CHRONICLES OF A STUDENT ABROAD (Studying in Ireland)

As human beings, we have the need to create goals to achieve in the future. From very young we began to dream of different desires that we want to realize at some point in our lives.

Photography by @miguelarocha (Galway, Ireland)
Nikon D3300

In my case, I remember myself at the age of 15 sitting in a classroom during physics class a few years ago, while watching the mountains in front of the high school I used to go to. Without paying any attention to the class, I thought about all those things I wanted to achieve. During the whole day I just thought about traveling the world and doing things that made some sense more than just graduating, getting married and having a big house. As a restless person I always felt between four walls which I wanted to climb until I saw what was on the other side. When I started college, I continued with these dreams that kept me awake. I studied the subjects of my career with a lot of passion for writing, the main reason of attending classes. The university environment taught me to relate, to lose my fear, to learn from mistakes and not to commit them again. A wonderful time that made me grow more as a person and during which I had the opportunity to meet many people including my current partner.

Photography by @miguelarocha (Dublin, Ireland)
Sony Xperia Z1

About six years ago during a monotonous day at college I did not imagine what I am living now. If anyone had asked me five years ago where I thought I was going to be right now, I would have said something totally different from the current reality. My partner at that time gave me the opportunity of joining him on a trip that at first, I thought it just would help him.
During the months leading up to the trip to Dublin, my friends said goodbye in a definitive way because they felt it would be the last time, we would see each other in a long time, when I was actually leaving the country for a year for an intensive English course. Leaving my studies and my family, I decided to embark on this trip at the age of 21, three suitcases full of things and wanting to get ahead thinking that I would return to my country the following year. When I arrived at my destination I was not surprised or impressed, I just felt calmed. I felt that I was in a completely new but very familiar place, where each person received me as any citizen and principally at my host family’s house

Photography by: @miguelarocha(Dublin, Ireland)
Sony Xperia J

I arrived at an Irish family’s house, people who rented their rooms to students for a limited time with breakfast and dinner included. We decided to pay for the first month while we got somewhere more accessible. As two inexperienced boys we decided to stay as we felt very comfortable in that place, whose owners allowed us to stay for 6 months at a lower cost.

Due to the lack of experience, after this six months we were fully depending on our work since we were paying €600 per room during this time. to continue our day to day, which, in fact, only gave us more strength to move forward.
Jobs in kitchens, butcher shops and cleaning companies helped me to continue with my purpose of finishing my studies to improve the language I had decided to study. Course that lasted for three years, during which I learned to manage the language quite fluently.

Photography by: @miguelarocha (Dublin, Ireland)
Sony Xperia J

In this country I had the opportunity to grow as a human being, learn a new language and create a lot of new habits in my life. I also experienced working at the worst place where the main boss treated people like trash. I also realize that many students with great jobs were leaving at a small apartments sharing rooms with three or four people at time, while this was happening and after sharing a house with other nine people of all around the world for three months, I decided to do something and show myself that being selfish with ourselves is the worst thing we can ever do as students abroad. With much effort, my partner and I rented a €750 small apartment for us, so we could enjoy that time of our lives properly avoiding unnecessary misunderstandings with strangers.

Living as a student was satisfactory for me, obtaining good results on each exam. Time when I had to make changes. For a long time, I changed the underground for a bicycle. I learned how to be more open minded, learning to face the day to day with maturity and with a healthy but crazy nightlife. With many friendships that I will keep for a long time. And with a couple of trips out of Ireland that I will carry in my heart for the rest of my life. But above all, with a lot of effort. After finishing my studies, I decided to embark on my next trip. I prepared myself working for 8 months nonstop and saving as much as I could. Then, A plane to the other side of the world was the centre of all these memories, experiences and satisfactions which I will tell after a few years that now makes me wonder, where will I be in five years?

Soon I will actually let you know how it was to live in Ireland