人性之美:在爱尔兰交朋友

就在昨晚, 我开始看Netflix热播剧《宝博体育》(Queer Eye),” and neither you nor I have any idea as to why I waited so long to watch it. 基本上, the show revolves around five fab men who execute complete makeovers to help people become more fab versions of themselves. I guess that part of me was also hoping that their superhuman powers would somehow cure me from my catch of the common cold. 无论如何, 现在最重要的是我看了这场不可思议的演出, and from it I have taken away several important factors; however, what I thought about all day today is a subtly striking message from an episode’s ending reflective scene: that we are all the same 作为人类, 在那里，我们都在寻找爱和联系, 不管我们有什么不同.

移居爱尔兰, 我担心交朋友, because I realized that there would be at least some cultural barriers. I was also concerned that the students here would already have some pre-conceptualization of Americans, 不想和我们有任何瓜葛. 我很高兴地说，事实并非如此, 我在这里结识的一些最好的朋友是爱尔兰人. I also no longer feel a noticeable divide between our nationalities, and our different accents all form into this harmonious unison when we laugh together. 我现在更加意识到人类是多么的相似. 尽管我们有这些让我们独一无二的差异, we all desire to establish meaningful friendships and moments in our lives, 这正是我在戈尔韦发现的.

这是在都柏林诉. 一个月前的戈尔韦曲棍球比赛. 图为CEA的同学, 在这个群体中谁彼此成为了朋友, and have also made Irish friends of their own since our being here.

My CEA housing placement turned out to be one of the best things to happen to me. I don’t just mean how I am only a 20-minute walk from town and school, 而且离便宜的零售商店也很近, but the fact that all my housemates have truly helped me to feel at home. 也, 作为一个简短的旁注, 我觉得很有趣，我的室友, 塞布丽娜, 他住在离我只有一小时路程的纽约, 但我们第一次见面是在爱尔兰, and have since formed connections with each other and our Irish housemates. 我必须大声喊她一声, 还有劳伦, 德文和梅根, 是谁对我如此友好和欢迎. I 真的 don't know how I will feel when I have to leave these people and this building that has become my home behind. 

My housemates and I have inside jokes, and we lovingly do impressions of one another. 劳伦最像我了, 当她注意到过度使用“哦，我的天哪,“你们”和“哦。, 真的?“虽然他们都想让我学爱尔兰口音, 我还是做不到, 即使在这里住了整整两个月, 我不知道这是否会改变. 然而, they have collectively educated both 塞布丽娜 and me on the different accents in 爱尔兰, 这取决于你来自哪个国家, 以及如何说某些话——比如你好(dia几文钱)和再见(超人爱尔兰语. I have also learned that it is considered absolutely bonkers not to add milk to tea or hot chocolate, and that sheep 真的 do sometimes roam around in people’s backyards. “祝你早上好!在这里，这句话绝对不常见, 如果有的话, and there still exists some political tension from when the Republic of 爱尔兰 came to be. (I once made the mistake of placing the capital of 英格兰 in front of the county “Derry” from Northern 爱尔兰. 这是我不建议做的事.)最重要的是, I've learned that the people who you first befriend do not need to remain your lifelong friends. You should surround yourself with others who make you happy, and who bring out the best in you.

这是我走向当地一家名为"邓恩的商店,我和室友经常在那里买杂货.

塞布丽娜和我刚搬进来的时候, 只有我们两个人住了大约一个星期, 直到我们的爱尔兰室友度假回来. We had no idea what to expect, but now I wouldn’t have it any other way. 然而，我可以看出，虽然所有CEA学生都很兴奋, everyone also seemed at least slightly nervous to adapt to this new country. 我记得当我第一次见到这个小组的其他学生时, 哪个感觉就像昨天, and now it feels weird to think about life before touching down in 爱尔兰. I still remember our trip to Penneys to find a duvet cover for nine euros, and how stressed I was to have to choose between a tropical pattern and a dark floral one, 经历了大约30分钟的痛苦之后. I remember when I first started to form connections with other humans––from 爱尔兰, America and elsewhere––and how it now feels like I first met them in a previous lifetime.

This is my bed, where I lay my head, after having had fun days with my friends.

我意识到，一旦我习惯了新的环境, 有时我几乎忘记了其他地方的存在. 我仍然关注最新的重要新闻, 但在我看来, 作为人类, 我们有一种迷失于现状的倾向. 我目前住在爱尔兰, but it has stopped feeling like I am across the ocean from where I lived my first two decades of life, and that I am just in a new home and where I am currently meant to be in this life. 

I wrote in my application to study here that I want to find another home to return back to someday, 我可以由衷地说，我在戈尔韦找到了这一点. 我不知道五月来临时我将如何离开这里, but I do know that these friendships and memories will remain within me. My greatest advice to future international students is to be yourself, 同时也要对新环境保持开放的心态. Do not stress too much about fitting in, because you will find your people, while you find yourself. 也, 俗话说得好, 用所谓的“爱尔兰人的运气”,” some of the best humans that you meet may just end up being those who share a space––and not just memories––with you.

这是我窗外的景色. I will 真的 miss being able to take a break from my work to look outside and see 爱尔兰.