Off the Beaten Path: Saying Goodbye to Ireland
By Miranda Baker
Exploring Dublin had been my goal from my arrival in the city. Then of course, two and half weeks of weariness kicked in and my plans were delayed. Finally, I found myself starting out this morning for one last, bittersweet day. My plans were simple: visit two shops relevant to my research project, and stop anywhere interesting along the way. Armed with a sense of direction and a virtual map, I took off.
My explorations didn’t amount to grand, life changing adventures, nor did they result in losing my way. Instead, they gave me one last chance to see a deeper side of Ireland. After all, wasn’t that what this whole semester had been about? We came to see Ireland, but as students, not tourists. We saw Ireland’s history unfold in stories of lost brothers and segregated schools. Our path took us through landscapes described by Yeats, Joyce, Heaney, Shaw, and more. Culture, however, was the one thing no text or museum could have taught us. It was wondering the streets of Dublin that I got my last glimpse of a culture I have come to love. It’s a culture of kindness – with charities on every other corner and conversations with the homeless. It’s crossing against the light, and being sorry instead of excused. But most of all, Irish culture is about identity, tradition, and heritage. It’s knowing the brutality of history, but still maintaining hope and humor.
So as I wondered the back streets and ventured into marketplaces, craft stores, and book shops, I saw just a little more of Ireland than I would have among the main streets. And in the future, when people ask if I recommend visiting Ireland, I’ll tell them, yes, but don’t go as a tourist, or even as a student. Go as an explorer, and don’t forget to stray off the beaten path.