Well, it has now officially been over two weeks since we arrived back from Ireland, and I’ve got to say that despite our trip being cut short due to the Corona Virus outbreak I still greatly cherished my time in Ireland. I will never forget all of the amazing things that we got to do while we were there whether it was doing Gobbin’s walk, hiking up to the summit of Croagh Patrick, or even just hanging out at a pub with the new friends that were made on the trip. I’ve talked about these things in previous blogs though so what I really want to talk about now is what it was like once we were officially informed that we would be heading back the United States.
Shortly before we were informed of the University recalling us, I remember a news notification showing up on my phone stating that President Trump had declared a travel ban to much of Europe. At this point I knew that we were likely going to be called home that next day and early in the afternoon, as I expected, we received word that we were to head back home as soon as possible. Everyone’s stress levels immediately went up as, initially, it was un on us find our own plane tickets home. Unfortunately for us, everyone else from the United States was trying to get home as well, so prices on flights back home for the next week were averaging about $1000. A lot of us were very worried about whether or not we would get reimbursed by the university for the full amount for these flights, so we were all very hesitant to purchase one of these flights. Ultimately, through cooperation with wonderful employees back at UNK, we managed to all get on the same flight and the university booked them for us. I cannot adequately express the gratitude and relief we all felt once we were told we would all be going home together.
Life has certainly been significantly less interesting since we arrived back home, but I know that I was also feeling very ready to be home by the time we left for the airport in Dublin. My days now that I am home largely consist of reading, exercising, spending time with family, playing with our dogs, and of course homework. I am hopeful that someday, once we are on the other side of these uncertain times, that I will be able to return to Europe and make up for the trip that came to a close far too early…
Ramblin' Dan 