My first week in Dublin has caused me to feel a lot of emotions, most of which are a combination of nervousness and excitement. Going into the trip, I didn’t know a lot of the people who are also here and also didn’t know a ton about my internship going into the program, which definitely caused me to be a little bit anxious as I didn’t know how my first week here was going to go. This is also the first time I’ve been out of the United States which also gave me some mixed emotions, most of which were excitement as I knew this would be a new and fun experience to see what life is like in a different part of the world. When first getting here, I didn’t know four out of my five other roommates and met them for the first time which can be a bit nerve wracking knowing I have to live with them for the next eight weeks but meeting them definitely put my mind at ease as I got along with all of them very well from our very first interactions. Our first night here my roommates and I explored the city together which was an awesome way to start off the trip and see what life in Dublin is going to be like for the duration of our time here.
After a great weekend, it was time for my first class here on Monday morning! During my first class I was told that we will be learning about the history of many different time periods here in Ireland, which I’m very excited to learn about as I know that this is a country with a lot of interesting history that dates back way further than the United States. Our first excursion that I went on was a trip to the EPIC Museum, where I learned a bit about this history of Ireland, which was specifically focused on the history of Irish Emigration. I went through many different galleries which talked about different parts of the Irish diaspora such as the different immigration patterns from Ireland and some of the reasons for emigration out of Ireland such as the Irish famine. After this, about half of the other students in our program went and explored the side of the city that the museum was near which is when I met and talked to a lot of the other students on the trip which made has made me very excited to spend the summer here, as I really enjoyed getting to know all of them!
The last part of my experience here in the first week that I wanted to talk about is my internship that I started with FinanceFair! I met everyone in the office who were all super welcoming and nice, which made me feel very comfortable even from just my first day there. It’s also nice that I’m interning with one of the other students on the trip, Bella, which makes the day go by a lot faster having someone to talk to and go to lunch with while I’m there. On the first I learned about what I would be doing during the summer here, which is working specifically with their credit and risk team and helping them evaluate companies that want money lended to them and giving them credit scores. It has overall been an awesome experience so far and I’m very excited for what’s to come the rest of the time I’m here!
First time taking the bus!
At the EPIC Museum!
Walking with my supervisor Lorcan and fellow intern Bella on our lunch break at my internship!
First day at the office!
Lunch break with Bella on the second day!