After an exciting first seven weeks, we finally arrived at our last week here in Dublin. From the very beginning of this trip, I didn’t know what to expect, but now, as I look back on my final week, I find myself wondering what I was ever worried about. Here in Dublin, I made an abundance of friends, whether it be my classmates, coworkers, and even my professors. I think my initial worry sprouted from the idea of stepping out of my comfort zone, immersing myself in a new country, and trying to integrate into an unfamiliar environment.The initial stages […]
Week seven in Ireland trekked along like the previous weeks. At my internship, I continued progressing on what I had been working on over the past few weeks. I also got the chance to perform research analysis of the organization I had spent my summer working for. For our weekend trip on Saturday we went on the Celtic Boyne Valley Tour. On the tour, the first stop was the Hill of Tara. Considered to be one of the most sacred sites in all of Ireland, it was also thought of as the country’s center because many of the previous kings […]
Week six in Ireland was full of immersion into its rich history. Our trip on Monday was to the Guinness Storehouse. Founded in 1759 originally by Arthur Guinness in Dublin, the beers he brewed: Guinness turned out to become a symbol of the Irish people all around the world. On the storehouse tour, we started on the bottom level where we learned that the building was shaped like a giant ‘Guinness glass’ and could hold eleven times more pints than people in Ireland. This truly showed how the Irish took on the identity that came along with being associated with […]
Week number five in Dublin started out like any other with our weekly class held by Professor Wilck, followed by a trip in the afternoon. This week’s trip was to Kilmainham Gaol, an old prison turned museum found within Dublin. The prison is most famously known for holding high-ranking Irish political activists who were opposed to British rule. On the tour of the prison, the guide tells a story of the only escape from Kilmainham Gaol, in which one prisoner Patrick Moran stays behind. He does this because he believes that he would be found innocent in court, but ultimately […]
By the fourth week in Ireland, I felt deeply accustomed to everyday living in Ireland. The initial weeks of adjustment were behind me, and I no longer felt like a visitor trying to navigate a new environment. Instead of just going through the motions and trying to find my place, I felt I had control over my hour-to-hour life, embracing the routines and rhythms of my new surroundings. The familiarity of the streets, the local shops, and the friendly faces gave me a comforting sense of stability and belonging. During the workweek, my schedule began feeling more structured, with work […]