by Elaina Mohr
“Everything is green. How is everything so green?”. You’d think my first question posed abroad in Northern Ireland would be a little more… intelligent. But the beauty of a semester abroad is that you will ask small questions and big questions, some with answers, some without. The depth of your learning will be immense, and all because you asked why the grass is so green.
An exchange begins with a lot of prep work. If you’re not someone who thinks very far ahead like me, here’s my advice: start now! The hours of research and applications is all worth it in the end. I arrived in Northern Ireland a little frazzled and found myself on a university campus in the middle of cow fields, but you learn to make where-ever you are ‘home’. Not 10 minutes away sat the end of Northern Ireland. The Northern Irish coast never ceased to take my breath away. Rugged mountains with grassy tops met an endlessly brooding ocean which filled me with a childlike wonder every time I explored more.
The other international students became like my family. We were all in the same boat, discovering things for the first time. Each of us also had so much to offer from our own cultures and experiences. My friend from Greece taught me how to “relax” and sip my coffee slowly instead of chugging it in 10 minutes. My friend from Austria taught me how her world travels have showed her how to care for the environment. My flatmate from Tahiti taught me about abounding hospitality and attempted to teach me to dance.
Although my newfound “family” was wonderful, I could have lived in my international student bubble forever and never gotten to know any locals. My advice for future exchange students: get involved somehow! For me, it was joining the Christian Union on campus. I made some amazing friends who took me on adventures to their favourite spots, had me over to cook dinner, and convinced me to join the rugby team (I never made it on the field).
School, right, that exists too. It takes some time to learn a new set of expectations. The best decision I made was to be like a kid and ask every single question I had. My professors now come up as recommended contacts every time I write a new email, but I got my answers! Strike a balance between school and adventure, but in my opinion, *adults close your ears*, always err on the side of adventure.
Oh, of course! The most important part, the answer to my question! How is everything so green? The simple part: it rains all the time. Duh. But do you want to know what else I learned? The Irish know how to expect the unexpected. It might be raining when you wake up, sunny while you eat breakfast, and hailing when you step out the door. Farmers’ fields are planted expecting the unexpected. Trees push up towards the sunlight expecting the unexpected. Strangers look out for each other in case someone expects the expected. And a nation continues to strive for peace over deep divides, knowing there are unexpected times ahead. I didn’t think my time abroad would end so abruptly but I’m grateful, nonetheless. I know why the grass is so green.
Yours truly,
Elaina Wee Mohr