Kelly’s Experience in Galway, Ireland

Kelly Wilson

Kelly participated on the Arcadia: Galway, National University of Ireland Program during the Spring of 2015.

What concerns/fears did you have about studying abroad and how did you overcome them?

Before studying abroad, I was extremely concerned about finding people to travel with. I knew I wanted to travel while abroad, but I didn’t know anyone beforehand. To overcome this concern, I made it a point during my orientation (I had an orientation for 3 days with about 50 other kids in my program) to talk to as many people as I could. It paid off in the end because I became friends with a wide variety of people and then found a group of about 5 girls who I was really able to connect with. Over the course of the semester I became very close with these girls and they became my go-to travel friends.

What did you learn, or what experiences did you have while studying abroad that you feel you could not have learned/experienced if you had stayed at Penn State?

There are so many things that I learned abroad that I wouldn’t have learned staying at Penn State- It’s hard to put them all into words. I learned how to read maps and navigate cities that I was not familiar with and use the little vocabulary I did know of other languages to communicate with the people in different countries. I also learned how to keep an open mind to other cultures and other ways of life. Instead of thinking, “Oh, they do that wrong and they do this wrong.” now, I just embrace what other cultures do, learn from it, and just go with it.

I also learned how to think on my feet. While travelling to other countries, I learned that you can never rely on public transportation. I was often put in situations where my friends and I had to come up with a quick, realistic, solution of how to get from point A to point B.

What advice would you give to outbound study abroad students to help them make the most of their study abroad experiences?

I would tell outbound study abroad students to just embrace everything about the country/culture you are in and try to do what they do for a little bit! As the Irish would say, “Just do it for the craic!” (Craic, pronounced “Crack” means “fun” in Irish slang). I got to learn this phrase very well while I was in Ireland and even worked it into my daily speech! While I was abroad, I learned to just embrace the culture and everything about the country even down to driving on the other side of the road. I would encourage other study abroad students to do the same. You have nothing to lose!!

Also, don’t be afraid to befriend some natives of the country because they will greatly enhance your experience! I found that the Irish friends that I made gave me such a great insight to their culture and way of life that I never would have gained otherwise. In addition, they are definitely friends that I will have for life and I will take care of if they ever come to America and vice versa when I go back to Ireland.

Kelly Ireland 2
Shore of Galway, Ireland

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