Maisie Oliver, Queen’s University Belfast, Fall 2025
Studying abroad showed me, with the help of Western and Central Europe’s stellar
transportation system, the various embedded communities within communities. Outside of Belfast, my travels exposed me to new languages, cultures, and people. With every city I traveled to, my friends and I were sure to visit at least one museum/gallery to learn more about the history of the area. I have travelled out of the country before, but with every new place comes new experiences. During my few months abroad, I became increasingly enriched with the people of Belfast and the parallels and differences of the numerous countries I visited.
Prior to arriving in Belfast, the intricacies of the United Kingdom were not new to me; however, living in a previously high-conflict area, such as Northern Ireland, taught me greatly. Northern Ireland’s contentious religious cleavages could be seen subtly in day-to-day life in the form of housing style or flags, or more blatantly in conversation with locals. This idea was nailed in when I went to Dublin (Republic of Ireland) for the first time. The first language on every street sign was Gaelic, which was my first time seeing the language written out before me. Irish flags wave high on every street corner, and the people are unabashedly Irish. The Irish in Northern Ireland also hold with them the language of Gaelic and pride in their heritage, save for it being visibly shown around them. After engaging with Belfast long enough, I see its similarities and differences to Dublin; Queen’s campus being in a majority catholic area also greatly helps with this. This is not to neglect those who hold loyalty to Britain and want Northern Ireland to remain a part of the UK, but, in my experience, they were not the majority of Belfast.
Furthermore, studying abroad urged me to take random trips within the US more often. I think it is often taken for granted how expansive the United States is and how vastly different one town can be from the other. While I wholeheartedly plan to explore areas outside of the US and Europe, such as South America and Southeast Asia, Colorado is easily within my grasp all the same. I want to experience as many languages, cultures, and people as I can, and studying abroad only perpetuates this idea.
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