One of the many castles I got to visit while in Ireland

Author: Claire Pribble | Major: Communication Sciences and Disorders

My name is Claire Pribble, and I am a senior honors student majoring in communication sciences and disorders, minoring in psychology, and am on the pre-occupational therapy track in the College of Education and Health Professions. When looking for a study abroad program that fit my needs, I was overwhelmed with the number of options. I knew that I wanted to go somewhere unique and with a program that would influence my future career in a positive light but besides this, I had no idea. A quick search gave me hundreds of results in many different countries, but Ireland stood out not only because it was a health-professions trip, but also because of the family history I have there and all the things I had heard about the culture there. Two and a half weeks of learning about occupational therapy, health care, and exploring Ireland sounded like a dream.

As the Irish say, it was grand. This study abroad trip taught me so much more than what was intended. As this was a service-learning based trip, I was given the opportunity to really immerse myself into the Irish culture and see what the day-to-day was like there. One of my favorite days was spent with my service-learning mentor who worked for the Irish Wheelchair Association. I got to spend the day talking to workers and patients about not only their healthcare system, but I also got to talk about their life experience and just got to know them as individuals. For example, while I learned about the advantages and disadvantages of socialized medicine in relation to geriatrics, I also learned that Irish ladies in their 70’s love to watch Love Island and Judge Judy. While this may seem silly, I really did learn so much about the Irish culture and was able to break any implicit biases I may have had.

The site visits we had were another one of my favorite parts of this trip. I got to meet professors from the University of Limerick, the Mayor of Limerick, students from the Youth Council of Galway, directors of TUSLA (Irelands’ social services for children and families), occupational therapists from Trinity College, lecturers at the National University of Ireland Galway, and many other leading health services in the country. All of these visits allowed me to see what socialized medicine looked like in a country of 5 million and what I could take from that to bring into my own profession. I was able to see the importance of involving families in treatment sessions, how to collaborate with other professionals and use this to the patients’ advantage, and how to change the attitude around treatment and care for individuals with disabilities.

While I learned a ton about healthcare in Ireland and what occupational therapy looks like in another country, I also loved learning about the people of Ireland. Everyone I talked to that had been to Ireland had one thing to say; you’re going to love the people. Our first day was spent doing a scavenger hunt in downtown Limerick. At each street corner or stop, someone would come up and asked if we were lost (we definitely were) or needed help finding something (we did). These wouldn’t just be short conversations; all of the locals would be more than willing to take at least 10 minutes out of their day to show us to the next stop and explain the history behind each stop that we saw. For example, one man we met, Bear, stopped what he was doing to lead us through the remainder of our scavenger hunt while telling us stories and offering advice about all the best stops in Limerick. He continued to meet us for each day we were in Limerick and have conversations with us or walk us to our next location. This isn’t something that I am used to in the United States and was something I was shocked by. The generosity and genuine interest in tourists from the Irish was not only shocking, but refreshing. Bear was just one example of this.

While I may be a little biased, I would 100% recommend going to Ireland if you get the chance. Seeing hundreds of castles on the side of the highway, the Cliffs of Moher, traditional Irish dancing in the middle of dinner, and hearing folk tales told at a local pub is an experience that you won’t be able to get in just any other country. The food, the people, the friendships I made, the views, and the experiences were all something I won’t take for granted. In true Irish fashion, I can surely say it was grand and I’ll see you again soon, Ireland!