Coming up on my last weeks in Maynooth and Ireland, I am so sad for it all to come to an end. As much as I miss my family and friends (and food!) being abroad has been an amazing, eye-opening experience that I will savour until its gone. Since I last posted, I have finally begin traveling to other countries, something I’ve wanted to do my whole life. In early October, I met up in London with a few friends from Rollins on their fall break, and one who had been studying in Rome. It was so nice to see some familiar faces and get a little dose of Rollins to help me get through the semester. I felt recharged having gotten to see everyone. Last weekend, some friends and I visited Amsterdam in the Netherlands which I have been wanting to do for as long as I can remember. We were there for three days and it was not enough because this city is everything I wanted it to be and more. Being in such a vibrant, aesthetically pleasing country was a welcomed change to my usual intake of green and stone in Ireland. We took a canal tour, visited museums and a windmill, and checked out the intriguing red light district, only missing the Anne Frank house and a few other major sites. As I type now, I am in the Airbnb of my next trip, Faro, Portugal! Being Portuguese I have always wanted to visit the mainland as I have only been to the small chain of Islands my family is from. The Algarve region is known world wide for having the most beautiful beaches and that is all I can think about having not seen a beach in months. I had not anticipated how hard it would be enduring a winter for the first time since attending Rollins and having escaped it for the past two years, so the thought of sunshine and the ocean has gotten me through the past week of essay writing. I am also very nervous to try speaking Portuguese here as I have only a very basic basis of knowledge and I can understand a lot more than I am able to speak back. I am excited to use this opportunity to reconnect with my roots and hopefully be able to use some new knowledge to communicate better with my grandparents!
I wish that I had begun planning trips sooner and optimising my proximity to Europe and all its destinations, but I am also glad that I have gotten to explore a lot of Ireland and spend time at my new school!