Hey my Irish dancers,
I’m writing my first blog post to you from my Galway City apartment on the West coast of Ireland. The sun is out, musicians are playing on the street below and locals and tourists alike are painting the town with fun conversation and relaxed smiles. It’s a typical Friday afternoon in Galway – people buzzing about while some sit outside to enjoy a pint.
But before I dive in to all things Irish, I’ll start by introducing myself and telling the story of how I came to live here. My name is Caitlin (pronounced Katch-Leen in Irish) Hacker and I am 23 years old. I was born and raised in Elmhurst, Illinois and lived there until I was 21. Born an American girl with Irish in my blood - like so many of you - I guess it came as no surprise that I immediately wanted to Irish dance as soon as my feet would let me. And not only did I want to get my feet on jig’s and reel’s, I also wanted find out just about as much as I could about my Irish heritage. So, I guess you could say that my love affair with Ireland started from the young age of 7.
Throughout my years in grade school and high school, I never knew much truth about Ireland or the Irish people besides the green costumes I’d wear on St. Patrick’s Day and the corned beef and cabbage I’d eat on occasion. I was Irish and proud, but didn’t really begin to scratch the surface of what that meant until I got to college. And it wasn’t until I was accepted in to an Irish study abroad summer program that my world changed forever.
Summer 2009, young and naive, I stepped off the plane at Shannon Airport and have never been the same since. All of you, my new Irish dancing friends, know well that there is nothing like a magical summer – one filled with adventure, freedom, love and friendship – that becomes a permanent stamp in your life’s journey. It’s those summers that, without them, you don’t know who you would be today. Well, it was my summer in Ireland, and my first summer ever out of the country without my parents, that became the starting point of my life for the past 2 years.
During those 3 months spent in Galway, I completely fell in love with everything about this country – the people, the scenery, the pubs, the quaint little Irish towns, and not being able to travel 5 minutes without seeing something breathtakingly beautiful. And even though I had never been to Ireland before, it felt like home. I walked the streets thinking of my great-grandparents and what their life in Ireland might have been like. I wondered if I still had any long-lost relatives living here and how I would go about finding them. And, of course, the Irish dancer in me wanted to know everything there was to know about the local dance scene.
After the summer ended and I returned home to Elmhurst, I felt like a part of me was missing. I now had 2 places, on opposites sides of the world, that felt like home and when I returned to one, I was painfully missing the other. I had one year of college left ahead of me followed by graduate school for journalism. A return to Ireland didn’t seem like it was closely in my future until I skyped with one of the girlfriends I had made while studying in Ireland. She mentioned how she was looking in to doing graduate school in London - and that’s when it hit me – move to Ireland to get my master’s! And after lots of research, paperwork and sleepless nights, I finally made it happen. I got my master’s degree last year from the National University of Ireland, Galway and have stayed to work since!
So, now that you know a little bit more about my story and how I came to call Ireland home, I’ll leave you til next time. And I have so many stories to share with you, from having a classmate last year that toured with Riverdance to joining in on dance “sessions” in the local pubs.
It’s been reel, dancers. ☺
From Ireland,
Caitlin
