I awoke on the 22nd of August with a mix of excitement and nerves as the day of the commencement lunch had finally arrived. Later that day I would be saying goodbye to my parents, family members, and friends and boarding a plane to Northern Ireland with a lot of uncertainty. I had never traveled out of the country or lived more than an hour away from home and was now going across the Atlantic to live in Northern Ireland for a year.
This huge change has been such a great experience so far though and I have enjoyed every second of it. The people of Ireland and Northern Ireland have been so friendly and welcoming to all of us. Although they speak the same language the slang is totally different and it’s been fun learning all the new terms such as “what’s the craic”. Another big relief for me was the fact that Belfast has a burrito chain because I love Chipotle. The chain is called Boojum and is extremely popular in Northern Ireland. It’s no Chipotle but it definitely surpassed my expectations and held its own with the other Mexican places we have in the United States.
Last but not least we had our first eHoops session and have had a lot of basketball the past week. After doing about a week of orientation it was great to get started on the eHoops program and meet all the young adults we will be working with for the rest of the year. Kristen and I also got to watch two of our roomates Luke and Matt play their first game for Ulster University. It was great to see them in action and I am really looking forward to meeting the golf team at Ulster.
