The last day

Today was our last day in Ireland and it was a great one.

We started off with finishing our portfolios and handing them in to officially complete our academic years. A few people are seniors, so they are now really done for good. For the rest of us, it just meant summer vacation.

The program threw us a farewell lunch at DCU, where we ate with some professors and Mary McCloskey, the woman in charge of making sure we're taken care of in Ireland.

She even got us each a stuffed Ireland bear as a souvenir.

As we were leaving the lunch, Jack, Jake and Mike surprised us with a water balloon attack. I'll give credit where credit is due; it was a really funny idea.

After packing for a bit, a bunch of us headed into the city center to give our home away from home, Messrs Maguire, a proper sendoff. It's been our go-to pub given its convenient location right on the O'Connell Bridge, and its usually pretty good craic. We all had some Guinness and Jameson and reminisced about the first day and first impressions.

Then it was back to DCU for more packing and cleaning. Some goodbyes have been said since not everyone is on the group flight tomorrow, so it's all really hitting me that it's over. I hate to be sad because it was one of the best experiences of my life and I don't want to leave on a sour note. We're all trying to be happy and upbeat, listening to Irish music and trying to sing along. But the cloud of tomorrow morning's departure hangs over everyone, and the songs make us nostalgic already.

Our bus comes to pick us up tomorrow at 6 a.m. for our 9 o'clock flight. I'll actually land in Newark at 11:20 a.m. because of the time difference, so it will be like I was only in the air two hours. Except not really. Then it's a layover and back to good old T.F. Green and Cumberland in time for dinner. CHOP's anyone??

The next time I post, I will be stateside. How bittersweet.