Homesick - but not for too long

I recall when I interviewed with the District 6000 Rotary Scholarship Selection Committee in June 2010 and they asked me what I expected my greatest challenge would be, were I selected. I responded: culture shock and homesickness. Yes, I’ve lived abroad before, but I’ve never lived in Ireland, and missing your family isn’t something you just get over, it’s something you get used to, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. It’d be something I’d have to deal with and wouldn’t be easy, but I’d make it through and certainly still enjoy the overall experience.

So here I am a year later, interrupting my 3-part blog series this week on adapting to Ireland to admit that I had a severe bout of homesickness this weekend. It’s one of those things that hits when you least expect it, and hits hard, but it’s also part of the reason I’m so glad I’m here as a Rotary Scholar.

Before I came to Ireland, I worked for two years in the field of study abroad, working with US students as they prepared to study abroad outside of the US, and international students as they came to the US. We always told them that regardless of how much they love the experience, they’ll probably have some level of culture shock and homesickness, and when they do, to be sure to get out and do something and have fun, rather than calling home and staying in – you’ll adjust faster and be happier in the long run, even if it’s not the easiest to do in practice.

My friend Christen was amazing on Friday when my homesickness really hit. We left the library and went to dinner and just had a nice cozy night in hanging out and watching movies. Exactly what the doctor ordered. The next night, we went out to dinner with her father who was in town on business (admittedly, even though I was happy for her to have her father in town, I was a bit jealous wishing my dad’s company would send him to Dublin on business – though as a real estate investor, that seems unlikely now) and we all had a great time together as expected.

But today is why Rotary is so great. Matt, a member of the Dublin Central club that’s hosting me, had e-introduced me to his wife, whose mother was originally from Ogden, Iowa, and she had welcomed me and invited me over for dinner (gotta love the Iowa connections – my friends in DC often made fun of them, but we sick together!). On Friday as I sought ways to calm myself down, I asked if I might them up on that generous offer, and today Matt picked me up with his two boys, we drove around Howth, a scenic fishing village (that's me and Sean on the dock), took the boys to the playground, and then all had dinner together at their house. It wasn’t a big production by any means, but I am so grateful for their hospitality and that small act just made me feel so at home.

And this week, another Rotarian, Melanie, has offered to take me to Ikea to get a few things to make my place a little homier and more livable since carrying it all on the bus and Luas (tram) is a bit of a hassle. Again, it’s out of her way for a few hours, but is going to make my everyday life for the next year so much nicer and I’m so excited!

In a nutshell: Rotarians are pretty amazing, and I’m one lucky gal.