Hi everyone! I’m glad to say it’s been a week since I’ve arrived in Dublin. Since I’ve gotten to this wonderful city I’ve had the opportunity to get to know the university campus I’m staying and also gotten the chance to learn a little more about Ireland’s history and the place I’ll be interning at for the summer!
I got here at around 20:30 on a Monday and it was still sunny! The late sunsets and early sunrises take a little getting used to, but I feel very fortunate to have so much daylight to enjoy the city and explore. For the past week jet lag hasn’t been too bad but it has definitely made it harder to sleep early. Because of the time of my arrival, I decided to take a taxi to the place I was staying, and it was a great way to be introduced to the city of Dublin. My taxi driver, Patrick, gave me a little tour of Dublin and even took me rainbow chasing. Having such a kind welcome really set the pace for the rest of my Dublin experience for this first week. Getting the opportunity to experience a different culture is amazing but it can also be really intimidating. With so much freedom and opportunity knowing how to balance responsibilities and how to manage one’s own time is essential. Dublin is the kind of city that has thousands of places one can explore and something for everyone so I’ve been trying to enjoy sights while reminding myself that there will still be enough time to enjoy and explore the city during my stay. Something that really hit me this first week is the feeling of being overwhelmed and of running out of time. One might say, Luiza, you have barely been there a week, how could you be running out of time? And here is the thing, when faced with so many opportunities and places to explore, one can want to do everything as soon as possible, so pacing myself and creating a routine has been really important for me.
Tuesday, I got a chance to actually meet and talk to people in my program and meet the placement coordinators which were all very nice and welcoming and made the transition to life in Dublin a lot easier.
Wednesday, alongside with the EUSA team we got a chance to learn more about Irish culture and the famous Gaelic games. In addition to learning about the cultural importance of these games, we actually got the opportunity to try to play some of the traditional sports like hurling – a mix of hockey and lacrosse on the field that requires much more hand-eye coordination then what I have-, Gaelic football and Gaelic handball – one of my favorites and one of the only ones I was actually good at. After spending the afternoon trying all the sports, we had a barbecue and I got to meet more amazing people also participating in the program.
On Thursday, everyone in my program had a free day to practice our commute to our internships. I found my internship location and then decided to go explore. Thankfully the place I’ll be working is within walking distance of the city center, so I took the extra time I had to explore the city center a bit more. I visited Trinity College and became more familiar with the streets in Dublin. After exploring the town a bit more, I went back to campus and got familiar with some more routine things, like how to use the laundry machine here. After doing laundry, me, my roommate and some other friends walked to an Aldi by the seaside- what a privilege to be a walk away from the ocean and the incredible views!
Friday everyone met up at 8 a.m. and headed out for a day trip through Ireland, we visited the Saint Kevin’s monastic site – in Glendalough- and also visited Kilkenny. In Glendalough, we got to see amazing scenic views, including part of where the movie Braveheart had been filmed. Saint Kevin’s Monastery is a place one could spend hours in, I can’t wait to go back and explore more one day. Similarly, two hours was not enough time to explore the beautiful city of Kilkenny.
The weekend unfortunately didn’t go as expected. While I had planned to go out and explore classical touristic spots more, I started feeling ill and had to stay in until today. And while it can be very frustrating to get sick abroad, it’s important to remind yourself that no one wants to get sick – especially while studying abroad- but sometimes it happens and it is important to prioritize getting back to your healthiest and that, as I’ve, mentioned before, there will still be time to explore and learn more about the city later. So, if you ever get sick in your first week abroad, don’t panic and be kind to yourself, remember to balance things out, and that everything will turn out fine.
Despite still feeling sick I’m excited to start my internship soon and get involved in different marketing projects and assignments at the Global Undergraduate Awards. Can’t wait to see what next week holds for me!