Eire Today, Gone Tomorrow

Well, it’s been a week since I came back to America. Since then, I’ve attended my sister’s graduation party and spent fun times up north with my friend Mark and his family. I have also wholly returned to an “America” mindset. That is to say, once I was in a familiar place again, I was overwhelmed by the feeling that I’d never left at all.

It’s surreal, knowing that I’d spent three months having a once-in-a-lifetime adventure but feeling like it was something that happened to someone else. Does anyone else who’s studied abroad or whatever felt like this? I can remember everything that happened, and I remember enjoying all (well, most) of it, but now that I’m in my home I feel somehow detached from the whole thing. Perhaps, with time, it’ll solidify in my mind like a normal memory.

Even still, I know that this was a good thing for me to do. My dad has told me repeatedly that he has co-workers who did something similar when they were my age, and they still talk about it fondly. Also, I presume that as time goes on, I’ll slowly idealize the whole thing by forgetting the bad parts and embellishing the good parts. Not to mention that I learned things about myself: how I function without a support system, what kind of social situation I want/need to be in, etc.

I dunno, I feel like I’m not wrapping this up in a particularly interesting way. I guess there’s not much to be said. I was happy to come home, but I don’t regret a bit of what I did while I was away. I got to see the places my family came from. I saw fantastic things that I had hardly dared dream of seeing in person. I’ve met friends that I made from across the world and made new ones that I’ll need to visit sometime in the future. I spent over $3700 in three months. I grew a pretty rockin’ beard. Thanks, everyone, for reading along with my adventure. I hope it was enjoyable, educational, entertaining, you know the drill.

As a final delight, enjoy this list of the pun-filled blog titles that I wasn’t able to fit in for one reason or another. Thanks to everyone who suggested some of ‘em!

Eire in the world is Patrick Sandiego?

Chaos Emerald Isle

Pat O'Cakes.

Hardcastle McBlog

Patty’s Fabulous Farmcation
Taoiseach Baby Syndrome
Sinn Fein-ing Interest
Celtic'd Off
Oh my God: Kilkenny
Tipperarily Irish
Harping on Ireland
Patrick's Belfastic Adventure
Are you a leprechaun or a lepre-can't?
The Emerald Easel

Ring-a-ding-Dingle

Getting off Scot Free

Eigg on your face

Farewell (for now)!