Now that I have been back in the United States for a month I have had more than enough time to reflect on my experience in Cairo as well as readjust back to life in upstate New York. Coming back felt a little weird at first, like I was not gone for too long and everything, for the most part, was the same. Meanwhile I was on a roller-coaster ride, like a weird dream I was caught in limbo. One of the hardest parts about being back is answering the question, ” How was Cairo?” and so far I have been unable to answer that in a few sentences while retaining someone’s attention. It was like a crazy academic learning intensive vacation, but the type of learning where you gain something new through doing, through trial and error. Where you figure out that in order to get your taxi driver to take you home for not an extremely crazy price, just attempt to talk in Arabic; by learning so much about Middle Eastern politics, religion and ethnicity it seems like this information was somehow absorbed into my mind by osmosis rather than actually acquired through academic means. It was more than I would have learned in any classroom.
Another crazy thing about being back is coming from a city filled with 20 million people to town of less than 8000. However, growing up in upstate New York my whole life it has been nice to be back in quiet old New Paltz. This is part of the mixed blessing of being home, you miss so much but yet you are so happy to be back. There are some things you miss more than anything and yet there are some things you are so happy that are gone. I also think that it is a scenario where the grass is greener on the other side. I have come to realize that traveling is addictive, as soon as I settled down all I wanted to do is get up and go anywhere, as long as it was abroad, go and explore, see what there was beyond New York. As of now I am here in New Paltz and back in school for the semester which I am happy about. We will see what happens in the future and hopefully someday I will be able to go back to Egypt and see how much the country has (possibly) advanced and changed in the time I was gone.
Leaving Limerick after almost 4 months, was hard to do. I am very happy with my decision to stay for another semester. I don’t think my time in Ireland was enough and there is still so much I want to see and do.
I can’t wait to go back in a few weeks and reunite with all my friends. I am truly blessed to have met the people I met in Ireland and to form such close friendships so fast. Even though I knew I was coming back it was hard to leave them.
I am excited to travel to new places in Ireland, like West Clare and Dungraven, next semester. WE also plan on traveling to Rome and Poland, along with visiting London once again. I am really looking forward to this next semester.
It has been a little weird being back in America. I get strange looks from my friends when I say ‘grand’ or refer to something as ‘class’, and there is also the whole difference of ‘rubbish’ and ‘garbage’. But it’s not just the phrases and slang that are different. Being away I notice little changes a lot more. And although my friends don’t really see how they have changed over these month, I do. I shouldn’t expect things to be exactly the same but it’s strange for me to be back and have everything be a little different. I notice changes in myself as well.
I’m going to miss my friends, family, and the luxury of having my food made for me when I go back to UL but I am beyond excited. I have my whole life to live in America, and to spend with y loved ones, so I am going to cherish every moment I have with my friends in Ireland because who knows if I’ll ever get to see them again after next semester.
I like being home, but I love being in Ireland, and ever since I have been home I have only longed to go back.