Irish Stress v. American Stress

Savoring the sweet crunch of my sugar snap peas, while listening to my favorite meditation playlist on youtube, I look over my schedule for the week. I have three term papers due Friday, along with a dance performance that evening, which I have rehearsals for every night. Breathe. Look out the open window.

Just twenty minutes ago, I was walking through the student center farmer’s market. The temperature is in the low sixties (no coat necessary) and there is barely a cloud in the sky. A student with a microphone and a guitar is singing my favorite Beatles song, Blackbird, to an audience of snacking students. The farmer smiled at me as she unloaded my basket, overflowing with organic ginger root, oranges, apples, bananas, and of course sweet peas. She knows me now. On my journey, I stop to talk to a passing friend; I pass a field covered in new, tiny blooms; I pick up an Americano to sip on.

I have never had to write three papers in a week. I’m not really sure how this is going to go. If I was at Michigan, I would be absolutely freaking out right now, spending hours working in the ref room and pulling numerous all-nighters. But here…well, I researched and wrote one of the papers yesterday and still managed to get to bed before midnight, despite my 4 distracting skype calls. I plan on doing the same today and tomorrow, and not even work on them the day before they’re due. I can’t really describe how or why the stress level is lower here, it just is…for the same reason that classes never start before 9, everything closes by 6, and a cup of tea is served with an entire tray of milk, sugar, and biscuits.

This will be one of my hardest weeks here. But, I’m going to get through it just fine.

Síochán.