Goodbyes are much harder than they seem

So, I am horrid at writing this blog.  But in fairness it is probably because I'm always out having a great time and cannot bother myself with sitting down and writing/trying to be funny/etc... I know probably one person will read this, but I guess this is more for me than anyone.

Today I said goodbye to my life in Dublin.  I said goodbye to the city that has been my home for 4 months and the country that has stolen my heart in such a short time. And it was the absolute hardest thing I've ever done.  Now for those of you that don't know, I'm traveling over Christmas.  Scotland was my first destination, and I arrived dizzy from lack of sleep at 8 am this morning.  I am then going to Amsterdam and Berlin (for newyears).  Ashley, you are the luckiest girl alive you might think to yourself.  And I will never argue with that.  I pretty much am the most fortunate girl in the world to have this experience, but at this point I'm not even excited. Sad, but very true.

I had the most amazing 4 months of my entire life in Dublin.  I met THE most amazing people, and was fortunate enough not only to find a group that I had so much fun with, but to find some life-long friends who I feel like I have known since secondary school.  Now, for those of you who haven't gone abroad and are so confused by my absolute dramatic behaviour, I would be confused as well if I were you.  When I came to Ireland I thought I would have a great time, I thought I would live and learn and laugh a lot.  But I never in my life thought I would meet such amazing people and become so close to them in such a short time.  And it was one of the hardest things I've ever done saying goodbye to them.  Now for those of you (if anyone is reading this) who shared this experience in Ireland with me, I have something to say to you.  To the people who have been there for me when I was stressing out about exams, when I was in a country with absolutely no one and you reached out your hand to me, to the people that watched out for me, who made sure I was always ok getting home and after traveling.  To my FAMILY in Dublin-I love you more than anything in the world.  I can honestly say I am the luckiest girl alive and it has been my honor to know you, and my life is not the same without you in it.  It is because of my friends that I have had an amazing experience abroad, and I would not give it up for anything.

Saying that, you can probably imagine why I want to jump out of the window right now.  Saying goodbye to home is hard, but you know you're coming back and you will still see your dad making something (and usually swearing because he's broken something) in the garage, your dog barking at absolutely nothing, and your cat will be there when you get back. But this is different.  I know I will see these people again, but it will NEVER be the same.  I will never be able to call one of them just to get coffee, and I will never wake up in the morning and know I am close to them all.  We will probably never be in the same place at the same time.  THAT is what hurts the most.  Knowing that literally makes my heart ache.

On the last days I had in Dublin, I spent as much time with these people as possible.  I cooked with them, had breakfast, lunch, and dinner with them, and we had about 7 goodbyes.  It was always a joke that didn't know what we were going to do when we left--"Yup, we're going to break down." we always used to say.  Well, it's not funny anymore, it's just true.  I broke down when I left.  And have continued to do so since I arrived.

This blog is depressing and cheesey and I will probably regret writing it in a months time, but at this point I do not care. I miss my friends.  I miss my city.  And I want to go back right now.

Unreal

So...I'm officially awful at 'blogging'.  I have been here for over 5 weeks now, and I have successfully written a grand total of 0 things about my wonderful, amazing experiences I've been having.  But in all fairness, I was just all too busy having these wonderful, amazing experiences to be bothered to write this damned blog.  So for the (probably only one) person who reads this (Hey Beck, you're awesome) I apologize for my inability to blog. 

Now, I obviously cannot summarize the events of 5 weeks into one short (I'm inbetween classes, so I can't take TOO long) story, but I'll do my best to recap the major events.

To start, I absolutely love it here.  Ireland is beautiful, and everything I thought it was going to be (and more).  I have met absolutely amazing people, had some of the best times of my life, and saw the most beautiful sites.  I have two amazing (although severely messy) Irish roommates named Joey and Eamonn.  They are lovely, and I wouldn't trade them for anything.  I have met loads of people as well, and we even have a little group forming of international students.  The group consists of me being pretty much the only American, a million German and Austrians, as well as some Sweedish, French, and Australians.  These are the best people you will ever meet in your life.  We have the best times together, and I can't believe how lucky I am to have met them.  I also have a group of Irish friends I am starting to hang around with as well, and I am loving all the Irish slang vocabulary they're teaching me--I will most definitely post a blog just on Irish slang because it's quite humorous. 

I've been to Galway, Wickalow and the Wickalow mountains, Glendalow, Howth, and I am voyaging to Cork this weekend.  Every single day is an adventure, and every day is exciting and new.  I absolutely love it, and I honestly cannot believe how lucky I am to be in this situation.

Now, the title of this blog is 'unreal', and you're (again, hey Becky) probably wondering why I chose that.  After a complex thought process that took all of 30 seconds, I chose this title because there are multiple times a day when I look around and think, "This is absolutely unreal."  The fact that I'm in Ireland, the fact that I have made the best friends in the world that I know I will stay in touch with forever, and the fact that I am lucky enough to have this mind-blowing experience in my life.  Sometimes I just feel like it's not fair how lucky I am.  I have such amazing people in my life, I cannot even put it into words how happy I am here.  There's multiple times a day when I feel almost as though I'm going to "burst" with all of these emotions of excitement and happiness.  I don't understand why I deserve this, but I am so unbelievably glad to be having this experience and I am going to make sure that I take advantage of every second of every day.  That being said, I kind of like it here.  I apologize for the cheesey, poorly written synopsis of my first five weeks here, but I will try to keep this updated more frequently now. 

Now, it is time to go to class (yes, I forget I am here to study a lot of the time too).  I am going to Cork after that, to kiss (or maybe just touch) the Blarney stone and to have a grand time with my Australian 'mates'.  Cheers from Ireland :)

Me

So this is my first blog, and I have to apologize in advance for all my terrible writing, grammer mistakes, mispelled words, and general lack of normal blog-writing skills.  I am not a big "blogger" but I was advised by my study abroad office to make a blog and share my traveling experiences with future study abroad applicants/family and friends.  So here goes nothin'...

My name is Ashley, and I am a junior at Purdue University studying to be a vet.  For the last couple years school has been my one and only focus.  Now don't get me wrong I've had a great college experience, but because vet school is ridiculously impossible to get into, most of it has been spent in the library studying for various subjects including organic chemistry, biology, and physics.  While my inner-dork will always be a part of me, and school is always my number one priority, I have decided to have a little change in scenery.  This year I am studying abroad for 11 months in Europe.  Crazy, right?

In high school, I studied abroad in St. Brieuc, France with the IU Honors program.  During this time we spent 7 weeks living with a French family and not being able to speak any English at all.  This is where my ridiculous obsession with the French language and culture started.  Since then, I have taken every opportunity to learn about France, the language, and the culture.  I am minoring in French, I take every opportunity to practice French, and pretty much stalk any French person I meet.  While my original plan was to study in France for the year, my academics got in the way, and long story short, I am in Dublin, Ireland for a semester (taking some classes I would not be able to take while in France) and am off France for second semester.  Not too shabby, huh? 

All in all, the purpose of this blog is  to share all of my traveling experience and adventures with my friends and family.  After much preparation, packing, and tear-filled goodbyes (many of which are still to come) I am ready and (almost) packed for my departure this Sunday.  A mere FOUR days until I leave my home, animals, family, and friends.  This opportunity is amazing, but goodbyes are harder than they would seem. 

But, enough of my rambling on.  I will try to be fairly consistent for the (very few) people who will keep up with this blog.  And until next time, I'll see you in Dublin!