Ryan Lais

Ryan Lais is an Ambassador who studied abroad in Ireland Galway.

Briefly describe a specific cultural experience you had on your trip that made a lasting impression.

Over the months I organized a little business selling meat at discount rates to the cottages. I negotiated lower prices (for fresher meat) for the group and got the meat delivered free.

Learning how they do business differently than Americans left a huge impression. The Irish butcher was so trusting of me. He never counted the money I gave him for the meat and instead just put it in the till. I screwed up my orders multiple times and he calmly fixed the problem. For example, I ordered "beef" once instead of "minced beef" (ground) and received 32lbs of diced beef. Instead of making a big deal out of it, he took the meat back, ground it up, and re-delivered it. I don't see that happening in the U.S.

Then, the butcher informed me he would be on vacation for one of the weekends. What I didn't know was that this meant the meat would arrive later in the week. Everyone was so disgusted and angry about it. I called him up and expressed my anger and then expressed it to the delivery boy too. Then I realized something, that's not how the Irish would have dealt with that situation. They were always understanding when I goofed up, so it is only fair for me to be understanding.

Why did you choose the program in which you participated? 

Growing up in an Irish family in a very Irish-Catholic environment (Saint Paul, Nativity Parish) I have always embrace my heritage. Every year I march with a family in the Saint Patrick's Day parade.

Also, my sister went to Ireland while attending a different university and loved it. She claimed it was the time of her life. Everyone has great things to say about the place.

My biggest interests are business, politics, history and religion. Ireland is a grand place for all those things. The Celtic Tiger, the rich history, politic tension, the troubles, and the strong Catholic feel attracted me.

Describe your overall study abroad experience.

I learned about myself, my country, and Ireland by living in the Gaelic-speaking, western, rural part of Ireland called Spiddal. As a group we toured the whole island giving us a personal feeling of Irish politics, history, beauty, music, humor, culture and beer up close. While living in our cottages I became very close to the Foyle family and got to experience eating brunch with them, going to mass with them, and working for them. Ireland is about having a good time and learning from it....

How has the trip affected you? How are you different for having completed the experience?

The trip taught me an awful lot about Ireland, but way more about the U.S. The trip helped me to understand myself and America's cultural traits on a level I never would have expected. It highlighted the general American's obsession with time, compulsive personality, and individualistic worldview.

With know these traits about the average American I know myself better and understand how to deal with other cultures traits better than before.

What advice do you have for future Study Abroad Students?

When a massive group of students walk one way you should walk the other way in a group of two or three. When you move in herds you don't get the full experience of another culture. When I was with small groups I had the best times and learned the most.