I am now beginning my last week in Dublin, and it does not feel real. I really am having the best time and am definitely sad that it is almost over, but I am also very excited to go home. I plan on sleeping for many days upon my return, and I plan on drinking a lot of water with ice. 

Last week was a really fun week. We are all trying to make the most out of our last days here, and so we started the week celebrating a friend’s birthday. The Euro Cup semifinal games were last Tuesday and Wednesday, and so we went to different spots in the city to watch those. I missed the final on Sunday because we were on a plane, but as we deplaned, one of the airport employees had it on his phone for everyone to see as we walked into the airport. 

Last summer, I was supposed to go to Scotland with my entire extended family for my grandfather’s eightieth birthday, but the day before we left, we discovered that my passport was lost, and so I never got to go, so I was very excited that this weekend, I finally made it there. I have decided that Edinburgh is the most beautiful city I have ever visited, and it was probably my favorite trip we took this summer. The whole city was so aesthetically pleasing, and we couldn’t stop quoting Harry Potter the whole weekend.

Friday, we climbed Arthur’s Seat. No one prepared me for this. I thought it was more of a hill, but it ended up being a very long, very steep and intense hike, but it was completely worth it. The view from the top was amazing, and it was just so much fun. It was one of my favorite activities from this whole summer, and it was absolutely beautiful out. I might be the first person to have gotten sunburnt in Edinburgh, but it was worth it. We visited the castle as well, which was definitely the coolest castle I have ever been to, and it was absolutely massive.

Saturday, I spent most of the day shopping with two of my friends. We went to the street market, to a bunch of thrift stores, and to the mall, and I bought so many exciting things. We got a really great dinner and sticky toffee pudding, and then met up with the rest of our friends for a fun night all together.

Then, Sunday, we walked around Victoria Street, the street that Diagon Alley is based on, and we went to the Harry Potter store and a few others, looking for gifts and knicknacks. Then, we visited the University of Edinburgh and St. Prince’s Garden, where a really cool festival parade woke me up from my nap in the grass.

My internship is still going well, and I am wrapping up a few of my projects. I have definitely noticed a difference in how people communicate in the office here versus in the US. I think, at least at my internship, people are slightly more direct, and I do not feel like I have to try to figure out what they mean by their tone of voice. I usually find that people say what they need to say in words, but at least at my work, they often have less to say. Everyone is very independent, and they expect that I am the same, and so they give me a lot of freedom in my projects, and thus, there is less to communicate.

I also think its interesting how they handle hybrid work here. In Pittsburgh, I work hybrid, but I have very different days depending on whether I am working at home or in the office. I specifically have all of my meetings in person. However, here, I have meetings in the office and at home over Microsoft Teams, and so my days are pretty much exactly the same, just in a different environment. I quite enjoy working hybrid because I feel less worn out at the end of the week and because it is nice to change things up. I especially have enjoyed the past few weeks where I am not always in the office the same days or even the same number of days.

I truly cannot believe I am almost done with my program here, but I am excited for this next week. I am going to spend as much time as I can with my friends here and try to do everything that I like to do in Dublin. Then, I am off to Barcelona for a few weeks with my roommate before heading back to Pittsburgh!