First International Travel Experience

Taylor Renwick
Oct 15, 2016
4 min read

I have always wanted to travel abroad but never had the opportunity or means to do so... until now! On Friday, October 14, 2016 I boarded my first international flight from DC to Dublin.

I am very thankful for the incredible opportunity to intern in the Student Services Office at Maynooth University for two weeks. Not only am I able to have my first international experience but I am also able to enhance my professional portfolio and grow in my student affairs career. Prior to leaving for Ireland, I had two major changes happening - moving to a house and stepping into a more intricate role in Campus Life at UNCW while my supervisor is out on FMLA. These two circumstances combined with preparing for Ireland was stressful because I felt like time was of the essence and I had everything but time. Luckily I planned ahead and made several to do lists and an Ireland packing list, all of which made managing time more efficient. In terms of packing, I did not initially know what to pack. I asked my supervisor in Ireland what the weather was like so I could be sure to pack adequate clothing. My supervisor in Ireland, Ian Russell, indicated that it was 12-15 degrees Celsius and sporadically rainy. Keeping this in mind I packed my suitcase and carry on bag in record time! It only took me about an hour to pack my bags and make copies of important identification documents and credit cards.

The day of travel was exhausting but I was so excited the exhaustion didn't hit me until now. I woke up at 5 a.m. EST and hit the road for the Raleigh airport around 5:30 a.m. I landed in DC with my cohort, D, Olivia, and Steph, around 11:30 a.m. After arriving we rose the airport train to our gate.

Sadly, we had a five hour layover but we managed to make the best use of our time! We set up camp at an eatery and did homework and work for our graduate assistantships.

The flight to Dublin was an experience in and of itself. For starters, our plane changed and the airline had to remove 150 people from the flight because the new plane was much smaller - 32 rows of three seats on each side of the plane. Since there was a change in the plane, all of our seats were changed and we were no longer sitting with each other and I had the honor of sitting in a middle seat for a six and a half hour flight with screaming children all around me; however, the man in the middle seat next to Steph was willing to switch seats with me so that Steph and I could sit next to each other.

I was told to try and sleep on the plane but that did not happen... between the turbulence, the screaming children, the lights being on in the cabin, dinner being served three hours into the flight, the lack of leg room, and pure excitement to travel abroad, I could not sleep.

Once we landed we picked up our luggage and made our way to customs, a place that is stereotypically overwhelming but not this time! There was no line and the customs attendant was rather jolly. Once the customs attendant stamped our passports and we were able to make our way to a cafe for some much needed coffee and scrambled eggs.

After breakfast the real fun began. We met up with Emily and the other Stephanie and made our way to the Airport Hopper. The Airport Hopper was about a 10-minute walk away but the walk felt much longer as we trudged through the pouring, cold, rain. On the plus side the cold rain was very refreshing after traveling and being up for nearly 24-hours. We boarded the hopper and made our way to Maynooth University. After we got off the hopper, we walked another 10 minutes from the bus station to the university accommodations office to receive our keys. Sadly, the university did not have our accommodations ready for us but were kind enough to give us a spare bedroom to relax and freshen-up.

Washing my face and brushing my teeth never felt better than the time I did it after arriving to my room at Maynooth University. I am mildly confused as to how I am still functioning, it must be adrenaline because not only haven't I slept but I also haven't eaten anything for 6 hours! Tomorrow I am going to start a routine so that I can maintain healthy habits while interning abroad.

Overall my experience has been great so far and it is just now hitting me how tired my body is. While my head and eyes are not tired, my legs are exhausted. I've officially been up for 31 hours, a new record for me. Before this trip, I have never been up for 24 hours straight - I suppose there really is a first time for everything! Good thing I am the energizer bunny, according to my friends and family, otherwise this travel experience would have been a lot rougher. I decided to type my blog post now because I am trying to wait until 6 p.m. Maynooth time to grab dinner and I am trying not to fall asleep. My hope is to get on an eating and sleeping schedule that mirrors the time in Maynooth. The goal is to eat dinner around 6 or 6:30 p.m., do a little bit more school work (I have a TON), shower, and go to bed around 10 p.m.

UPDATE: It is now 9:36 p.m. and I have achieved my goal to eat, do school work, shower, and go to bed around 10 p.m. I would like to add just an observation before closing this blog post... I feel like I am in the Alfred Hitchcok movie, The Birds, because of all the crows looming, and circling the courtyard.