I have been in Dublin, Ireland now for two full weeks and the time is flying by. I feel like it was just yesterday I landed here and was on my way to the residence hall for the first time. Previously, EUSA, our internship program, brought us on a tour to Kilkenny where we saw the Kilkenny Castle. We also went to Glendalough which had a lot of ruins for us to see and beautiful scenery and mountains. Even the rides either way viewing the countryside and all the farms is so beautiful and definitely a different site than I see in Pittsburgh. The city of Dublin is so different compared to Pittsburgh; here, I feel as though it is so much more rich the culture is vibrant, the people are joyous and it is even more colorful compared to the dullness of Pittsburgh. 

Just recently, my family came to visit me for the upcoming week which I am very excited about and it is nice to see some familiar faces again. Now I get to be their tour guide (even though I still don’t exactly know where I am going myself). I showed them around the city on Saturday when they arrived and just yesterday on Sunday, we went to the Cliffs of Moher. They looked just like the pictures you see online or the postcards in the mail, they were huge and the trail walking along them lasted forever. On the opposite side was endless greenery and fields of cows who have no idea how lucky they are to have the view they have. There is just a thin line of wire separating the path from the cows so they can come right up to you and say hi. I would probably say the Cliffs is the prettiest view I have ever seen and I am so grateful to have shared that experience and scenery with my family! The tour we took to go there also brought us to Galway. Galway was a much smaller city compared to the capital of Dublin and we just walked around the city and small shops together with our tour guide and then had two hours to ourselves. We also saw the Spanish Arch which was used in battles in the late 1500s. There are many historical sites here and things to learn which also makes this experience so much more enriching. 

In terms of my internship, the first week went really smooth. My supervisor and other coworkers are all nice and they have already taught me so much. I have been to a couple appointments with people on different teams including the property management, selling, and letting teams to learn about the different kinds of processes. I am especially interested in sales and the selling aspect because I do not have much prior experience considering I only work in leasing in Pittsburgh, so this experience is certainly eye opening. Managing my time is something I struggle with doing even prior to this trip. Being on time for things and having a decent work-life balance is definitely a struggle considering I am in 2 organizations, a full time student, and part time worker. I practiced my commute to begin so I would be on time everyday and so far, so good. It is the same everyday and a good part of my routine to make my day go smoothly and assure my time is managed correctly in the busy mornings. Otherwise, during work, I manage my time by prioritizing my tasks that I am given. Specifically, if I am told to work on something that is expecting a response from somebody later in the day, I likely work on that first to make sure the deadlines for time are met. If a supervisor asks me to do some research for a property to gain my own knowledge on something like valuing a property, I would do that last as it is something that can be done on my own time. I also try to begin my days with an easier start, so doing things like making my lunch the night before certainly helps to grab and go in the busy morning. Setting out my outfits so I don’t have to choose in the morning is also helpful, and going to bed earlier for a good night’s rest makes the morning and getting to work so much easier. Managing my time in a professional setting is definitely not something I am super used to, especially considering my commute is an hour long and something I have to cut out a lot of time for, 2 hours of my day just on the bus! While it is challenging, it is definitely worthwhile and has taught me a lot about having a specific and detailed daily routine to make my life easier.