From the minute I was selected to participate in the Bucknell in Dublin Trip, I was counting down the days till I would arrive in this bucket list country. However, excited as I was, I couldn’t help but think about all of the things that could go wrong while on the trip. After all, I would be away from my friends and family for two months, while simultaneously juggle being a student, work an internship, cook and clean for myself, and make friends along the way. This realization hit me the hardest when my plane took off from Newark on Friday, as all of the worst case scenarios flooded into my brain. Soon enough, the Bucknell in Dublin program changed from something that I was excited for to something I was dreading.

However, by the time our first day in Dublin came to a close, I realized how foolish this thinking really was. After all, this was a learning experience for everyone, and by experiencing a new life and a new culture together, the experience will be made easier for all. Day 1 (Saturday) was very productive and put my nerves to rest. When I arrived at the Ashfield Residences, fellow Bucknellians Cole, Jackson, and Merli were arriving at the same time. After briefly unpacking our bags, we decided to go out and explore the city by foot and grab some lunch at a Circle K. A cultural norm that I immediately noticed off the bat was the friendliness of the locals. On numerous occasions on this journey, some of the locals (perhaps noticing we are American) smiled at us and said “How’s it going lads” as we walked by them. This is certainly something that doesn’t happen very often in the states. On the way back from the Circle K we noticed that there was a pickup game taking place and decided to join. We were humble by the Irish locals who were obviously experienced at the sport, and found out at the end of the game that one of our opponents was a German exchange student studying at UCD (wearing Miami Dolphins shorts). We exchanged social media in case we would meet up at some point in the trip.

The rest of the day was relaxing, and I found myself along with my fellow peers at a Dublin pub watching the Dortmund versus Real Madrid soccer match. At the end of the night, a man and woman (possibly a couple) came into the pub to perform some beloved Irish tunes and even played some American classic for their audience from the states. The image below is the band that performed at the pub.

Day 2 (Sunday) was all about preparing for the week at hand and exploring the places we would familiarize ourselves with during the trip. I checked out the gym for the first time where I worked out with Jackson for about an hour and a half. Admittedly for one of the first times in my life, I went grocery shopping without the supervising eye of my mom and purchased all my own groceries for the week. Before the trip started I promised myself that I would eat healthy, so I made sure to purchase my fair share of proteins that would get me through the week. As I am writing this blog on Wednesday morning, I am proud to say that I have kept this promise and have made sure that each meal that I eat has some healthy element. However, I must admit that I have indulged in a fair of burgers and fries at Mikey’s in UCD village. Attached below is one of the meals I cooked the other day, and the beef and potatoes is a tribute to Irish culture!

Day 3 (Monday) started off with our ANOP 315 class that ran from 9-12 and was taught by Joe Wilck, one of my favorite professors. He made sure to ease us into the class and threw in some jokes along the way . Later in the day I had an opportunity to cross off a bucket list item. Though our trip to the EPIC Museum didn’t start until 2:00, my friends and I decided to arrive an hour early so that we had some time to explore the inner city. That’s when I saw the Irish portal, which is a bridge between Ireland and New York City. I had seen the portal all over social media for months, so I couldn’t hold in my happiness when I had the opportunity to snag a picture of the portal and send it to my friends and family back home who had told me to visit the portal at some point during my trip. Attached below is a snapchat of the portal from afar.

Before we arrived at the EPIC Museum, we stopped at a Starbucks in the city, which I noticed was the smallest Starbucks I had ever seen with only a few items on the menu. This was yet again another cultural norm that I picked up on while in Ireland. It also struck me that the number of homeless people was far less in Ireland than any city I have been to in America. I only had one encounter with a homeless man on the first night, and he was the friendliest homeless man I have ever seen.

When we arrived at the EPIC Museum we immediately were split up into two groups and were given our own tour guide. We all wore headphones so that we could head the tour guide the entire time. Though I forgot our tour guide’s name, he was one of the friendliest and most jovial man I have ever seen, and he was incredibly educated on Ireland’s rich history and culture. He walked us through Ireland’s battle for independence against Britain, the turmoil between the Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, and Irish sports facts. The picture I attached below shows the different ships Ireland used in their history.

Though my internship didn’t start in person on Day 4 (Tuesday), my boss assigned me some tasks to be completed online. I also went grocery shopping again with Jackson and went to the gym with him later in the day. So far this has been a truly memorable experience and I can’t wait for the rest of the trip to unfold!