Somehow my time in Dublin is coming to an end. As I was taking the bus back from my last day at work, I stared out the window and thought about how I would never be doing this again. To have not just visit, but work and live in Ireland for two whole months has been such a privilege and joy. This past week I have really tried to take everything in so I can remember it forever.
At work this week I was able to work with multiple of my coworkers, which was such a blast. I have loved the different friendships that I have made through my internship, especially since I did not expect to make friends at work. The one person who I will miss most is my one supervisor Patrick. Throughout this internship I have loved learning about horticulture and its human connections from him. But even more so I think that he has taught me about burnout. Throughout my two months I have seen him balance both his person and work lives. While some days seemed to drain him more than others, I feel inspired by his resilience. In both the non-profit and environmental sectors burnout is a huge issue. Many people have so much passion that they end up working too hard and falling short. This is something that I am worried will happen to me when I become an environmental lawyer, but Patrick has shown me how to care about your work but also care about yourself. He has worked at Festina Lente around thirty years, displaying dedication that I hope one day to have in my career. It was difficult to say goodbye to all of my coworkers, but him most of all. When I come back to Dublin one day (which I am hopefully will happen), I am going to be sure to find him again.
When it comes to my friends from Pitt, I am sad to leave them but excited knowing that we will all be together again at school. I am grateful for the relationships that I have made on this trip, as I probably would have never met any of my friends if we had not come to Dublin. To celebrate our last week, we all went to dinner and wore “I <3 Dublin” shirts. The best part of this was the reactions of all of the locals. After being in Dublin for two months, I really do feel like I have found a home here, so it was funny for people to immediately know we were tourists. Some people even came up to us and tried to give us directions even though we all knew exactly where we were and had not asked for help. While it was nice, it did sort of shock me back into remembering that I am not actually Irish, I have just grown so comfortable here.
Today I ended my last day by visiting Trinity college and reading in St. Stephen’s Park one final time. While I watched groups walk by the crowded area I was reminded of how beautiful Dublin is. The city has the best balance of nature and architecture that I have seen. Additionally, all the of the people are kind and conscientious. I loved being able to just relax under a tree before my flight home tomorrow. Quiet moments like that and my multiple trips to the Bray beach to read after work are really what made this trip for me. They helped me stay calm and not overwhelmed while being so far from home.
When defining “success” professionally, I think that Irish culture would say that it is doing what you need to do without being explicitly told. It is pretty well known that the communication is very different here, so it makes sense that they would prioritize people who can perfectly complete tasks with limited directions. I have experienced this more than once at my internship. If anything, my supervisor would be the happiest with me when I finished a project without any guidance from her. In addition to this, as successful employee in the nonprofit sector is definitely someone who does not burn out. As I said before, this sector has a lot of issues with never ending projects and passion leading to people crashing. This seems to be true both in Ireland and the US. Festina Lente had never ending work, and me continuously working through it made me a successful and effective employee. Generally I think that both countries celebrate hard workers and people with drive, the main difference is that the US more expects it, and Ireland seems pleasantly surprised by it. I think that this summer I have been a successful intern at Festina Lente.
