“So, how was your trip?” This question has been on almost everybody’s lips for the last two weeks. I just came back from spending four months studying in Carlow, Ireland, and everyone who knows me wants to know how it was.

“Uhhh … great,” is my generic response.

It’s hard to explain concisely what it’s like to pick up from a place you’ve lived your entire life, and move to a completely different continent — without any friends, family, and not a lot of knowledge about the culture. The truth is, parts of it were great, and parts of it were really, really hard.

When I left for Ireland, I had a lot of expectations for what the experience would be like. I expected beautiful landscapes and ruined castles, making Irish friends, and plenty of good craic. What I didn’t expect was spending a night in Dublin Airport because I had missed my flight to Scotland, and the next flight was at 7 the next morning. There were also the challenges that come from living on one’s own for the first time, and attending a religious school as a secular student.

Living abroad has broadened my view of both America and the world at large. I appreciate a lot of things about my home and my city now that I didn’t before. After going to school in a building that is over 200 years old, the elevators and shiny new Gateway at Madison College seem pretty incredible.

Coming home from living abroad can cause as much culture shock as moving to a new country. Being back in Madison is as strange as visiting an old childhood haunt as an adult. Ultimately, I’m very happy to be back among my friends and family, but studying abroad was one of the most important and valuable things I have ever done, and it’s an experience I would highly recommend.

Living abroad heightens one’s perception of the world, teaches important skills such as communication and coping when out of one’s comfort zone, and really shows what a small, interconnected world we live in. While visiting Paris, I met some other American students who were studying in Ireland, who happened to be from Green Bay. Strange coincidences like that were one of the highlights of meeting people abroad.  One can find a connection to home in the least expected places.

Living in Ireland was an important experience. It was more than just a trip or a vacation — it was an immersion into another culture. The connections I made to the people in Carlow, and to the country itself, are connections that will last a lifetime. The perspective I gained on my own country was fascinating. I was in Ireland during the federal government’s shutdown in September, and it was interesting to see it from the perspective of my European classmates.

Taking classes such as Psychology and Irish Literature made me examine what it means to be Irish, as well as what it means to me to be American. How those cultures differ, and what values Americans hold most important, compared to Europeans, is interesting.  It helped me to create a great appreciation for the differences and similarities in the world.

I’m glad to be back home in Madison, but my experience in Ireland, and the perspective it brought me, is invaluable. Studying abroad was both one of the hardest and one of the most rewarding things I have ever done, and I’m grateful that I got to know a little of the hospitality and good fun of the emerald island.