Final days in Galway

Welp this is the end of my study abroad experience! Only 3 more days left in Galway, Ireland. The past 5 months flew by so fast I can’t even explain it!  One semester is simply not enough time.  As I look back on the past 5 months I can honestly say that I have no regrets and I feel like I really lived it up every single day. I was able to make it to 5 countries and 10 cities throughout my time here, which was the perfect amount of traveling I wanted to do.  At the end of each trip I couldn’t wait to get back to Galway. I just missed the relaxing small environment of Galway and learned that I would not like to live in a big city.

 Everyone I met here has been so nice to all of us.  I will definitely miss the Irish people the most. I even asked one of my Irish friends one time if the government secretly pays everyone to be so nice…he gave me a weird stare and simply said…no! Hahah we have our favorite pubs and got to know all the bartenders so it will really be sad to go!  The other night for my friend Meaghan’s birthday the one pub we always go to hung up American flags, decorated the place, and get us a huge free bottle of champagne! How kind!

Another thing I will miss is the Irish lifestyle. Since being here I have really learned to relax and to be patient. Life is just too short to not live it up and just have the “craic”.  Everyone here lives simply which is completely different from the USA where I feel like it is always a competition to be the biggest and best. My friends and I always discuss how living in Ireland for life would be stress free and laid back.  Then when we think about America home life seems so chaotic!

I also couldn’t have asked for a better group of friends to share this experience with.  We were all unique in our own ways which made our group of friends work out well.  It is hard going into a study abroad experience with knowing not one person but I highly recommend everyone to do it that way.  I have come out of this with friends from all over the US that I know for sure will be lifelong friends. We already planned for my one friend in Iowa to come visit us east coast girls during Christmas break!

My friends and I once discussed why we all choose Galway, Ireland and everyone went around saying they been here before, they did research or every single one of them have Irish heritage.  When it got to me I have no idea why I picked Galway.  I’m not even Irish! This is so unlike me but I did no research on this city at all before I choose Galway or even before I came.  In the end I fell in love with this town and will for sure be back sometime soon!

So all in all if I could relive these past 5 months over again I would in a heartbeat…and probably do it a million more times!