Irish Goodbye: Senior Poppy Billingsley travels to Ireland to study abroad for first semester

Senior Poppy Billingsley watched in horror as her host family, the Rooney’s, dumped the Kansas CIty barbecue sauce she brought onto a pizza during dinner, she poured a glass of water from a jug on the dining room table — most of the village didn’t have filtered water coming through the faucets.

Six months ago, when her counselor recommended she apply for a semester abroad with the Council for International Educational Exchange, a program that provides students with real-world experience in foreign countries, Poppy was excited to get a host family and start at a new school in another country. But as her semester started, the expectations didn’t quite live up to reality. 

While other people tried to catch up on sleep during the 5 a.m. flight on Monday morning, Poppy was the only one staring out her plane window. This made her the only passenger to notice the engine was on fire. 

“I didn’t say anything because I thought maybe [it was] a normal plane thing,” Poppy said.

It was not.

A few minutes later, the pilot altered passengers to “some minor delays.” After an hour, the flight attendants evacuated the plane and ushered all the passengers single file to wait at the gate.

Two hours later, the flight was canceled.

After a tear-filled call with her program supervisor, Poppy was put on a new flight to Ireland through Chicago. 

Poppy’s trip was further complicated by the fact that she flew into Dublin the same week as the Aer Lingus College Football Classic between Nebraska and Northwestern.

“I got on the plane and the entire flight was filled with Cornhusker fans decked head to toe in Nebraska gear,” Poppy said. “I think I was one of only two people not going to Dublin to see a football game.”

Finally, 24 hours after saying her goodbyes at KCI, Poppy arrived in Ireland for her semester abroad — but she still had to get out of the Dublin airport.

Poppy entered the airport and was surrounded by bright-red balloons for the Cornhuskers floating throughout the entire airport.

“I was going through customs and immigration when the Nebraska football team plane arrived,” Poppy said. “They walked in and everybody’s just screaming, ‘Go Big Red! Go Big Red!’ at the top of their lungs.”

The Nebraska fans swarmed the team, each player coming through the gate, rousing their cheers.

“It was just so packed because I don’t think the Dublin Airport is fit to hold 50,000 Nebraskans,” Poppy said. “I’ve literally never seen so many people from Nebraska in one place and I’ve been there multiple times.”

After waiting an hour in customs and retrieving her bags from the Zurich baggage belt, Poppy met with her other program supervisor, Verena, and got acquainted with her fellow exchange students. After exploring the city and eating a subpar chicken and mayo sandwich, Poppy made her way to her hotel for the end of her first day in Ireland — praying for a less chaotic second.

The next day, after orientation at Dublin City University, Poppy met her host family, Pauline and Ben Rooney. She arrived at their home to find 12 members of their family who had ordered pizza for dinner. 

“The Rooney family does everything together, their children, grandchildren and in-laws are always around,” Poppy said. “I’ve been living here for two days and the house is never empty.”

The following Monday, Poppy buttoned up her Monaghan crest embroidered bomber jacket and began her classes at Monaghan Collegiate College, her new school for the next four months.

“I am hoping to expand my cultural view and make the most of this opportunity,” Poppy said.