Dublin Diaries | Week 7

City Lights

Week seven has been a really enjoyable one, and with only a week left in Dublin I have been making a conscious effort to soak up as much of the city as possible before it is time to head home.

One of the more unexpected things I stumbled across this week was the Dance World Cup 2026 World Finals, which is currently taking place right here in Dublin. The event runs from July 8 through July 18 at the Convention Centre Dublin and features over 11,000 international dancers from more than 50 countries competing across categories including ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and tap. I got to see it from the outside and just the energy around the Convention Centre was really cool to witness. Seeing that many performers from all over the world gathered in Dublin for something like this was a nice reminder of how much of an international city Dublin really is. It is the kind of thing you would not necessarily expect to stumble across on a regular evening walk but that is honestly one of the things I love most about this city.

Beyond that I have just been continuing to explore Dublin and make the most of the time I have left here. Whether it is wandering through different neighborhoods, checking out spots I had not made it to yet, or just enjoying the pace of the city on a quieter evening, every week here has had something new to offer. Dublin is one of those cities that keeps revealing itself gradually and I feel like I am still discovering new things about it even seven weeks in. It has been a really special place to spend a summer and I am already feeling a little nostalgic about it with the end approaching.

Reflecting on Communication

Seven weeks into this experience, communication is one of the areas where I feel I have grown the most and also one of the areas that has surprised me the most. Coming into this internship I expected the transition to an Irish workplace to feel fairly seamless given the shared language, but what I have come to realize is that communication is about so much more than the words being used.

Ireland sits in an interesting place on the communication spectrum. In general, Irish communication tends to lean toward being warm, conversational, and relationship driven. People here take time to build rapport before getting straight to business, and there is a genuine emphasis on being personable and approachable in professional interactions. That part of the culture actually felt very natural to adapt to and has made the workplace feel welcoming from day one.

Coming from an American communication style that tends to be more direct and explicit, learning to read between the lines a little more carefully has been a genuine adjustment. There were moments early on where I was not entirely sure whether something was a suggestion or a firm direction, or whether a piece of feedback was more serious than it was being presented. Over time I have gotten much better at picking up on those cues, but it took intentional effort and attentiveness to get there.

I would not say I have experienced any major miscommunications throughout the internship, but there have definitely been small moments of misalignment that required a follow up conversation or a bit of clarification. In those situations I found that simply asking a direct but respectful clarifying question was always well received. Nobody has ever made me feel like asking for clarity was a burden, which speaks to how genuinely collaborative and approachable the team has been throughout.

One broader communication observation that has stood out to me is how much of professional communication here happens informally. A quick chat in passing, a casual check in over coffee, or a lighthearted exchange at the start of a meeting can carry just as much professional weight as a formal email or a structured meeting. Learning to be present and engaged in those informal moments, rather than treating them as filler between the real work, has been one of the more meaningful communication lessons this experience has taught me.

Taking all of this forward into my career, I feel genuinely better equipped to navigate diverse communication environments than I was before arriving. Understanding that people communicate differently based on culture, context, and personality, and being flexible enough to adapt your own style accordingly, is a skill that will serve me in any professional setting I find myself in. Dublin has been a really valuable classroom for that lesson and one I will carry with me long after I leave.

More to come in the final stretch, stay tuned!