Week 4 – Adaptability and Flexibility
Prompt Response:
One of the greatest aspects of being abroad in a location that is new to you is the ability to grow through individual experiences as well as expand your personal cross-cultural awareness. Over the course of my eight-week stay in Dublin, Ireland, I will learn about portions of Irish society that I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. It is exciting to be able to use exposure to a new work environment, as well as interactions in the outside world, to enhance my own understanding of another culture and group of people.
Working within a community is, in my opinion, the best way to get a true understanding of the societal systems that are set in place and become familiar with the cultural climate. When I first arrived at school in Pittsburgh, I felt very out of place and like I didn’t understand the area or the people, but after some time volunteering places – like the food bank and the YMCA, I go to know the kind of people there were living in different neighborhoods, and the work that was being done to support them.
My experience has been no different in this sense, so far in Dublin. Community outreach is the most interactive way to immerse yourself in an unknown environment. Over the three weeks that I have been working at WALK so far, I feel as though I have a great understanding that the kind of people Dublin attracts and the interpersonal attitude that my co-workers and clients have. It has been an important way for me to quickly understand my host country and assimilate to life here more rapidly.
If I were to compare social care work in Dublin to that of places that I have worked at in the states, I would say the goals and approaches of the practitioners are very similar. Anyone entering the social care world is hopefully working towards creating systems that are inclusive, and advocate for their clients or their goals. The themes of the profession are social justice, diversity, dignity of the people, etc. With this mindset at the forefront of the work that is being done, in both the States and Ireland, much of the work is similar. At WALK, we are supporting service users with intellectual disabilities to provide them with resources and job placements to improve autonomy. A portion of this work is advocating for our service users, listening to their choices and preferences, making the environment one that is inclusive and flexible, and researching helpful tools to succeed. In this case, the work that I am doing in Dublin is very important, but handled very similarly within the workplace as it would be in the U.S.
The main difference that I have noticed between my home and my host country is the overall workplace attitude around busyness and efficiency. I believe it is true, that in America we tend to be programmed to be very “go-go-go.” In my past experiences working in the states, the vibe of every workplace is very overwhelming. In many of my roles there has been very little down time and an overarching sense of urgency around tasks. The work that I have done here so far is much more relaxed. I believe that some of this has to do with our need to be flexible around the people that we are supporting, but a lot of it occurs when we have no clients. Many of my coworkers will take time to reset, organize, leave the office early when their tasks are done for the day, hold off plans until the next day, etc. There is nothing wrong with this system, it is just different and has taken me some time to get used to. The ability to slow down may mean that less overall is getting done in a day, but it also provides an opportunity for less mistakes, as well as gaining information in that down time that you would not have learned had the day been too busy to listen to one another. It is nice to see a working environment that is not as stressful and chaotic; it makes working feel more balanced.
Personal Journal:
This week began our fourth week of living in Dublin this summer. When we reach this Monday, we will have been here for a full month. Time, as usual, seems to be flying by. This week for me felt like the week that I truly settled here. As a person, I do not always adjust well to change or being outside of my normal routine. Going abroad was a major step outside of my comfort zone and mainly because of my desire to be around things that I know and love. I am so lucky that my everyday life is so enjoyable that I never want to try new things, but sometimes the desire to stick with what I know can hold me back. So, coming to Ireland this summer was a challenge for me, but one that I am already grateful to have committed to.
For the past few weeks of being here, I have been truly enjoying myself. I have great roommates, I love living on the campus at UCD, we have been able to explore so many parts of the city and Ireland as a whole, and I feel very welcomed here. However, I am not in a familiar place, and that makes me uncomfortable no matter how much I may be enjoying it. But this week something changed. I feel like I have been here long enough that I have established a routine, places that I like to go, and a day-to-day that makes me feel like I am at home. This week the weather was beautiful and my schedule at work wasn’t too busy, so I was able to have a balanced week on all fronts; socially, professionally, and personally.
On Monday, I had a long day of work and meetings, prepping workshops and personal plans alongside my co-workers, and at night I went home to go for a run and then my roommates and I went out to a Pub. One of my roommates got good news about her job placement so we wanted to celebrate her and the nice weather. Tuesday was similar, I had work and then went for a run and hung out at the dorm, the sun doesn’t set until 10:30 pm here so I had a nice long amount of time to be able to spend outside enjoying the evening sunshine. On Wednesday the weather was great, and I met up with my friends at St. Stephen’s Green in town to have a picnic and hang out. When we finished there, I went home and went for a nice long walk and did laundry. Thursday was beautiful as well; I had a nice time at work traveling around the city with some of my service users. Afterwards I headed home to change and pack a bag and then went to visit my friend who lives in Malahide. She was having a barbeque with some girl friends and so I went over to hang out with them, and she toured me around her town. The weather was so gorgeous all night and we all just sat and talked while listening to some good music. The plan for the weekend is the same, to enjoy the nice weather for as long as it lasts, because it is rare in Dublin, and relax after a long week of work. We are going to go to Howth to have a nice day at the beach, as well as spend Saturday exploring Dublin landmarks, some more than we have already. We really want to spend some time in the Trinity Library and do some shopping at vintage stores. It will all be a great time. I am so grateful for this nice weather that we have had as it has made the week surprisingly fun.