New Perspectives
By Isabel Berckemeyer
One of the many reasons I decided to go abroad for the semester was to travel. I knew that for four months I would get to go on adventures every weekend and indulge in experiences I wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity for. In such a short time I have explored almost all of London, where I am currently living, and took weekend trips to visit Amsterdam, Germany, Budapest, and most recently Dublin.
Out of all these locations, I was least excited to visit Dublin. This past trip to Dublin began during the height of my exhaustion thus far and happened to be experiencing the worst cold I’ve developed. Feeling tired and unwell, traveling and experiencing all the stress it does on the body and mind, visiting Dublin was something I was not looking forward to. I had not done a lot of research on Dublin so I was unsure of what to expect and assumed it would just be another location to add to my running list.
However, Dublin shocked me in the best ways possible. We booked this trip at the beginning of the semester, so we had ambitious plans for the weekend that I didn’t remember until we arrived. When we arrived on Friday, we spent some time walking and shopping around
on the infamous Grafton Street. It was therapeutic to have a calm afternoon, listening to live music, walking through beautiful flower stands, smelling the amazing aromas from restaurants nearby, and browsing through my favorite retail stores. While there my friends and I did a Viking duck boat tour; between the ridiculous plastic viking hats we wore and the hilarious tour guide, I was experiencing stomach cramps from laughing so hard. For the remainder of the night, we popped into a local pub, ate amazing Italian food, and talked about how surprised we all were with how amazing Dublin was.
Saturday was the busiest yet best day of the entire trip. We started the
morning by finally reconnecting with nature. Living in the city of London has taught me how much I value the countryside and having access to nature in both my hometown and Villanova. It’s something that I have missed most, being able to drive an hour outside Dublin for an adventure was just what I needed. My friends and I spent four hours walking near Alpacas on a farm in the countryside. This experience was unreal. I truly felt like I was living out my
dreams being surrounded by hills of green; it was a scene taken directly from The Sound of
Music. Being with animals felt like being back in the U.S. with my dog and I enjoyed every second of it. Continuing to enjoy the pleasures of familiarity, we ended the night after a pub crawl with delicious hamburgers and more laughs.
This weekend taught me that sometimes the best moments in life come
when you least expect them. Being sick, traveling nonstop, and feeling exhausted in most cases do not make for a fun weekend however, Dublin was just what I needed. I learned that
reconnecting with nature, sharing laughs with friends, and sharing meals are sometimes all one needs. I look forward to more moments like these in the coming months and I am excited to continue growing my perspective on the world around me.
