This week started off slow (yet again) because I got super sick right after the Amsterdam trip. To no surprise, getting 4 or less hours of sleep, barely drinking water and eating, and traveling internationally is hard on the body. I’m having such a transformative experience on this program and I want to say yes to everything, but I need to remember to listen to my body when I need a break. With less than two weeks in Dublin and (strangely) beautiful weather, I want to make the most of our limited time here. Now that I’m done with international weekend trips, it will be easier for me to prioritize well needed self-care. I’m so thankful to have a great group of friends to go exploring with and I will miss them the most following the end of this program!
On Tuesday my friends and I got dinner at Hairy Lemon and the food was amazing! Then, we picked a pub from Anthony Bourdain’s Dublin pub crawl. We ended up at a place called The Long Hall! After getting drinks, we ended the night at Murphy’s for ice cream! While we were in waiting in line, my friend Shwetha and I had a full circle moment when we ran into friends from high school who were also studying abroad. Even in a different country, the world still feels so small! It was so fun to catch up after a couple of years and I’m so glad we got to see them.
On Wednesday, we went to the Vico Baths after work! The walk up there was long and uphill, but scenic and calm. I have no shame admitting this, but I never learned how to swim and I have no intention of ever learning. So, my friend Ashley and I enjoyed (and suffered) in the very cold, but calming shallow end of the baths. The bottom of the pool was covered in moss and felt very soft. I’m not sure what was in this water or if a spell was casted on us, but most of my friends and myself immediately had eye issues once we left the baths. I didn’t fully submerge myself in the water, but I was kindly splashed by someone in the pool, so some water got in my eye. The following morning, I woke up with what I believe to be an eye infection or significant irritation. My eye has been bloodshot and irritated all week, but it’s getting better with time.
Speaking of eye problems, I also lost my glasses at the Vico Baths. To make matters worse, I only had (3) three daily contacts left and none were with me at the time. So, I was left searching high and low while holding my phone up to my eye like a magnifying class. This was a challenge as I’m painfully near sighted with a -5.5 prescription. My friends and concerned bystanders all pitched in to hunt for my glasses, but we couldn’t find them. I now have a theory that I accidentally put my glasses in a stranger’s bag that I mistook for my friends’ bag (oops?). I hope someone is happy to receive a free, lopsided pair of scratched up glasses!
The following day my friend Shwetha and I went to the eye doctor because I cannot be trusted to safely navigate alone while being nearly blind. She kindly served as my navigator to help me get around the city. I got more contacts, so I can finally see again! After work, we went to Howth and did the cliff walk. This was my first time in Howth and it was so beautiful along with the weather. Upon arriving, we picked up spice bags and ate while we walked. We didn’t do the full cliff walk as it was getting late, so we just walked up a smaller hill to a scenic viewpoint. WOW the sunset was so magical to look at, we picked the perfect time to go! We ended the night at our favorite bar called No Name and got Falafel afterwards (my stomach still hurts).
On Friday after work, we went to Sandycove beach! It was around 80°F that day, so it was the perfect weather for a beach day. The water was (of course) freezing cold, but it still felt refreshing and helped us cool off from the heat. That night, a few of us wore our ‘I Love Dublin’ shirts for our friend Virginia’s farewell night. She is in a different program that ends a week before ours, so we went out and said our final goodbyes.
Internship Reflection: Communication Differences
In both my personal and professional life, I strongly prefer low-context communication as it is more direct and leaves less room for guessing or reading in between the lines. When communicating with others, I am more direct and I stray away from relying on vague or non-verbal communications. If I am making a mistake at work, I would rather receive direct and prompt feedback, rather than indirect and lagged feedback. This prevents myself from continuing to make the same mistakes unknowingly for a prolonged period of time.
My direct communication style is at odds with my supervisors at Allgo who favor high-context communication. Instead of stating that the KYB team failed to reach our daily goal, we received a group message asking if everything is alright followed by a reminder of our weekly goal. From that question, I was left to infer that our performance was dissatisfactory and that we were being told to work faster. We were also not aware of the weekly goal until the end of the day on Tuesday. So prior to receiving this message, the expectations were unclear. If a message was sent on Monday morning outlining our daily and weekly goal, we all would have been on the same page and on track to meeting those goals from the start of the week.
I understand an adversion to direct communication out of fear of coming off too harsh, but when expectations are unstated, it leads to disorientation and misunderstanding. I also recognize the cultural difference in communication style. Coming from a low-context communication background where I was also raised in household with a direct and blunt family, I am not skilled at reading in between the lines to decode indirect language. But, if I grew up surrounded in an environment with high-context communication, I would be more accustomed to understanding it.
I am working to overcome the lack of direction caused by unclear expectations by asking follow up questions, checking in with my supervisor to ensure we are staying on track, and communicating with my colleagues about our daily individual goals. I directly message my supervisors on Gmail chat and they are very responsive and willing to clarify any confusion! I’m thankful for this quick and convenient communication channel to ask questions and stay informed about shifting expectations. My experience at Allgo has broadened exposure to new communication styles and has improved my ability to decode indirect language. I plan to use my improved communication skills to adapt to future environments with high-context communication.
Though I’m currently fighting an eye and sinus infection, I’m still having such a fun week. I’m trying to be present and soak up every moment going into our last week here!
