On my second night in Dublin (my first not spent sleeping off jet lag), I found myself surrounded by people speaking French. A Parisian, a Canadian, a Puerto Rican and a Minnesotan, all discussing accents. I, notably, do not speak French, and realized that as I sat at that dining table, I was having a quintessential study abroad experience, just not one I had been expecting.

While Ireland does have two official languages, most people primarily speak English rather than Irish. I knew this going in, and, as someone who is regrettably monolingual, it was a significant factor in my study abroad decision, alongside my fascination with old castles. 

There are plenty of experiences I’ve had thus far that I expected. Learning a new transit system, figuring out where my classes were, exploring the city and trying (and failing) to split the G. These are the kinds of study abroad experiences everyone talks about and for good reason. I love Dublin. I love walking around and finding new cafes and thrift stores, standing in a circle on Grafton Street with a group of people I only met two weeks ago and even sharing a spice bag at 2 a.m. I love doing “Irish” stuff and learning about the culture. 

But through that, I have somehow experienced dozens of different cultures. I have talked about “leverkaas” with an Austrian, been lectured on coffee by an Italian, learned about Cooper Pedy from an Australian and I even had a debate about the so-called “Montreal bagel” with a Canadian (don’t worry, New York bagel, I would never betray you). Despite remaining in Ireland, I feel like I have traveled the world through the people I’ve met. In all my preparation and research about studying abroad, I forgot about the most important thing: I’m not alone.

I knew conceptually that I would meet other study abroad students, but, rather close-mindedly, I didn’t consider how many there would be, or from how many places. University College Dublin is a massive university, with a huge population of international students, and study abroad students are no exception. There were at least 200 people at the various orientation events I attended my first week here, and that was only a fraction of the total number of students. I have met more people than I can count, and it’s all a blur of Instagram handles and small talk. But it’s been the best part of my experience here. 

The goal of all study abroad students is to experience more of the world. Whether they spend most of their time at their home base or jet off to a new country every weekend, they want to expand their horizons. I am much the same. When I make my return to New York this May, I want to feel different. But there’s more than one way to do that. 

So I plan to travel, to explore as much of Ireland as I can, to get to know this country well and to do all those things alongside new people I never would have met otherwise. I want to experience new things with people from all over the world, because then I get to understand the experience from two perspectives. Seeing live Irish music in a pub is invigorating, but so is hearing about how it compares to the street music in Brussels from a Bruxellois. 

When studying abroad, take advantage of not only the country you’re in, but the people you’re in it with. Meet new people and explore new places together — your perspective will change more than you thought possible. And, if you’re lucky, you might teach them a thing or two. 

Plus, when you’re on a pub quiz team with a Swiss person and a Spaniard, and the question is “Albany is the capital of which U.S. state?” you’ll find that the knowledge and experience you bring is just as important.