By Rebecca Russell

This past January, Dr. Phyllis Carey, an English professor at Milwaukee’s Mount Mary College, celebrated her birthday in a way she says she will never forget. It wasn’t a typical birthday party at her home or at a restaurant, and he wasn’t surrounded by a group of family and friends, but rather by a group of 44 students. What made it so memorable were her surroundings. She said, "I can’t imagine ever having a birthday again without remembering the students standing on the prehistoric fort of Grianan, singing happy birthday to me."

The three-week trip designed to give a better understanding of Ireland and Irish culture and conflict. That moment at the fort of Grianan was only one of the many memorable moments for the participants, according to Carey.

The memories began the moment they stepped off the plane. "We walked right off the plane and into tea with (Irish) President (Mary) McAleese," recalled student Elizabeth Widmar. Another trip participant, Kim Berndt, added, "She greeted us each individually and welcomed us. This was the first experience we had in Ireland, and it set the tone for the trip."

After tea with the president, the group settled in for a week in Dublin, another three days in Belfast and a day in Wicklow before traveling down the rugged West Coast. They listened to speakers discussing topics from education to politics to literature, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlin and Monica McWilliams, co-founder of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition

They also saw a play at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and fought high winds and sea mist to view the Cliffs of Moher.

Along the way, Carey said the students they learned a lot about themselves and how they fit in to the world around them. Widmar -- whose only previous trips outside of United States borders were to Canada and Mexico — said, "They world is a big place. I knew there were other cultures out there, but being surrounded by it made me feel more like a world citizen. I felt more connected to others."

Some were apprehensive at first, being Americans in a foreign country. "American politics are unpopular everywhere," Char Vasey explained. "and there were a number of us that wondered if Americans themselves were unpopular. We were surprised to find we were welcomed everywhere. The people we met in all parts of Ireland, as well as other Europeans we met in Dublin, were all very unassuming and accepting of us." 

"I have never experienced such generosity in any of the other European cities I have traveled throughout in the past years," said graduate student Cindy Crebbin. She expressed her desire to visit Ireland again in the future, citing as a big reason "the incredible warmth and hospitality of the Irish people."

Widmar agreed with tthe others about how welcome she felt. She also learned that when visiting Belfast, "The people there use us as role models of what they want to be, want to become."

Surveys filled out by the participants upon their return to the States showed that many felt that Americans could learn a lot from the Irish as well and use them as role models. More specifically, the women saw the Irish as more environmentally conscious and less wasteful. In general, they saw the Irish as being quieter and more polite and thought that overall, Americans need to learn to be more welcoming to visitors.

The warm reception the women received was a big part of why they felt they learned so much. "When I returned home," Crebbin said, "though I had always thought of myself as a caring person, I resolved that I would try to be more generous and reach out to others in need even more. And deep down, I even wished I had small bit of Irish blood in my own family history."

"I was immersed in a culture which taught me more about conflict than I would have otherwise learned in three lifetimes," said Lara Beitz. Cheryl Grambo summed up many of the other lessons they learned with this thought, "I learned that I want to live in a peaceful world. We are one of many countries… We must all work to exist in peace." 

Even now, months after the trip ended, the students are still reflecting on and processing all that they have learned. "I didn’t expect the trip to change me so personally," said Stephanie Ehlen. When asked what she would tell future students considering taking this same trip, Kimberly Riggs said, "The experience that you would have is unpredictable and indescribable. You will take more away than you could comprehend. Worlds cannot describe how much you will learn about culture, religion, people, women, and yourself."

Perhaps the trip and its lessons are best summed up by Carey, who said, "Although I’ve been to the Republic of Ireland a number of times in the past and Northern Ireland on one trip, I have never traveled with a group of students. It was a real gift to be able to share with students and my faculty colleagues on so many different levels and to see so many students fall in love with the Irish people and their music, their poetry, their stories, their humor, and their incredible landscapes." 

She went on to tell about the ways she saw the students grow, "In their abilities to make cultural observations, to adapt to changing conditions, to ask insightful questions, to see beauty in its many forms, to empathize with suffering, to see beyond the surface." 

Said student Lara Beitz, "It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience and quite possibly the best experience of a lifetime."
 
 

Writer Rebecca Russell can be reached at rebeccalrussell@hotmail.com.