Well, after all the fun and games of my first two weeks in Ireland, week three hit pretty hard. Monday I spilled coffee all over myself.
Tuesday I felt kinda sick.
Wednesday I felt really sick.
Thursday I recovered.
My weekend was light lunch with a friend, a brief hike, church on campus, and the Super Bowl. The first two weeks my camera roll was full of new sights and exciting meals but this week the meal was a bowl of soup and the sights were limited to one day of adventure.
Ironically, the lazy, sick vibes came right after my last post about making the most of my time here. There wasn't a chance I'd be trying out a new coffee shop on a slow morning– I had a 7 minute walk to the convenience store on campus to buy tissues and juice... and I had to stop in a building half way there to sit for a few minutes because my sick body was shaking so much.
So I laid in bed. I turned down invites to do fun things and stayed in my room watching Netflix. Then I realized there were chores to be done and (let's not forget the "study" part of study abroad) class material to review.
The glam, picturesque side of study abroad quickly switched off to realty.
Needless to say, I was feeling pretty down. Sunday came around, time to start writing this blog, and I had no motivation. What could I possibly say about a week spent mostly in bed?
But when I really started to think about it again, my slow week wasn't actually so bad. Being stuck in my apartment made time for me to talk to some of my favorite people back home. I had a relaxing, low-key night drinking tea and watching a movie with new friends here. And even though it was cold and I was still a bit sick, my hiking trip rewarded me with some beautiful views, including the biggest, brightest rainbow I've ever seen!
I debated on not including the pessimistic feelings that consumed my week in this post. However, I think it will be a good thing to look back at this and remember that not every week abroad is fully represented by the amazing photos and memories of new adventures. Writing this helped me find the light in what had felt like quite a dark week. Despite the days of feeling down, I was able to find joy through friends (old and new) and the beauty that is constantly around me here in Ireland.
While I look forward to big plans in the upcoming weeks, I am grateful for being forced to slow down and appreciate the little things.