, even if our disparate origins mean we’ll never see each other again after the 28th. It’s simultaneously the happiest and saddest element of our family. In its bitterness, it is perfect.
aw, that was beautiful – right back-atcha
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