Five months ago, my best friend Ellen and I decided to take a trip to our common ancestral homeland: Ireland. We both had graduated from university in May and were seeking some “time out” before careers, families and other adult responsibilities took a hold of our lives.
Ellen and I chose to WWOOF through Ireland, and we did this for two primary reasons. The first was to economize; our 10-week trip would be grossly expensive had we been forced to pay for lodging and meals throughout. The second was to more fully immerse ourselves in the culture. Staying with Irish families and experiencing the day-to-day interactions would provide us perspective and stories we would not have found as tourists.
Our first WWOOFing experience was on Sherkin, where we would be working for 2 weeks beginning March 21st. We stayed with Joe and Fiona Aston of Horseshoe Cottage Bed and Breakfast. In exchange for lodging and meals we helped Joe on his boat and Fiona in the garden and kitchen.
During our stay we had quite a few memorable moments. We saw One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, attended several night of trad on the mainland with Nigel, visited the Baltimore Beacon and Sherkin Lighthouse and explored every corner of the island on our runs and morning walks.
Perhaps the most eye-opening part of our experience however was seeing the cultural differences of life on Sherkin versus our hometowns in the US. The first thing we noticed was the relaxed pace of the island. Granted it’s not high tourist season, but we felt that things are generally more laid back here than they are in the States. Another shock to our systems was the valuation of history above that of newness or order. That is to say that in the States, we are obsessed with things that are clean and new. Here objects are valued regardless of their age or functional state; their significance lies in their history. We saw houses and antiques on the island which in our culture might have been demolished or forgotten because Americans typically can’t appreciate the story behind them.
The last and most significant of our cultural difference was the apparent bond so readily formed amongst people in this area of the world. Joe and Fiona took us in and treated us like part of their family. Nigel extended an open invitation to accompany him to the mainland every Thursday. Mark at the hotel offered to pick up groceries for us on his trip to Skibbereen. We were given lifts to town and to the airport by people we barely knew. And on our morning walks people always stopped to chat and might invite us in to tea.
For a brief time, we were adopted into your community, something to which we are unaccustomed and for which we are altogether grateful. Not only will we never forget our experience here, but we will utilize our newfound perspective to wring change upon our future destinations, wherever and whatever those may be.
Thank you all.
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