Aaah it’s so far away and yet I can’t stop thinking about it! A student exchange to England is in my future, and I am so excited to get back to the UK for a few months. Ah, but that’s the question… to do a single semester for 4~ months, or a full year? Guess I need to figure that out soon.
Pros of a full year: get to spend it in England (booya!) and have more opportunities to get over to the continent and explore (so much there…can’t even list all the fun times); more time to learn another perspective of the world and history; also more time to spend in research mode for heritage… stuff.
Pros of a single semester: less money spent (of course, but is this really an issue with dreams?); more time at my home university to learn the Canadian view; home for Christmas and with the family for longer; also more time with the horses and my birdies (a very big pro).
Do I really need cons for each? Nah, it will be an amazing chance either way, the only con I can think of anyways is I might need to catch up on some courses to finish my degree… but that is not a problem. I do love school, not many people would say that but I really do. Missed it so much I came back after graduating!
Well lots of time for the decision to be made. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a new painting of mine called ‘The Ward’, based from a picture I took in Ireland near Castle Ward. Beautiful land, you really feel like you’re in another time there. So I painted the gateway to the water, a pathway to another place. Felt like I needed to get some nature pictures out there too, though architecture always creeps back in. Not that I mind it to do so, I can never escape the pull of made objects and the natural world intertwining.
Adieu!
16 x 48, oil and spray paint!
Absinthe & Ink 
I am thinking of study abroad as well–in Ireland for a semester! This is so exciting. Since you say you can catch up on your degree at a later time, why not shoot for a whole year? A year will give you more time to adjust to culture shock and to form stronger relationships with people at school and wherever you stay. Plus more travel time if you are up for adventure. 🙂 4 months really isn’t that long…that’s about enough time to get settled. I’m just planning on about 4 months so I can graduate on time. No matter what you pick, your decision will be the right one.
What can you tell me about Ireland? Is the food any good?
Yea, a year is what I’m really leaning towards, might as well go out and experience as soon as I can! I’m slightly familiar withthe culture because of the times I’ve been over, but it still would be interesting to see how day-to-day goes. Studying in Ireland would be awesome! I stayed mainly in Belfast with family, went to Dublin for a little bit (so not sure which part you want to head to, the North and Republic are slightly different as with most regions I guess). Food is great, it’s pretty similar to N American more simple, homey. And the chocolate is amazing, very sweet! I went to a lot of castles as well as tourist spots, like the Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-a-rede bridge, Busch Mills Distillery, etc.. If you want to just go sightseeing for a bit, I recommend getting one of the sightseeing bus passes, lasts for about 3 days so you can get a feel for everything! Other than that, BEAUTIFUL!! Absolutely gorgeous landscape and very friendly people.