The Irish rite of passage in the US

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The tragic death of five Irish students when a balcony fell off a building in California on Tuesday drew attention to a longstanding Irish student tradition - a summer of work, and travel, in the US. So many young people make the trip that it's become almost a rite of passage to adulthood.

For many young Irish people, who often live at home for their university years, it's the first time they get to experience complete freedom, out of sight of their parents.

They are usually on a tight budget, packed into bedrooms like sardines in a tin. They may have to use their ingenuity to find work before their cash runs out.

It's also a chance to have fun. There's a long tradition of students altering the date of birth on their driving licence so that they appear to be over 21 - the minimum age for buying alcohol in the US. However, a report on the balcony collapse in the New York Times, which described the J-1 work-visa programme as an "embarrassment for Ireland" thanks to a series of episodes involving drunken partying and the wrecking of apartments, has been widely condemned in Ireland as exaggerated and, in the circumstances, inappropriate.

Many of the thousands who make the trip each year say their summer in the US was the best experience of their lives. Here three recent travellers explain why.

Andrea Keane, 22

Summer in the US: 2014

As it was the final year of my studies, I really wanted to venture into the unknown with the friends I had made in university. It was undeniably the best summer of my life.

Five of us travelled to San Diego in May 2014. I worked incredibly hard selling merchandise at the stadiums at the SeaWorld oceanarium. On days off, we tried to see as much of San Diego as we could. We enjoyed supporting the San Diego Padres baseball team or venturing to Coronado Island to see how the rich lived, or just "hanging out" with friends on the beach.

To begin with, our skin matched the white sand, but we worked hard to master a Californian bronzed glow.

We barely had two pennies to rub together but we economised incredibly well. There were six of us in a tiny rented one-bedroomed apartment, but gales of laughter ebbed from it every night.

For the last two-and-a-half weeks of our trip, we drove rented cars from San Diego to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco before flying to New York.

By and large, we were greeted exceptionally warmly by Americans, who would tell us about their Irish holidays, or proudly explain their Irish lineage. Regrettably, though, bad news stories travel as swiftly as good ones. In September 2014, pictures of an apartment that was left completely and utterly destroyed by Irish students in San Francisco were splashed over the news. It is already difficult enough to find summer accommodation in a major US city, but the task will have been 10 times harder for the Irish J-1 students of 2015.

As we searched for jobs, some business-owners shouted vile comments about Irish people before we would even make it inside and all we could do was turn on our heels. But they were exceptions.

From living the idyllic Californian beach lifestyle to eating our own weight in San Diego's largest pizza restaurant, we immersed ourselves in everything America had to offer us. My final summer in university before I had to enter into the big, bad, working world couldn't have been a more enjoyable, worthwhile experience.

Sean Dempsey, 22

Summers in US: 2013 and 2014

During my first trip, my friends and I arrived with no plans put in place.

The idea of landing in a foreign city, miles away from your home and your comfort zone, and having to make your own way throughout the summer had all the elements of an authentic adventure for me.

After a few days at a hostel in San Francisco we managed to find an apartment we could afford in Berkeley. It was a compact two-bedroom apartment, in which 10 of us lived. We removed any piece of furniture or appliance we felt was surplus to requirements (effectively everything but the cooker) and covered the apartment in mattresses.

This is effectively the modus operandi for the vast majority of J-1 students who are desperate to reduce living costs.

On both occasions we worked for the entire summer, usually as waiters.

Many of the Americans I encountered had a distinct fondness for Ireland and a healthy curiosity of Irish culture. Often they would cite a desire to one day visit the country or claim that they were in fact also Irish by virtue of some, often highly tenuous, ancestral connection.

There's no denying that going out and experiencing the nightlife in your chosen destination is an appeal for many students who decide to spend their summer in the States.

In my experience, however, the behaviour of Irish students was no more excessive than that of our American counterparts, and paled in comparison with the levels of drunkenness and depravity that I have witnessed in European destinations such as Magaluf, Malia and Aiya Napa.

The two summers I spent in the US I will always reflect on with great fondness. It wasn't simply uncensored partying but rather a genuine cultural exchange, where we discovered new ideas, made new friendships had unique experiences and opportunities which were punctuated by nights out rather than being defined by them.

Nessa Coady, 24

Summers in the US: 2011 and 2013

I was lucky enough to travel on two J-1 visas throughout my college years. The first time I went to Huntington Beach, California, where I worked as a sailing coach in Newport Beach. My second trip was to South Beach, Miami, where I also worked as a sailing coach.

It was something I had looked forward to doing since the beginning of university and it was one of the best times of my life - I made so many friends and connections who I remain close to, to this day.

I earned enough to fund my time in the US, travel around the country and come home with some money for the term ahead.

I rented an apartment both times. The first I rented with three friends. It was unfurnished, so we bought furniture off Craigslist and Target. The second, thankfully, was fully furnished and two of us rented it.

When it comes to the idea that Irish students drink a lot, have you ever been to an American frat house party? I don't think the Irish even aspire to that level of madness.

We also take pride in being Irish and our reputation abroad is very important. I was never involved in, nor did I ever witness instances of bad behaviour.

Everyone was incredibly welcoming and hospitable. I never came across any animosity towards the Irish. My jobs were organised before leaving Ireland so as soon as I landed my employer was always on hand to help with anything we needed.

It was one of the highlights of my university years. I gained experiences I will never forget and friendships that will remain with me forever. If I was still eligible I would do it again.

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