I just finished my first month in Dublin and my third week at my internship. It has been such a great experience so far. My parents came into town this week so I spent the weekend with them. We went up to Belfast and saw the Giants Causeway. The cliffs were beautiful, and it was a great experience. We also went to the Titanic museum, which was extremely interesting. The place contained many facts about the Titanic that I never knew. We had dinner several nights too. These dinners were amazing because I got to have exceptional foods that I would never have bought on my own. The food was also extra astonishing because it was free. Overall, my 4th week in Dublin was a fantastic one.

Now that I talked about my out-of-office experiences this week, I can talk about my in-office experience. Working in Dublin is a different experience than working in the States. I have had several jobs in America, and none of them have been like what I am experiencing here. It’s almost like I am working in a different country. All jokes aside, this internship has been a learning experience.

One major cultural difference between the Dublin workplace and the American workplace is the way they handle tasks. I talked about this in my previous post, but the Dublin workplace is more ambiguous. What I mean by that, is that when you get a task you aren’t told how to do it. You get handed a task, and you have to figure it out. These experiences have been nothing like my experiences in the States. In America when given a job, you are told specifically what to do. In Dublin, they give you the goal, and your task is to find the path. I am not saying it’s better or worse, but it has been different. There have been days when I am just planning out what to do because I don’t have a plan. This way of working has also led to days when I spend planning just to not do what I planned. As the weeks have gone by, I have adjusted, but it was a learning curve.

Another major cultural difference between the Dublin workplace and the American workplace is the hierarchical structure. In America, you know where you stand in the workplace. You know people are above you, and you know which people are below you. In Dublin, it is much harder to tell. I am not saying there are no bosses or a structure, but you can talk to your boss as if they weren’t. I still treat them with respect, but I don’t have the pressure as I do in America. It is a much more equal ground here in that you can talk to anyone the same way. I greatly appreciate this because it allows me to be closer to my bosses since I don’t think of them as better than me.  For the first couple of weeks, I still had the pressure because it’s built into me from American culture. However, as time has gone on, I have had that pressure melt away.  

The last culture difference is not one in the workplace but one in general. In America, it is common to see someone in shorts and a T-shirt, but here you would stand out like a sore thumb wearing those clothes. I am a person who likes to wear clothes that are comfortable and don’t care what they look like. However, here everyone wears clothes that are more professional. Rarely have I caught someone wearing sweatpants or shorts. Everyone here wears at least jeans and a nice shirt. It was surprising to see because in America half the people wear pajama pants out. I own all these clothes, but they have never been my go-to. I just don’t find them that comfortable to be in. However, since being here I have been wearing nice clothes, and I have come to like them. I like feeling always dressed up and looking professional. This difference was not one I expected, but it was a pleasant one to have.

Overall, even though Dublin and America are pretty similar in their cultures, they have a lot of differences. Some of those differences have been easier to adapt to like the clothes and the workplace structures. Other differences such as the ambiguity of the workplace have not been so easy. These differences I will learn and adapt to and become a more experienced person because of them. I hope to continue to have a great time in Dublin and look forward to experiences yet to come.