Getting ready to go abroad is all-consuming. What will my housing be like? Will I figure out the tram? How close will the store be to my housing? Is my family coming? What will they do? Will they miss me at home? How about work? Do I have everything squared away? And, so, leading up to the trip, I felt like I couldn't think about anything else.
While not quite as intense, getting ready to go home is also this weird "in-between" place. The class was almost done (and we got our grades in before we left -- yay!). I was putting stuff into the suitcase all week as I wore it. I felt like I'd seen all the things I wanted to, so my evenings felt a little slower and I got a book to read to pass the time. I started setting meetings and making plans for after I got home. I talked with some of the students and they said they felt like they were in this place where either we needed more stuff to really settle in for a long period of time, or it was about time to go home -- and I think that's a perfect way to describe it.
Thursday, July 9th had us taking a trip to Mental Health Ireland (https://www.mentalhealthireland.ie/) to learn about the past, present, and future of mental health policy in Ireland. Most of our students don't get a lot of training in mental health as undergraduates, so I think it was an important part of discussing overall health. And...I stopped for a donut at my favorite donut shop, "The Rolling Donut." (As an aside, what's really funny is I don't care much for donuts here, but something about these were just soooo much better!)
Friday, July 10th included exit interviews and our farewell dinner. Exit interviews are always insightful because we ask the students questions as if they were in a job interview and they have to use examples from their time in the course abroad. One last shout out to our colleagues from Big Pond (https://www.bigpondeducation.org/). Higher ed friends -- if you're looking for a customizable program abroad, I'd definitely encourage you to check them out!
The flights home were thankfully uneventful -- and I've spent the last couple of days doing laundry andc getting reacclimated.
Today is Monday and it was my first day back in the office. I shared the short version of my trip (It was HOT. Loved the seaside and the mountains and the countryside, but still not really a big city girl -- and we had lots of cool learning experiences, too!) many times today -- and thought how lucky am I that I get to learn in this unconventional way as part of my job. And, even luckier that I returned a job I love with a team I love -- it was a very happy Monday.
So, signing off for now -- happy travels and in a traditional Irish way:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
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