Forever a Galway Girl

Today is officially my last day in Ireland. It is such a bittersweet feeling. I am so excited to be going back home to my family, my friends, and my dog. But, I am also so sad to leave this beautiful place that has been my home for the last 4 months. So before I go I wanted to give you 10 pieces of advice about the magical land of the leprechauns.

1.      Galway is the best city on Earth. Yeah sure, I may be a bit biased just as everyone is who studies abroad in a different country; but out of every city I have visited in my travels around Europe, Galway is still number one. I feel safe here; I can walk down the street any part of the day and know that I won’t encounter any harm. I also won’t ever get lost on those walks because the city itself is so quaint and yet is the third largest in Ireland. Shop Street is so cute with its cobblestone road, little shops, and old Irish pubs. And of course, the people here are so incredibly nice.

2.      You aren’t going to see every castle in Ireland; there are hundreds of them. I can remember driving down the road with my parents when they came to visit and being out in the middle of farmlands and we drove by at least three ruins of castles. Along the motorway between Galway and Dublin, the M6, you pass by two of them just out in the middle of fields. They are everywhere! Of course the best ones to go to are the ones that have been restored such as Bunratty, Ross, and Blarney, but there’s something so hauntingly beautiful about the ruined castle towers also. It is incredible that these stone structures are still standing after hundreds of years and without any residents. They have stood the test of time and although you won’t see them all, you can’t come to Ireland and not see any!

3.      To shift is not to move side to side and crack is not an action but rather a thing; and not a negative thing. The Irish have their own lingo, sayings and expressions and some of it is so fun to say. To shift actually means to kiss someone and crack is actually spelled craic and loosely means fun. I don’t know where the term shift came from but craic is actually an Irish Gaelic word and they use it A LOT. “Where’s the craic?” “What’s the craic?” “Oh it was good craic.” Trust me, they’re just talking about having fun. College students don’t ask if you’re going to class, but rather “are you off to college?” And to say hello and thanks it’s “hiyya” and “thanks a million”.

4.      Saturday and Sunday are donut days at the market! Boychick’s donuts are the most delicious pieces of fluffy fried dough your taste buds will ever try. Every Saturday and Sunday by St. Nicholas’s church off Shop Street is the market. There are crafts, jewelry, fresh produce, sweets, and oh yes there are donuts. And Boychick looks like the typical Irish man with the white shirt under a button down, knee length pants with high socks and dress shoes, and the flat cap with a little pompom on top. He even has a gold tooth! He will talk to you while he makes your donut fresh right in front of you or he will hum a classic Irish tune. And best part of all the donut is only 80 cents! Great for a college budget! So go get your donut , walk down Shop Street and listen to all the street performers lining the cobblestone road.

5.      On the topic of food, you can’t go to Ireland without trying Garlic Cheese Fries. The Irish fast food chain is called Supermacs, but in my opinion if you really want some amazing garlic cheese fries at 3 am when the pubs close, you have to go to one of the many kebab houses around the city. These aren’t typical skewer kebabs though; these kebabs come in a pita pocket with cabbage. But anyways back to garlic cheese fries, they are a heart attack in a to-go container, but they are worth every single calorie. You get warm crunchy fries covered in a garlic sauce that is simply indescribable that is then layered in cheese that melts a bit over the top of it. Is your mouth salivating right now? Because mine is.

6.      The mumps are coming; the mumps are coming! Remember that disease that doesn’t exist anymore in America because we all get vaccinations? Well, there was an outbreak of it while I was in Galway and I was unfortunate enough to contract the illness as so many of my American friends did DESPITE the vaccinations. Well, or we all had some variation of it. Basically, I looked like a chipmunk. It was like getting my wisdom teeth out all over again; my jaw was swollen almost completely shut, I couldn’t eat anything because I just couldn’t chew, but other than that I felt totally fine! I woke up one morning looking like this and thank goodness some of my friends had already had this happen to them otherwise I would have most definitely freaked out. So along with all the positives of Galway I will throw in this one negative that will someday make a hysterical story.

7.      Time is not a real concept in Ireland. First of all, the Irish are always late; if you have a class that starts at 12:00 don’t expect your professor to show up until 12:05 at the earliest. And then, you will always be let out 10 minutes early; so when you freak out because you have class from 2:00 until 3:00 and then another one all the way across campus from 3:00 until 4:00 like I did, take a breath because not only will you have time to make it, you can make it to the bathroom and also grab yourself a cup of tea.

8.      Yes, I said tea. Coffee as we know it does not exist in all of Europe. There are lattes and cappuccinos everywhere but unless you see filtered coffee on the menu, don’t ask for it. They will try to give you an Americano which is espresso with water. It is NOT coffee. It tastes AWFUL, so don’t be confused. You will miss Dunkin Donuts I promise you, but hang in there; you’ll get used to the instant coffee that they sell in stores by the end of the semester.

9.      The Irish are the nicest people in the world. And I know I’m not biased on this one because I hear it from everyone. Maybe it’s the accent that makes them so charming and trustworthy, but whatever it is it works for them. Dubliners were my favorite because they are known to be witty and sarcastic and every Dubliner I met lived up to that. The bus drivers from Dublin were the best; not once did I ever get on a bus without the driver being a bit of a smart mouth and giving me a little bit of a hard time. I finally got so used to it that I could banter right back by the end of the semester. I’m smiling now just thinking of it. And those accents—you just never get sick of hearing it. I think out of everything in Ireland, the accent and the people are what I will miss the most

10.  The most important thing I learned in Galway had nothing to do with Ireland itself, but rather the experience of studying abroad. I learned how to be an individual. It sounds so cliché doesn’t it; like, of course I am an individual. But, being abroad was the first time I went on a plane by myself, it was the first time I had to cook for myself and go grocery shopping, I had to buy all the necessities like toilet paper and tooth paste that I’m so used to being provided by my parents, and I travelled to new places and even explored much of Galway by myself. I have always been a person who needs companionship or at least another person with me to go somewhere or do something. But, this semester taught me that doing things by myself isn’t the worst thing in the world; in fact, sometimes it’s better because even though I’m not sharing the experience with someone, I can run on my own time and schedule and not have to worry about anyone else besides myself. I learned a lot about myself while living in a different country. I hope to someday go back and have the chance to walk up and down Shop Street, to see the Long Walk and the Salthill Prom, and to once more taste those garlic cheese fries and Boychick’s donuts. I left a piece of my heart in that city and for that reason I will forever be a Galway Girl.