After a busy 10 days in Belfast with all of the other scholars, Saturday was a bittersweet day was we all said our “see ya laters!” and went to our separate universities. Our last night together, the words “I can’t wait to come visit you guys in ___” were said a countless amount of times. Reflecting back on these last ten days, it’s crazy how people who were once just opponents that I knew from playing against them in college or even complete strangers could become a family just like that. There were no “goodbyes” said when we all went our separate ways because we are all already looking forward to meeting up with each other soon.
Kojak, my coach for the year, picked me and DJ up and brought us over to the little town of Carlow. The place I get to call “home” for the next ten months. You never really know how long it is going to take for a place to really feel like home. There’s new people, new places, new everything, but the minute we drove into Carlow, I instantly knew this was where I was supposed to be.
After we checked into our apartment, Kojak took DJ and I on a little drive around the town to show us different things such as the school and where to get our groceries… since I guess we have to actually do that now. He also mentioned that there is a little farmers market on Saturday mornings right outside our place, so you’ll probably be able to find me there almost every week! It’s a nice little town and everything I could possibly need is within a 10-minute walk.
Anyone who saw me walking around on Saturday had to of instantly knew I was new here and was settling in. Between carrying a bunch of bags that had pillows, blankets, and the basics in it, to walking in circles looking around because I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for. Thankfully you can’t get too lost in this town because if you could, I don’t know where I would have ended up!
But as Erol Ozan once said..
“Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.”
To see everything I want to see over these next ten months, I think I am going to be okay if i get a little lost.
