Fueling the fire to travel abroad
Noted on February 21, 2011 by IE3 Student in
by Margaret O’Neill, IE3 alumna who interned with the Scottish National Party in Scotland.
“The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist.”
-Russell Baker
If you are a part of the IE3 program, you are not a tourist; you are truly immersed in a new culture! That’s one of the many beauties of IE3. And when you are living in your newly adopted country, you feel a great sense of pride as you ramble along your neighborhood streets, wave to the local grocer, and smile at the old man who walks the same path every day with the same dog. You get to be a part of life in a foreign country and feel a powerful sense of belonging.
Two winters ago, I had the experience of a lifetime as an IE3 Intern in Edinburgh, the capitol of Scotland. I was placed as an Assistant to a Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) and worked directly for him in the modern (and architecturally controversial) Parliament building at the bottom of the Royal Mile across from Holyrood Palace. What a privilege to be a part of the inner workings of a foreign government! When the internship came to an end, I wanted to stay, but I needed to return to the states and regroup. But first, why not do a wee bit of regrouping in Ireland? It’s so close – it’s right there! An hour plane ride later (from Edinburgh to Dublin) I found myself in the company of Irish friends who live near the Ring of Kerry in the quaint little town of Kenmare. After eight days of milling about the local bookstores, rambling along the surrounding trails, and taking endless photos of things that are green (green grass, green mountains, and more green!) it was back to the states.
Right: The weekend after the IE3 internship finished, I was off to Kenmare, Ireland to visit friends.
I spent the summer in Oregon picking up odd jobs – anything to gather enough money to return to the UK as soon as possible. I was a speedy Courier, a dedicated Babysitter and proud House-sitter…I said “yes” to every job offered and lived on minimal. By September I was ready to return to Scotland. Friends in Edinburgh had been emailing to share that many MSP’s hire Assistants in the autumn. Luckily, my grandmother was born in Ireland, so many years ago I was able to obtain dual-citizenship with Ireland (which is a member of the EU, therefore I can legally work in Europe, Ireland and the United Kingdom. I encourage future IE3 Interns to look into their family histories, too!). So off I was again, flying back over the pond and into the sunset. With the luck of the Irish, I landed a job as an Assistant for an MSP in his constituency in Dalbeattie. It’s a tiny town in Southern Scotland near the English border. The countryside of southern Scotland is lush and green with tall rolling hills and is dotted with fluffy white sheep fit for counting yourself to sleep. The MSP’s office was small, with three of us assisting him.
Right: Dalbeathe, Scotland Countryside; starting a new job.
The casework was different than the kinds of projects I worked on while at Parliament in Edinburgh. And everything was on a smaller scale. For example, helping people with their government housing problems was common. One woman asked for help to get a larger flat – currently, she and her boyfriend were sleeping on a mattress on the living room floor while their three children shared the bedroom; one person came into the office complaining about the height of his neighbor’s hedge; another came in one chilly morning and told us to call the police so they could shovel the snow from her sidewalk! The casework was soup to nuts. So there I was, trying to help the constituents the best I could while ingratiating myself to the little town, and eating at every pub and restaurant on main street…to help the economy, of course! My favorite visitor to the office was a wee man named Billy. A retired local, every morning he’d put on his fisherman’s wool sweater, don a tan and gray cap that matched his beard, and would venture out to see what he could see. Billy would sit in our warm tiny office and visit with us. One morning he asked, “Maggie, have you had your tea this morning?” And I answered, “Oh yes, I’ve had two cups already.” Then a coworker turned to me and said, “Margaret, he’s asking you for a cup of tea.” Sometimes when you are living in a new country, it may take a while to understand the nuances. And the accents! But by the following year, I found myself back in the states again, regrouping and rethinking.
Left: The tour of Dalbeath where I worked for an MSP after the IE3 internship.
As an incredibly generous gift, my mother treated me to a trip to Russia. Although the United Kingdom was still fresh and foremost on my mind, I welcomed the next opening door to see the world… during what was one of Russia’s worst heat waves in history! The tour group sweated its way through St. Petersburg (the beautiful “Venice of the North”) to Moscow. Another beautiful thing about being an Intern through IE3 is that it fuels the fire – that fire to experience more of life and more from life; to be an Ambassador for your country, to help break stereotypes, to put curry on all your chicken dishes! It leaves you with not just memories but the insatiable desire to see more, to reach out to people of all cultures, to learn how similar we all are. I became fast friends with a young man in Russia and although he was fifteen years my junior, we had American music in common. He said he learned English through listening to KISS and Van Halen. “Hey!” I said. “Those are two of the best groups of my generation!” Sometimes a small town person from the states and a small town person from Russia – and from different generations, no less – can find things in common that make this planet seem a little bit smaller and a little less lonely. Maybe the saying should not be “six degrees of separation” but “three degrees of separation”…if you count KISS.
Left: The tour of Russia.
Currently I am back in the states, working, reminiscing, sharing photos and stories with anyone who will listen, and living simply. And simply living. Occasionally I find myself daydreaming about heading back to the land of William Wallace and drinking a “pint of bitter” with my Scottish friends. More than once, they have heard me prattle on about Henry Youngman and his famous quote: "I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places." Thanks to the experiences the IE3 program has given me, I will continue to go to “those places” - no matter what.