I’m sitting here right now at my dorm room desk trying to process how time can move as fast as it feels. I know that sounds very cliché, but it’s the full truth. Although I am always on the move, I also feel like time should be going slower than it is. We just hit the four-week mark, and have four more to go, but I don’t want this experience to end; it’s been unbelievable. On this week’s adventures, most of my time was of course spent at work, but I tried to do some traveling on my own after work and such. I’ve found joy in experiencing what clean, vibrant green space here is through the multitude of parks that exist in almost every town you visit. It’s extremely peaceful and allows me to have my own time while still enjoying what Ireland has to offer. I was also given the amazing opportunity with my job to visit Linkedin’s European headquarters in the Dublin city center! LinkedIn gave a presentation on the topics of evaluating LinkedIn profiles, and other pertinent information about the Irish market, and in return, as an employee of my company, will be given LinkedIn Premium for free! I met and connected with LinkedIn’s Principal Customer Manager and had some very insightful advice given to me on my future and success in Ireland. My networking continues to grow, and I hope for my success to continue over the next few months. Lastly, I ended the weekend with a quick trip to Amsterdam, where we saw the windmills in Zaanse Schans, a local cheese factory, clogs shop, and so much more! I love traveling with friends and seeing new things, and can’t wait for the remaining half of the trip.
Living here in Ireland now for over a month has been an amazing time, but it has taken some time to adapt to the culture and life here in Ireland. I am not very successful at adapting quickly, so this took some time to get used to. One of the first cultural differences I had to get used to was the experience of the work environment. My co-workers and even my supervisors are extremely social and outgoing. Although we have a 9-5 job and all acknowledge that, we spend a large amount of time conversing with each other. This can be about work, or sometimes even our own personal lives. At a certain point, I spent an entire hour speaking with my coworker about life in Ireland and his own personal life. With all of the previous jobs I have had in the United States, I fully expected a hard-set task of work throughout the shift, regardless of the day at hand. I was content with this, as in both places I was able to have little pauses where I could socialize with my fellow co-workers and begin to bond over various topics, but it feels a bit more relaxed here in Ireland. I like the idea that although I can get down to business and work extremely hard on a project, I also have the ability to converse with anybody at any time, free of judgment.
However, I have found it very difficult to assimilate into the food culture here, especially in the workplace. I’m unsure as to why, if I’m being honest, I haven’t felt very comfortable asking someone what the typical experience is like here, but eating large amounts seems to be fairly uncommon here for every meal. My company blesses me with free food for both breakfast and lunch with food that’s donated to them from a local supermarket, and everyone within the office has the ability to take home any food they’d like or eat any food provided by the cooks. However, I am very used to eating a large amount of food, especially for a meal such as lunch, so when I go to work now, I am often forced to bring extra snacks with me. Second portions do not seem to be very commonplace, and for lunch, they use the equivalent of what’s on a snack plate as their full meal. This caught me by surprise at first and often can leave me very hungry by the end of the day, but it took some adapting and understanding of how I should plan my days out to become better accustomed to this common tradition.
Although these changes are very daunting at first, I like that people feel comfortable correcting you with no rebuttal for your inquiries. It makes me feel more at home, and honestly, more in love with the culture the people of Ireland emit to foreigners from America such as myself. It has been an amazing first 4 weeks, but let’s keep the ball rolling! Until next time friends.