If I could count the amount of lessons learned, tears that have been had and growth that has been made in the last 21 days, 14 hours and now 11 minutes I’m afraid I would need 2 extra sets of hands and feet. I have already learned so much about myself and a lot about my new environment.
I was beginning to become an expert at traveling by myself. I had gone into the city three times as well as a few other local villages on my own. No matter what my initial plan is I always seemed to end up at a coffee shop. There is something about the sweet smell of coffee (and wifi) that offers so much comfort. At first it felt odd to be surrounded by so many people for so long with out saying a word, but eventually I got used to it.
My third trip into the city I learned probably the biggest lesson I will learn here- always, I repeat ALWAYS travel with an umbrella. I had decided to explore the University of Cork and take a look at some of the local lap swimming pools. About half way through my adventure I experienced a down pour of rain that I didn’t even know existed. To quote Forrest Gump there was “Little bitty stingin’ rain, and big ol’ fat rain, rain that flew in sideways, and sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath” (in all honesty I have never related to Forrest Gump more in my life). As I was venturing through the torrential down pour I couldn’t help but laugh at myself and how entirely obvious it must have been that I was not from Ireland. I thought about turning around many times but to be completely honest I was hoping there would be a light at the end of the tunnel (literally and figuratively). I would find the perfect pool where there would be a swim team or water polo team for me to join and I would make life long friends and it would all be worth it (a little far fetched… but one can hope). After walking 6 miles in the pouring rain and not even slightly dressed in appropriate rain gear I had finally reached my destination. As I walked up to the front desk full of hope and soaking wet clothes, I was greeted with a “no we don’t have anything like that”. Apparently the woman at the desk missed the whole “all Irish people are incredibly friendly” memo. As I came to accept my fate of the unsuccessful rain trek, I asked if they happened to sell umbrellas (at that moment, with my dripping wet clothes and complete rejection all pride was out the window). Spoiler alert: pools do not sell umbrellas but the wonderful woman did tell me to “run fast” back to the city centre… Yeah.. Won’t miss her. As I cleaned myself up in the bathroom, wringing out my clothes and crouching underneath the hand dryer I was overcome with laughter again. If I learned anything that day it was that I was a very resilient person. As the rain let up I wandered into another coffee shop to treat myself to a much needed brownie and latte. What a day it was… And it was only Wednesday.
Wednesdays also commence the weekly Au Pair meetings at a local pub in my village which I had known about from my host family. There is also a Facebook page for all Au Pairs in town (which provides all the info needed for the weekly meetings). I had been living in my new home for about a week and a half and I was more than ready to start making friends. As I walked to the pub I was scared out of my witts. I never felt more vulnerable in my life, the concept of walking up to a group of completely new people, all from different countries and trying to make new friends terrified me. Not to add I had no idea what they looked like or anything about them, I was going into this completely blind. I am also a professional at the “what if” game. Some of my favorites included- What if I can’t recognize them? What if they hate americans? (totally valid in my opinion and our newly elected president does not help) What if they actually don’t meet up weekly and I just walk in looking like an idiot? What if they meet somewhere else and I don’t know about it? and finally the most detrimental in my opinion, what if they don’t like me? I attempted to the quiet those thoughts by phone calls (more like pep talks) with my mom, sister and dad who all politely reassured me “Molly they will like you” or “Molly you’re a nice person” or my personal favorite “so what if they don’t like you, you will probably never see them again”. As I walked into the pub and took a look around me one of my biggest fears came to light- I did not see one person who even remotely resembled an Au Pair. So naturally my first instinct was to act like I knew exactly what I was doing and walk straight up to the bar. Despite the fact all I could think was “alright, yep, its happening, here is my worst nightmare, yep no friends for you”. I ordered a pint of Murphy’s because I had seen ads for it everywhere and sat down, with a bright red face and a whole lot of confusion. As my ridiculous and unnecessary pride vanished I finally gained the courage to ask the bartender if he knew whether Au Pairs met at the pub. Now this man, he definitely got the memo of “Irish people being incredibly friendly” and told me that the Au Pairs used to meet there but now they meet at a pub that is about 4 doors down. Ahhhh what a relief. So I wasn’t crazy, and my worst nightmare was not happening… but I also happened to just have ordered an incredibly strong pint of beer. So, I challenged my inner college student and I began to chug (while also trying to look casual.. but lets face it nothing about a abnormally tall, freckled, confused american chugging a pint of Murphy’s in a pub on a Wednesday looks casual). Mid chug the bartender walked back over and said “also, I reckon they meet around 8:30 or 9” (which was about a half hour from the current time). God bless that man… he knew at the rate I was going I would have never even seen the next pub. So again with great relief I set my half finished pint down and thanked my lucky stars for such a friendly man. The next half hour seemed to fly by (most likely a result of the chugging incident). By that time I was all ready to go, the liquid courage had set in plus a good luck wink from the bartender. By the time I reached the next pub I was a seasoned veteran and walked straight up to the bartender and asked where the Au Pairs met. He walked me through a couple of doors and led me to my first set of friends in Ireland. I am already incredibly thankful to have met them and for all the adventures we have had already. I learned a lot about myself that day, including that even if you believe your worst nightmare is happening there is a good chance you will get through it and to never underestimate the power of a pint of Murphy’s and a friendly wink from a bartender… Oh and to probably stop playing the “what if” game.
My adventure continues but not with out the random spells of homesickness, the deep craving for a California Burrito and never ending fear of the future.
The Luck of the Irish 