Studying abroad in Ireland was something that I looked forward to for months. Yet, I never imagined that I would find myself lost in a foreign country.
It was an hour and a half before the second day of class abroad started. The day before, I had walked with everyone else to class.
I made the mistake of sleeping later than my roommates since I stayed up late talking to my mom. Now without any guide, I walked toward Griffith college with a vague idea of where it was and how to get there.
It’s a straight shot, I thought to myself. I’ll be fine. If I get lost, my phone will show me where to go. What’s the worst that could happen?
I walked straight towards the school. It was all good and I knew where I was going until absolutely none of my surroundings looked familiar anymore. Instead of walking past the antique shops and one of the grocery stores and St. Patrick’s cathedral, I found myself in Temple Bar for some reason.
Temple Bar is a bit of an overwhelming place, full of tourists and “authentic Irish” restaurants. It was also kind of far away from where I was supposed to be going.
Many Dubliners suggest avoiding it altogether. I saw so many coffee shops and cafes that morning. It felt torturous to not get coffee like I planned on, but I had to get to class on time.
My backpack was much heavier than it should’ve been, and my purse was slung around my neck, nearly choking me. I hung onto the purse for dear life, worried about being pickpocketed.
I clutched my phone as well, frantically looking back and forth from my screen to the real world. At this point, I knew I was really, really lost. My phone didn’t have service or a taxi app. I didn’t contact classmates because I thought I would make it to class on time and I didn’t want to be that person who got lost on the second day because they were too stubborn to leave with the group.
There weren’t any taxis and I couldn’t use one because I didn’t have euros anyways.
I noticed that there were 15 minutes left before class was supposed to begin, meaning that I had been meandering through the streets of Dublin for an entire hour.
I wanted to sit down and sob and forget about going to class and get that latte and maybe figure out a way to go home but I couldn’t do that. I made it to Ireland (which I never dreamt of doing) and I needed to experience all of it — even the part where I was completely lost.
Eventually, I retraced my steps and found my way to the classroom using my phone. The day wasn’t completely ruined as I actually made it to class, arriving 30 minutes late.
I felt embarrassed since I’m usually the one who’s 20 minutes early. The upside is that by getting lost I was able to navigate through the city fairly well, using the River Liffey, Dublinia and St. Patrick’s cathedral as reference points to get back to the apartment I was staying in.
By the end of the trip, it became fairly easy to navigate through the city and random strangers were asking me for directions.
Looking back on this, I realize that I relied on technology much more than I should’ve. If I could redo this situation, I would’ve depended more on the people around me.
It’s hard to think about all of the friendships and memories that could’ve been made during that trip if I wasn’t so obsessed with going everywhere by myself and taking super awesome pictures of everything. There are some things that an iPhone cannot help with.
Read More
Wapahani defeats Muncie Central in season opener
By Zach Carter / 8 hours agoWapahani junior Camden Bell led the Raiders with 18 pointers as the red and white defeated Muncie Central 51-27.
Yorktown downs Delta 47-46 in thriller
By David Moore / 18 hours agoYorktown takes down Delta in rivalry thriller 47-46
The Muncie Area Career Center is working to better educate community members
By Trinity Rea / YesterdayThrough Adult Education and Career and Technical Education (CTE) based learning, the Muncie Area Career Center is looking to help educate members of Delaware, Randolph and Blackford country.
