Good evening from Dublin! This weekend I traveled to London to visit one of my close friends, as well as to see Harry Styles at Wembley Stadium. Seeing one of my favorite artists at one of the most iconic venues in the world was unforgettable and I have so many memories from that day that I will remember forever. Happy to say it was a rewarding experience to sit outside in line for 15 hours as I made very nice German friends and ended up getting an incredible view of the show. I cannot wait to take more weekend trips to more exciting locations the rest of my time abroad, but also of course taking the time to appreciate everything Dublin has to offer.

The traveling to and from London, however, was stressful and I needed to constantly adapt to the changes around me as a young woman traveling solo. For instance, my flight back to Dublin was pushed back from 2pm on Sunday to 6am the next morning, leaving me with no other option (changing my flight would have cost me hundreds) but to scramble to find an accommodation to spend the night. Remembering how lucky I am to still be in London, however, this granted me time to actually see some sights with my friend before making my way to my hotel near the airport. I was so excited to see Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and West Minster Abbey on a whim after I thought I would need to save the sight-seeing for a future trip to London. I am taking it as a sign from the universe that I needed to slow down and enjoy what was around me. I am sad to report, though, that I did not get to experience the brand new Elizabeth Line on the tube.

This week I am proud to say I successfully experienced my first pub experience in a work-based environment. On Wednesday evening the team all met at bar near the River Liffy where we got to taste some of Intrepid’s Spirits products within some fancy cocktails. At the start, I was worried about making conversation with co-workers, especially the ones older than me that I might not be super relatable to, but I had so much fun and the evening went so well!

A major difficulty I had upon my arrival to Dublin that I am still working through currently is navigating transportation systems. Although I primarily stick with the bus, and I’ve mastered the 39a line to City Centre, I still find myself worried I look like a dumb American tourist when I ask questions about my surroundings or if I struggle to find the correct bus stop. I realized though, that there is a sense of anonymity in traveling in a new city, and as long as you are nice to people and try your best to not make yourself a nuisance in public, it really does not matter to me how anyone perceives me since I am likely to never see most of these people ever again. I must focus only on what I can control, and not stress about the small things or else I will be too caught up in other people’s opinions vs taking the time to learn and enjoy my time as a student in Europe.

Another aspect of Dublin culture that I struggle with in the workplace is the lack of direction. I am happy and thankful that I have a great relationship with my supervisors, but there are times in which their quick, verbally-assigned, tasks are confusing and lack clarity. I do believe this is Intrepid’s first time having an intern since they started in 2013 and there are many people in the small office currently on holiday, so I keep all of this in mind as I try to find my stability in the office in the midst of the constantly changing dynamics. I find myself uncertain in many tasks and need to frequently seek clarifications and have questions asked. I always greatly appreciate when tasks come with written instructions and there is no immense sense of confusion to what the task will actually entail. I also am warming up to the constant banter and sarcasm between colleagues, and now know to not take everything so seriously.

I can feel myself growing more confident and independent each day and am so sad to see just how quickly my time here is passing by. Stay tuned for next week after my friends and I are taking a weekend trip to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher!