Friendliness

by Nora Daly (Temple University)
ALTHOUGH IT HAS ONLY BEEN about two weeks, I truly feel comfortable with Armagh. For, it counteracts the craziness of Philadelphia and the fast paced, 24 hour-a-day shopping complexes that dimple my area. Here, there are no 40-foot florescent lights whose glow challenges the night sky; instead the world of Armagh is hushed by 5 o’clock, lights dimmed, and gates neatly locked over their storefronts, its as if Northern Ireland has been tucked in heir beds for the night.

What is most striking to me is the friendliness I have experienced. As if it were right out of an episode of Gilmore Girls I find my most favorite part of the day to be in our early morning pilgrimage to the Bagel Bean, where we are greeted individually by Roger, the owner and his band of girls bustling about behind the counter; flipping a sausage here and steaming a frothy coffee concoction there. Everyday it’s the same, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We have become more than just faces in a coffee shop but friends and expected guests in their adorable kitchen, and as American students I feel it is of the utmost important to make ourselves available to the community that is hosting us. For, I have been greeted by several locals in passing who also stop at the Bagel Bean each morning religiously, and its an amazing feeling to be recognized in that fashion; to evoke a smile on someone’s face when they see you in town, just because we share the same love for conversation and a toasted treat in the morning.

Now that we are rounding out our second week in Armagh I feel as though we have become a favorable feature in this city, with the energetic personality of our group and the companionships we have formed I think we are turning into a very complimentary fixture here, one that has branched out to not only the townspeople but to one another as students abroad.