After spending as much time as we have in Dublin, this past week I found myself falling into a routine. While at home when school starts a routine it’s something I welcome, here I was slightly disappointed when my amazing study abroad experience felt slightly less amazing. Waking up, going to work, coming home, and preparing for work the next day began to feel slightly monotonous and like I was living for the weekend- where I could finally get out and do something interesting. I caught myself feeling this way and thought to myself that I needed a bit of an attitude readjustment- not many people get the experience of coming to Ireland, let alone living and working there long enough to the point where things felt regular. For me the slight attitude adjustment from ugh why am I doing the same thing every day to an attitude of appreciation for the small differences in every day has helped me greatly.
While not everyday of this week has been thrilling I began to look for little bits of that amazing study abroad experience in everyday routine. Instead of packing lunch one day I grabbed lunch out with a coworker or fellow Pitt student (shout out to Jess and Boojum’s burrito bowls), I stopped in the cafe I passed by every morning walking into work and grabbed breakfast, I asked a coworker I hadn’t talked to that much what they were planning for the weekend. Little things that changed up the everyday routine of waking up, going to work, coming home from work, even though that was what I did that day in summary, made life a little more interesting and gave me back some of those “amazing” study abroad experiences again- even if it was just a burrito bowl for lunch, a croissant for breakfast, or a conversation with a new connection.
It’s hard to believe that in a sense I’ve gotten used to being in Ireland. Its one of the places I’ve always dreamed of traveling to and now that I’ve been here for this long I can’t imagine it any other way. Its been a mix of emotions from moments of homesickness, confusion, excitement, and so many other feelings I just can’t put into words. I’ve been saying this to almost anyone that asks if I miss home or remarks how time flew by- I miss my friends and family at home and can’t wait to see them but I’m not ready to leave. I wish I could take these two worlds and merge them together- and I’ll get a little taste next week when my family comes to visit! I can’t wait to show them absolutely everything.