Three international students in Ireland on learning ‘just how nice this country is’

“Then of course there’s the accent. You can probably hear it in my voice a little and the Irish influence there from immigration is huge.”

Cole is a member of the indigenous Qalipu ‘first nation’ on his father’s side. As such, he always had an interest in the history of his people and the effects colonialism has had on them.

As a law student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he recently took a course on Indigenous Governance where he came across the story of the Choctaw Native American Monument in Midleton, Co Cork, which commemorates the generosity and empathy shown by the native Choctaw people to Ireland during the Famine.

“That monument represents solidarity with decolonisation movements across the globe,” says Cole.

“That story intrigued me and was another big thing that drew me here. One of the first things I did when I got here was go to Midleton and get my picture taken at the monument with my Grand Council flag.”

Cole is set to spend four months in Ireland, taking various law courses at University College Cork. After almost seven years of intense study back home, he admits that he is a little gentler on himself when it comes to his study schedule. Since arriving in September, he has taken every opportunity to travel.

“It’s been fantastic,” he says. “People back home always ask me how I’m enjoying it and I give them two guesses. They always guess right. The friendly nature of the people not just in Cork but across Ireland is quite something. I’ve just come back from travelling around the UK for a week with friends and there is a big difference between here and there. People are more willing to help and they’re just friendlier.

“The International Student Society in UCC is great too,” he says. “There are a lot of kindred spirits in there. I meet so many people from the US, Germany, the Netherlands and it’s been great learning from people from other cultures, and to be able to visit towns and cities in Ireland.

“I mean, I was given the roll of the dice being from Newfoundland: There are only half a million of us and it is beautiful but I tell you, you’re pretty lucky to be born here too just because of how friggin nice this country is.”

Sense of community

While Cole’s lilt might sound close to home, Megan Bock’s accent is a little tougher to place. Though born in Texas, the agriculture student has lived “all over” the US.

These days, on the rare occasions she gets back to visit her mother, Chicago is where she rests her head.

“I have lived here for five years and working in West Cork seems to have stuck with me,” says the 28-year-old.

“I already had a mixed-up accent coming here but that’s just added to it. It’s never been easy to tell where I’m from.”

Megan was studying animal science at Purdue University, Indiana, when she got the opportunity to study abroad for a year in Ireland. She found a position at University College Dublin’s research farm and was offered the chance to extend her stay.

“I was an intern for three months and then they offered me a research assistant position for two years,” she explains. “As that wound down I started looking for my own master’s or PhD and I found this one, a grazing trial study in Teagasc in Clonakilty, Cork. I took that offer in October 2021 and I’ve been here ever since.”

For her PhD, Megan is studying four groups of cows in Clonakilty that are grazing on four different grass and fertiliser treatments.

“So I am measuring the grass production and quality of these swards,” she explains. “Then I am measuring the milk production and quality from the cows. So basically I’m looking at what fertiliser rate allows you maintain overall production while reducing your fertiliser inputs and therefore levels of nitrogen which makes farming more sustainable and reduces the environmental impact.”

Having grown up in an agricultural environment in the American Midwest, Megan got something of a culture shock when she came to Ireland and saw vast swathes of cows freely munching grass in the Irish countryside.

“Most of the agriculture I’d be used to seeing around dairy would be indoors,” she says. “We feed all sorts of tillage, silage, and hay — even soya — and the cows wouldn’t go outside at all. The only animals I’d be used to seeing grazing were beef or sheep, and even at that it was a very different system. Seeing everything grass-based, that’s been a big learning curve for me.”

That learning has ramped up significantly with this PhD.

Megan has been busy and, as a result, she doesn’t get to travel as much as she did when she first arrived.

“That has slowed down a bit recently,” she says. “I still go on little road trips. I feel like I have been everywhere in Ireland. I’ve been to the West coast loads of times and I love Donegal, that’s probably my favourite county. It’s amazing. Even county by county you can see the differences and I love the whole tribal vibe with the GAA. That sense of community. Even when you talk to farmers, they’d be a bit competitive from county to county. I love it.

“The people are so nice and the culture is great fun and so different from America. It’s a great country.”

Freedom to be oneself

Though Amir Shahhosseini Angas agrees, he is not blind to the problems that students have in Ireland.

“I’m loving it, except for some situations,” says the philosophy student. “Housing and student funding is terrible but that’s not just Ireland. It took me three and a half months to find a place. The housing situation is not just my own concern but it’s everyone’s concern. I knew it wasn’t easy but I didn’t expect that. UCC is a nice and friendly place in every aspect. Financially it’s a little tough. And I think maybe Ireland could do a little more to support students but we’ll figure it out.”

Though he had the opportunity to study at universities in Canada, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, Amir chose Ireland because he “wanted to go to an English-speaking country where you can earn money while you study”.

“I also heard from several friends that Ireland is a friendly environment for immigrants,” he says. “As a gay man, I have far more freedom to be myself here. I’m out here and have nothing to hide because I feel safe.”

This, he says, is the bonus of being in Ireland. His main reason for being here is the opportunity it gives him to study what he loves.

“Everything in Iran is quite old and frenetic,” he says. “You can’t study philosophy without a background in philosophy. I studied architecture for example. I was able to come to Ireland because of the help and support of my supervisor, Dr Adam Loughnane, and the Scholars at Risk Foundation. That provided everything I needed. And I’m really very grateful.”