This weekend, I traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland with a few of my friends from Pitt. It was a lot of fun! On Saturday, we all went on the King Edward’s Seat hike to a peak in Scotland with a beautiful view. When we got there, we enjoyed the view and laid on the grass for a while, relishing each other’s company. We also had some really good local Scottish ice cream. This weekend in Scotland, there was beautiful weather, which we have not been used to while staying in Ireland. I definitely enjoyed seeing the sun, and I may have even gotten a little bit sunburnt. It truly felt like summer this weekend with the beautiful weather, the good company, and the many ice cream trips.
In Scotland, we also visited a beautiful castle and went shopping. I bought my family a few souvenirs and also got myself a new soccer (football) jersey! Two friends and I went to a really cute neighborhood with a street filled with thrift stores. Thrifting is one of my favorite activities, so this was very exciting for me! At the thrift stores, I bought a few new work shirts and a couple of sweaters. After all this shopping, we went out to dinner. For dessert, we all had sticky toffee pudding, which is famous in Scotland. My waiter told me when he served me the sticky toffee pudding that it would be life-changing, and it was so good that it honestly was life-changing. I believe that sticky toffee pudding may have been my favorite new food that I have tried.
This week at work, I took on a new task. The company I work for has a FAQ page on its website for ways to navigate the different softwares that we offer. My supervisor believes that this FAQ is too overwhelming for clients to learn from. For this reason, I created a printout PDF of instructions for navigating two of my company’s software programs: 4Sites and 4Bids. For this assignment, I designed a template that promoted the umbrella company’s logo, 4Property. I believed that my boss was pleased with my work. However, he kept asking me to review it after I sent him a few different drafts. When I told him that I did not know how else I could edit the PDF document, my supervisor eventually told me that he did not like the color palette of my template. I had made the template to include lively colors like those in the 4Property logo; however, my supervisor wanted the document to be traditional and bank-like. I believe that if I had not explicitly asked my boss what he would like me to change about the document, he would never have told me.
I believe that Ireland is a low-context country. Throughout this internship, I have only had polite experiences with different Irish clients. I have found that Irish people do not feel comfortable giving direct feedback. Specifically, my boss almost never gives me direct feedback. However, I have learned ways to decipher when my boss is pleased with my work or not. My boss often tells me explicitly when he is happy with my work but does not tell me when he is not. Over the past couple of weeks, I have come to understand that my supervisor may want a few changes in my work when he does not say much at all.
Additionally, throughout this internship, I have been making phone calls to past clients and trying to get them to come back to our company. Many of the past customers that I have been calling are not interested in returning to our company. However, during these phone calls, I have not received any negative feedback. I have found that the Irish past clients are very polite even when I may be taking up their time.
Overall, I find Ireland to be a low-context environment, and everyone in Ireland is generally more polite than those in the US. While America is slightly more fast-paced and cut-to-the-chase, Ireland is more laid-back and kind. I have enjoyed this environment as this is my first professional experience. The welcomeness and kindness from not only my supervisor but also the clients of the company I work for have been very motivating and inspiring. Not only do I feel motivated to help our clients more because of their kindness, but I also do not feel afraid to try new things as my supervisor is inviting and motivating.