One of the greatest compliments I’ve received is ‘you get the craic’

Vanessa Pulgarín Auquilla was flying through the night over the Atlantic Ocean on New Year's Eve 2018 when she realised Ireland might be the place she'd been searching for. The Ecuadorian student was returning to Europe following Christmas holidays and was en route to Italy for a short break before classes resumed at University College Cork.

“I took that flight on December 31st so I never knew exactly where I was when the new year happened, somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic I guess. But it really felt like that was the moment I decided. And I haven’t looked back since.”

I just felt hopeful about the future. I had wanted to do this my whole life so I believed it was going to work

Pulgarín had only planned to spend one year in Ireland where she was studying for a masters in international public policy and diplomacy while also working remotely for a sustainable development network group in Brussels. She had left her two beloved rescue dogs – Luca and Moca – in her mother's care, confident she'd be back in Ecuador within the year. But shortly after arriving in Cork, something clicked. "I just felt hopeful about the future. I had wanted to do this my whole life so I believed it was going to work."

Pulgarín was born and brought up in the picturesque city of Cuenca, high in the Andes mountains in southern Ecuador. After finishing school, she spent a year in Germany on an exchange programme where she studied with students from around the world. The adventurous teenager considered staying on in Germany but her father convinced his eldest daughter to return home and go to college.

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“My father had a business selling vet supplies and he wanted me to learn and take over eventually. I loved him to bits, he was my best friend actually. But I clashed with him at work because I was always the boss’s daughter. I felt I couldn’t develop myself and I have a strong personality. So I quit. He resented me for a while but he got over it in the end.”

Pulgarín found a government job with the local office for international co-operation and worked her way up in the role, focusing on issues such as climate change and biodiversity. Then suddenly, her father was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer and died two months later.

“One of the greatest memories I have of him is just a few days before he passed. I was taking care of him but also on the phone working. He looked at me and said: ‘It makes sense now, I get why you couldn’t stay with me’. He said he was proud of me and that was like a blessing from him to continue what I was doing.”

Pulgarín describes her father’s unexpected death as the “wakeup call” she needed to move abroad again, something she’d been dreaming of doing since her time in Germany.

I kept reading about these proud Corkonians saying how brilliant the city was and I thought, that makes sense

She successfully applied for a job in Brussels which allowed for remote working and she started investigating masters courses across Europe. She knew very little about Ireland, but quickly discovered through some Google searches that Cork was the right choice. "I kept reading about these proud Corkonians saying how brilliant the city was and I thought, that makes sense. I come from a small city and we say Cuenca is the most beautiful city in Ecuador."

Pulgarín arrived in Cork in September 2018 and instantly formed a strong bond with her new Italian flatmate. “When I landed I discovered Air France had lost all my luggage and I didn’t have anything except underwear and shoes. My new flatmate gave me a hug and said: ‘We need to go to Penneys’. She literally held my hand as she walked me down the street to Penneys.”

Pulgarín settled well into UCC and started hanging out with the other mature student on the course, a man from Clonakilty called Seamus. "We were just friends at first. Most of our classmates were about 23 but I was 30 and he was 35 so I guess we had more to talk about. Before I went back to Ecuador for Christmas we had one date, it wasn't even a real date. But when I came back in the new year he properly asked me out."

In early 2019, Pulgarín secured a work placement with the Ervia gas and water infrastructure company as part of her masters and decided to leave her remote job in Brussels. After graduation, she became a research support officer at UCC where she remained working for the next two years. As was the case for many people, this job became remote when the pandemic hit.

My dad would miss me if he was still alive. I still miss him. But he'd be so proud, I can feel it

“We were actually in London when Covid hit and ended up stuck there for four months. We were only going for two weeks because Seamus has a pub over there. We never expected we’d have to stay so long. London is a lovely city for a weekend, or for young people in their 20s, but for me it was really difficult. Seamus had his business there, he had friends but all I had was my laptop and work. And London is so different to Ireland, there’s no comparison. Here you bump into someone on the street and you both say ‘sorry’. But in London no one gives a s**t. That was really hard.”

In 2021, Pulgarín started working as a funding and policy manager with EI-H2 – Ireland’s first green hydrogen company. “In my work I talk to Irish TDs and local representatives and I often catch myself saying ‘we’ as if we’re all Irish. I’m not Irish but I do feel a part of Irish society at this stage. And I want to see Ireland succeed because Ireland has helped me to succeed.”

Pulgarín still feels Latin American walking down the street in Cork, but says she “blends well here because I love the culture and the people. People acknowledge that I’m foreign but that’s fine because I am. Those same people make me feel it’s okay to be foreign in Ireland. And one of the greatest compliments I’ve received is ‘you get the craic’, I was very happy with that.”

Her relationship with Séamus is also a big part of that sense of belonging. “His energy and spirit are so positive, he has given me comfort and to me, he is home. He has been a pillar of what I’m building here.”

Pulgarín knows her father would be proud of what she has achieved so far in Ireland. “My dad would miss me if he was still alive. I still miss him. But he’d be so proud, I can feel it, we were so close. In a way, I think all the support he gave me is why I’m here today.”