Hello from Dublin! My first week in the beautiful and green country of Ireland has been nothing short of magical!
From the moment my flight landed, my Dublin experience began. I was met with the lovely and cheery Irish accents of the EUSA team as they welcomed me and guided me to a bus that would take me and my fellow students to the University College Dublin (UCD) campus. My first step outside was met with an overcast sky and a solid drizzle of rainfall. Prepped and ready, I whipped out my bright yellow raincoat that has now become my signature look. Multiple people have commented on my bright outerwear. At least I am unlikely to get lost!
From the airport, we took a coach bus to the UCD campus, passing by lush greenery and beautiful homes. Once on the campus, I lugged my heavy suitcases to my temporary home and, following a quite delicious sausage roll, embarked on a campus tour. There, I met and got to know many different students from Pitt and other universities. From there, I walked around with a couple other students around the campus. We hung out by the lake and watched a small family of swans. Then the most perfect thing happened. As we were walking back to our dorms, we saw a beautiful Irish rainbow! What a perfect addition to my first day in Dublin.
Day two was enjoyable, although the jetlag was certainly hitting. We were all feeling it to the point where my Kahoot team for the program orientation was named “The Jetlag”! Later that day, I went on a group trip to the store to grab some essentials, getting good practice on the Dublin public transport.
Come Wednesday, I had mostly adjusted to the time change. I had a new challenge to face however: the Gaelic Games. We went to a proper Gaelic club and were coached through the Gaelic games of hurling, Gaelic handball, and Gaelic football. These games were fun, although a little tricky to get the hang of! I did best at Gaelic football, my limited experience in soccer as a child likely being to my advantage. We then concluded this experience with an Irish barbecue where we had burgers, chicken, and sausages. Later that evening, I explored the iconic Temple Bar area and heard “Sweet Caroline” being performed! Let’s Go Pitt!
Thursday was an open day for us to practice the commute to our internship placements. Lucky for me, my placement is in the city center! I took a bus from UCD to my placement and got a good look at the area before adventuring off into the city, along with fellow Pitt student, Antoinette. To start our adventure right, we went to The Irish Potato Cake Company where I got a full Irish breakfast. This meal was absolutely delicious and left me full and satisfied. We then walked around, stopping in bookstores and shops and viewing the bustling center of Dublin. We returned to UCD in the afternoon where I relaxed and read for a bit before returning out with a larger group to back out to the city center. We tried the TikTok viral spice bags and while I worried they would not be as good as advertised, the hype for these bags of well seasoned fries and chicken turned out to be well deserved! Apparently, a seagull thought so too because he snatched a piece of chicken right out from between my fingers. The rude bird even had the nerve to side eye me after with my chicken sitting between his beak. Despite the stolen chicken, I enjoyed my evening.
Friday was spent going on another excursion with EUSA! We got up early to head about an hour or so out of Dublin to Saint Kevin’s monastic site in Glendalough where we could explore the site and also walk through the forest to a beautiful and serene lake! We then went to Killkenny where we could explore around and also see a castle!
At the time of posting, I am getting ready to spend my weekend further exploring Dublin. I have plans for visiting Trinity College and the Book of Kells and also exploring an indoor market called George’s Street Arcade.
While enjoying my explorations and adventures, I am also preparing for my internship to start this upcoming Tuesday! I will be working in the publishing industry with a magazine called Gay Community News. This industry fits in nicely with my strengths and skills as it requires writing and editing skills. It is also likely helpful to have an understanding of digital publishing such as website creation and design features. Having skills of organization and project management is also ideal as there can be a lot of moving pieces when it comes to the publishing industry. For a specifically Irish perspective, it is good to develop an understanding of Irish culture and writing in order to appeal to the target audience. Even an understanding of the Irish language could be helpful. Having an English version and an Irish version of a piece or article could be good to help preserve the Irish language and culture. As a whole, there are skills I have and skills for me to develop within the publishing industry that I think my internship will really help me grow in.
My time in Dublin has been really rewarding so far and I look forward to what’s to come!