As this experience comes to an end, I am beginning to reflect on the lessons and skills I’ve gained in my Irish work environment. Over the past seven weeks, I have experienced what it is like to be part of an office community. I have gotten to a point where I feel comfortable around my co-workers and be honest with them. I hope this trend continues in my future career. Here in Ireland, I have always been treated with friendliness and positivity. It’s difficult to tell whether I will experience the same feelings when I work back in the states. It seems that in America they value quality and work and work ethic over everything else. Here in Dublin, there is a large emphasis on interpersonal interaction. In addition, deadlines and timeliness are less important. Although I pride myself on my time management skills, they haven’t been an asset for me during this internship. I am given small tasks throughout the day to complete and there isn’t an incentive to complete these in an efficient manner.

                Success in a company can be a difficult thing to define. At my company, we value teamwork and ‘continuous improvement’. There is a current initiative called ‘Better RCSI’ that focuses on implementing change within our organization. Because we are a medical college, the industry is in a constant state of change. Every year a new group of students graduates and enrols and there is also a large employee turnover. Because of this, one measure of success is adapting to changes in the business environment. It’s interesting to see how the Finance team is adapting to changes in the health field. Although I am uneducated in this area, it has been worthwhile to learn more.

                It is finally starting to set in that the trip is near an end. This week one of our interns had her last day and her program ended; I finally realized how little time I have left. I hope during my final workweek I can take advantage of the resources that my company has offered. I will always be grateful for the amazing hospitality my co-workers and superiors brought at work.

                This week I took some time to focus on my health. Almost every night I got a good night’s sleep! Things like this can really improve your work performance and overall mood. I feel revitalized after a week of going to bed at a normal hour. However, this weekend brought back the crazy schedule I have been getting used to as I traveled to Madrid, Spain! It was an incredible experience to see a completely different European culture. I have been traveling in Ireland and the UK but this was the first time I saw a place like this. Madrid is beautiful, the architecture is magnificent and the sun is always shining. I was even able to speak a little bit of Spanish. In Ireland, I never had to worry about speaking another language and this was definitely eye openings. Language barriers are tough and I appreciate travelers that come to America and attempt to speak English. It is very sad that most Americans never learn a language other than English. I hope one day I can be fluent in another language.

One of the elements I enjoyed most from this trip to Madrid was the food. We ate a myriad of Spanish tapas and were adventurous with our appetites. This weekend I tried: black calamari croquettes, fried shark, black pudding, anchovies and numerous other foods that I never pictured myself enjoying. In addition to trying new foods, we also spent time exploring the various sights. One of my favorites is El Palacio Royal (The Royal Palace). This massive palace had breathtaking views of the Spanish countryside as well as majestic architecture. As Madrid is the capital of Spain, it hosts many impressive historical buildings. Some other great sights were Plaza Mayor, Puerta de Sol, El Parque de Buen Retiro and Plaza de Cibeles. Furthermore, I am extremely grateful that I was able to take a break from the Irish weather and experience the Spanish heat. Temperatures reached over one hundred degrees! Although it was very hot, I was happy to spend time in the sun. I hope to be able to return to Spain in the future, it is a place like no other.

This week brought upon a lot of self reflection and I am proud of my abilities to be self sufficient and confident when traveling.