Mara Jean ‘26

The following post was adapted from a conversation between Mara Jean ‘26 and Rae Peeples ‘25, an intern with the Global Engagement Office (GEO).¹

Mara is a Black Studies major at Swarthmore, who studied abroad at the University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland in the Fall of 2024, where her coursework included classes in sociology, history, and women’s studies. Mara had fun learning traditional dance, making friends, and adjusting to a new environment.

I’ve spent time in Dublin but never visited Cork.  What are some of the differences? 

Cork is the southernmost city in Ireland. It’s three hours from Dublin by either driving or train. Cork is Ireland’s second biggest city but is a lot smaller than Dublin. In Dublin, you’ll see trams and light rail trains, but in Cork, the main public transportation is double-decker buses. All the trains are for travel to/from other cities. 

Before my semester, I was a bit scared about going to UCC, because it has around 30,000 students, and Swat has less than 2,000. My high school graduating class was like 50 people, so I’m used to very small schools. I expected that to be overwhelming, but it really wasn’t. I think maybe it’s because the campus is very integrated into the city of Cork, unlike Swarthmore, where everyone is “on campus” all the time.

The concept of a city is obviously very different in Ireland than it is here. To me, Cork felt pretty rural. Outside of the downtown Cork City area, it was very residential. 

I went into the city almost everyday. Butter Bubble, a boba tea and pastry cafe, was likely my most frequented shop; I usually went with my friend Andrea to study and grab a quick bite. 

How was the food?

The food in Cork..was well… they don’t really use much seasoning in Ireland. Lots of fish and chips. Potatoes.  It might be different in Dublin, but Cork didn’t have much international food.  I was preparing most of my own meals, so I had to learn how to cook.  And because it was so cheap, I made a lot of pasta. 

What’s one thing you wish you knew before you went?

I knew ahead of time that I didn’t need a visa to study in Cork, but that I would need an Irish Residence Permit (IRP). Still, the process was very confusing. 

We had to call Immigration from an Irish phone number to set up an appointment. And it took a long time. I called to book an appointment in September, and I didn’t get an appointment until mid-November. Because it’s mandatory, you essentially just have to take whatever appointment they give you. 

I had to travel from Cork to Dublin mid-week for this appointment, which ended up being a challenge. In the past, study abroad students could apply for this permit from a bunch of different cities in Ireland. Only recently did it change to Dublin.  We had to figure out our own transportation and pay for our own ticket to Dublin. The ticket was reimbursed by Swarthmore, but it was a lot to manage. 

Did you get to socialize with Irish students?  Or have any unique Irish experiences?

I took 2 classes in Irish dance. One in step dancing and one in set dancing. [Step dancing is what people usually think of when they picture Irish dancing – like Riverdance.  Set dancing is more like square dancing with groups and couples.]  It was very tiring! 

Getting involved in Irish dance was a fun way to get to know more people and learn more about Irish culture. I would consider myself pretty much a beginner dancer, and I was able to learn it well enough. So I feel it’s pretty accessible for a lot of people.

Set-dancing was a really big class — 40 plus people. Of the group, maybe 10 or so were Irish. Some were seasoned Irish dancers. During the session, they would have more advanced routines than the ones that we were learning, because they weren’t beginners. But if the instructor had to work with a specific group or student, they could help out in teaching us a routine.

Wow! So, set dancing is like square dancing?

Yes. Imagine a square. And then on each side of the square, there’s two people. That’s the basic formation. You’re all facing each other, and then, you go in around. You do some dancing, you go around, do some dancing, and you go around again. Sometimes your arms are crossed with somebody else. Sometimes you’ll swap partners. There is an assigned“male” partner (or partner who leads) and a “female” partner who follows.  Of course, it often got chaotic!  It was very exhausting…

The  instructor was very nice. She would perform every Tuesday at a local pub. The students from class would often go and watch her perform. I only ended up going one night because I unfortunately couldn’t make it most of the time. That night, I ended up singing at the pub! 

How did you meet new people in Cork?

I think it takes more of a concerted effort to make friends. 

In Ireland, most students don’t live on campus. So the people who lived on campus were mostly international students, specifically American students.  The housing office also tries to match you with people who are from similar places or who share similar interests. There were a lot of Americans in my building, so it was “easier” to make friends with other visiting students living together.  

Most of my friends that I would travel with, were other Americans. But it can be hard to coordinate getting together because everybody wants to travel around Europe. Some people could be in a different city every weekend – “I’m going to Amsterdam.” “I’m going to Paris.” “I’m going to Rome.”

I didn’t make many friends that were Irish, which was kind of hard. I met a few through clubs that I joined, but these relationships took longer. I only started making these ties right before we were leaving. 

What advice do you have for other students who might be feeling lonely? 

My advice– If someone invites you out, you should go. If you see someone going out, or there’s an event happening, I would say go, even if you’re scared.  Maybe start with someone that lives in your building or lives nearby, and talk to them.  That way, you feel like you kind of know at least one person here. Then go from there.

Early on, I was feeling down because I didn’t know anyone. I was talking to one of my suite-mates, telling her how much I wanted to go out and meet people. So she invited me out, and we hung out. I just kept meeting new people and making friends that way. 

How were you changed by this experience? 

I feel like I grew up quite a bit. But I don’t know if that’s necessarily because of Ireland or because of a major life shift that I experienced while I was in Ireland.  

I feel like studying abroad gave me a really useful sense of perspective.  I realized how much pressure and intensity I put on myself that I don’t need to.  There were certain things that used to feel like they mattered so much… and I learned that they don’t need to. 

This might be a generalization, but I also realized as Americans many of us are closed off and scared of what people are going to do or say to us.  In Cork, I would go up and talk to people, and they would tell me their whole life story. I remember one time, I was talking to this 80-year old Irish man, and he was just chatting away on his thoughts about American politics. 

You’re in an unfamiliar space, so that can make you feel more uncomfortable and unsure of the outcome.  But in a way, it’s also an advantage. Nobody knows who you are. Nobody has any pre-existing impression of you.  It feels silly to say you can be whoever you want. But “you” studying abroad can be different from “you” at Swarthmore.  Study Abroad is a chance to learn about yourself in a new environment. 

1. The views and/or opinions represented in the GEO blog belong solely to the student(s) and do not represent Swarthmore College; students are not liable for any errors or omissions in the personal experiences they share. ↩︎