If I could pass along any piece of advice to future study abroad students, it would be this: your experience is going to tire you out, don't let that be an excuse not to go do things!
I don't regret a single piece of my experience but there are things that I didn't end up getting to see because I decided I was too tired from my 10 hour school days. Even if you are tired, go see things and do things because as soon as you get out there, you'll get a burst of energy.
Do all the things you can, even if it sounds dumb:
Europe has AMAZING churches. Some people don't want to go look at them because they're not religious and they feel no connection to them and that makes sense. But the architecture and the history behind these places, aside from any of the religion, is absolutely worth it. Go see the churches.
Lots of people think those bus tours are really cheesy, but let me tell you, they were some of the best exploring I got to do. The tickets to all of the attractions we went to were included in the price of the bus tour so it was actually way cheaper to do the tour than buy tickets to all of these places and a bus to get there. The drivers were SO knowledgeable and I got way more out of listening to their stories than I did from any attraction brochures, and they were more fun to listen to than reading a brochure as well.
I for sure want to go back to Ireland one day and explore more, as well as seeing more of Europe. I wouldn't want to work in Ireland just because the theatre scene is so small but I would love to possibly work in London one day. Being abroad, I realized how much of a homebody I am and also realized that I don't think I could work abroad for too long away from my family.
I learned a lot of techniques that I am super excited to use in my work at Western and I also really hope to further that education via classes after graduation and workshops - I've already signed up for a "next step" audition, something I had never thought of pre-Ireland, and I'm really looking forward to see where this all takes me. I've also been looking at a few paid internships, both for Summer and Fall of 2019.
It's really difficult to put into words what this experience meant to me. I honestly never thought I was going to be able to study abroad, for many reasons, and actually being able to accomplish this was huge for me. It feels like such a whirlwind and I'm still kind of processing the whole adventure. Being back in school will be really good for me to be back in a routine and process a little more, since I had such a heavy routine in Ireland.
All in all, I fell in love with Ireland. The schooling experience was wonderful and the people I met there were even better. I got to explore Europe and learn new things about many different cultures, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
If any students are debating studying abroad, I would say just do it. Even if the schooling isn't exactly what you thought it would be, or it's more difficult than you thought to understand the language, the experience is the thing that you get the most out of. You learn so many things from the people you meet and the culture surrounding you, it's worth ten times in memories what you're paying for it in money.
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