By Francesca Gugino
In the autumn of 2019, I was studying abroad in Limerick, Ireland, writing my undergraduate honors thesis on two Irish literary works: Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle. It was exciting to be living in the city McCourt recalls in his memoir, spending countless hours having flat whites and reading along the bleakly and deadly depicted Shannon. The autumn of 2019 was my second semester studying at Mary Immaculate College as an international student, where I felt comfortable, supported and like everyday was full of exciting new adventures within Ireland and around Europe. I lived with two lovely German girls who were also vegan and decided to take a Political Ecology course from some of their persuasion. Falling in love with Ireland during precedented times was easy, the culture, the pubs, the craic, the academia, the adventure. All of these pushing me to pursue a master’s degree in Ireland. In October of 2019, I visited the NUIG post graduate open day, after being accepted into the MSc CCAFS program, and my day exploring the campus and city made my decisions clear; I would accept the position for the 2020/2021 academic year.
After this realization, I secured my deposit for the program, called my parents to tell them the news, and decided to enjoy as much of Ireland as possible during my last few months as an international student before returning home for my last semester at Niagara University (NU), where I would complete my honors thesis and undergraduate dissertation. Part way through my final semester at NU, students were sent home for an extended break due to Covid-19. Faculty and staff assured us that we would be back in now time, but my gut told me otherwise and I made sure to bring everything I needed home just incase the rest of the year would be remote. This was the beginning of a new chapter in all of ours lives, but I was still hopeful that things would be normal by autumn 2020 to commence my master’s at NUIG.
August 2nd 2020, my loving and supportive parents drove me 6 hours to Boston to take a direct flight to Dublin on the 3rd. My father was nervous about me spending time in airports during layovers, as traveling seemed so unusual and extremely high risk for Covid-19 transmission. We spent the evening eating lobster rolls by the harbor and chatting about life getting back to normal and all of the exciting moments to come. It was tough to say goodbye, but it was time for a new journey for me, for my career, for my future.
Even though I knew I would have to complete a long quarantine in Dublin before settling in to my new home in Galway, I wasn’t anxious, rather I was ready for all the new challenges to come, as I was shifting my entire focus of study. But things didn’t go as I had planned. Although students were told to move to Galway and expect to be in person for lectures, we spent the year learning remotely. Often I felt isolated, not knowing many people in my new city and not having much normalcy as lockdowns were implemented in October. Luckily, I was able to meet my partner, Gareth, and make a few friends, most notably August and Darya, along the way. But even with my few Galway pals, this year was all around tough as unpredictability paved the way throughout this ongoing pandemic.
Long days of watching lectures from the kitchen table or small desk in my bedroom became mentally draining, and the weather took a turn as well, making enjoying time outside virtually impossible. I spent the end of the first semester burnt out and worried that I wouldn’t be able to make it home for Christmas. Up until just the day before I headed to Buffalo, New York to spend quality time with my loved ones, I thought that I would be stuck in Galway spending the holidays with Gareth’s family, who were gracious enough to extend their welcome for as long as I wanted, rather than with my own. My parents were persistent and worked hard to make it possible for me to come home and enjoy some of the greatest family traditions, like wearing matching pajamas every Christmas Eve and spending Christmas morning volunteering together before dinner with extended family.
Being home for these few weeks was the happiest I had felt in a while, and although I missed my friends, my partner and my new housemates, I couldn’t help but want to stay longer. However, the new variants caused my parents to worry and again they selflessly drove me 6 hours to Boston to take a direct flight to Dublin. There are not enough words to thank them.
Arriving back in Ireland for second semester I began to lose hope that I would meet more students from the course and that I would be afforded the opportunity to attend in person lectures. My quarantine lasted 14 days, in which I had my groceries delivered from Aldi, watched way too much Master Chef Professionals, studied for my upcoming exams, and prepared for the beginning of the spring semester.
Homesickness played a huge part in my second semester, perhaps it was because of the nearly four months of lockdown, being ready for the end of the pandemic that seemed and still seems far off, or missing what it felt like to be at home for the holidays. But all the while I was lucky to enjoy the company of Gareth, Darya, August, Eabha, Caitlin, Nicole and Eimear. Friends of mine from home stayed in touch and we offered mutual support during our own difficulties. Rachel, one of my best friends working translating for and rehousing migrants in Texas, experienced struggles during the storm in February, while my friend Megan stressed over studying for the MCAT. I think back of how grateful I am to have those two incredible women as my best friends. I genuinely don’t know who I would be without their guidance.
As the end of the spring semester rolled around and it was time to decide what we may be interested in for our thesis, my mother called me with news that I had been scheduled for a vaccine appointment. I jumped at the opportunity to head home for a month, and although I had just taken a job as a barista in Salthill, I booked my trip. While I was home, I was advised that my thesis would be a literature review of the cost effectiveness of agroecology based on 58 synthesis articles from a 138 article dataset. Although it wasn’t my first choice for a topic, I was excited to begin this journey and write a master’s thesis on the project that Professor Spillane and Dr. McKeown selected for me. Dr. Lini Wollenberg and Kyle Dittmer were helpful during the thesis brainstorming and writing process, and I am incredibly thankful to Lini and CIAT for affording me a stipend so that I didn’t have to continue to work full time during the master’s thesis.
In Galway I worked hard on my thesis project, carrying out economic analysis of the different agroecological practices. I also moved into a new house in Salthill with Nino, Amy and Darya, which has made this process so much easier and really afforded me the opportunity to love Galway. We decided to push the class to get together more frequently as pubs opened for outdoor seating and were able to make some great connections. Part way through July, I became consumed by the homesickness, after news that my grandmother’s health had taken a turn, so I booked a flight and head home, wanting to spend quality time with my family. It was the best thing I could do for myself and I am so grateful that I was able to visit my family not once, not twice, but three times this year, even though most of my time at home was spent in the conference room at my father’s office doing college work. There really is no place like home and no city quite like Buffalo, New York.
As we wrap up the year, I am proud of myself and my classmates for getting through and working diligently when it wasn’t easy. I am grateful for all those who have supported me and I look forward to the next steps in my academic life and my career. But most of all, I look forward to precedented times and the Ireland that I knew so well before the pandemic.