Euro Summer is so joever, and I am both sad and happy about it. On the one hand, I have been itching to get home. At the same time, I am also nursing a heartache over the completion of a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

My final week in Dublin consisted of a lot of jazz and a lot of tears and a lot of gratitude. Monday evening, I traveled to The Liberties community to attend a jazz jam session, which was hosted at Arthur’s Pub. I had planned to sing my favorite jazz standard, Misty, because it is crowd pleaser and allows me to proudly rep Pittsburgh — shoutout Erroll Garner! At the last minute, I decided to sing a My Favorite Things because I was worried Misty would make me too sappy, and I was determined to hold off the tsunami-wave of tears until Wednesday. One of my new friends from Prague, Michal (whom I met at a different jazz venue), took this great photo of me onstage.

On Tuesday, I got to work two hours early to shadow the Tech Manager during a show. After doing a run through of light and sound, we got a call that the performer had broken down on the highway. Suddenly, the morning became very exciting, as every staff-member began searching for a local tow truck that could get down the M50. Despite this stressful snafu, Ray the Bubbleologist began only five minutes behind schedule. I grabbed him a coffee and helped run lighting. Later, I sat in on a photoshoot for an upcoming one-man show. That evening, I finally stopped by Temple Bar. I’m glad I waited to go because I immediately recognized the price-gouging on a Bulmer’s. Very cute location, though. Great music.

On Wednesday, I attended this week’s Music on the Plaza performance. By midweek, I had been melodramatically categorizing everything as “my last…” My last Tuesday rush hour commute. My last Centra pain au chocolat purchase. My last free lunchtime show featured a trad music trio, and the Ballymun community LOVED it. They played a variety of jigs and sang a few traditional songs, as well. It was a lovely afternoon, and a perfect final Wednesday at work.

Wednesday evening, I attended the EUSA farewell reception, and then rushed to Egan’s for another jazz show. I made friends with the drummer’s octogenarian father (I know, so random), and talked standards and technique over espresso martinis. At one point, the band played Herbie Hancock’s Cantaloupe Island, and I burst into tears. That song is incredibly sentimental to me and made me miss home and my family.

With two days left at my internship, I began to reflect on my work experience and achievements.My internship at Axis Ballymun went by way faster than I knew it would. Even when I felt homesick or tired of being away from my comforts, I never felt tired of my job. Over the past seven weeks, I tackled organizational and creative projects. There simply was not enough time to complete some of the projects I started. For instance, the revitalization of the recording studio is a longterm project. Even though I will not be able to see my plans into fruition (or know how effective my ideas were), I am grateful that I was able to get the ball rolling. Of course, I had some successes. I am especially proud of reorganizing Axis’ Google Drive. During my interview, the Marketing Director identified this as an audacious project, and one that had been abandoned by many people over the years. I get a personal satisfaction in completing something that seemed impossible, and the tidiness of their online cloud scratched a sweet spot in my brain.

In the last few weeks, I have gained firsthand experience with Irish workplace culture. At Axis, I learned successes are adventurous marathons, not sprints. In non-profit work, a success is based on what one can get done with the limited resources available. Maybe the theatre did not sell out their last show, but local Ballymun kids got to experience incredible entertainment for free, and we filled seats. That is a success, for sure.

I do think the American drive lends to being successful at work. My coworkers seemed to be very appreciative of all I got done within the last seven weeks. My boss cited my ability to take initiative as a positive trait, and my proactiveness helped me feel like I had accomplished something during my internship. On Thursday and Friday, I started saying goodbye to coworkers, and I wrote a nice email to express my gratitude for Axis’ welcoming and encouraging hospitality. I also made a Google Drive shortcut, so my (former😢) coworkers can to find all of the things I worked on in the last seven weeks. I cried a LOT. I feel so grateful that I had an experience worth missing.

Friday evening, I also said goodbye to my EUSA friends. Wearing matching I ❤️ Dublin shirts, we met at Sackville Lounge, the sister establishment of Bat 1661. I was recommended Sackville from two different people, both of whom I happened to run into that night. The first was Brandon, our bartender at 1661. This felt very full circle for our friend group, as Bar 1661 was our first outing as a group. The second person was Trevor, whom I had met five years ago in NYC. My friends and I shared a table with him at Stonewall, and he was crying because it was his last night seeing all of his friends — he was moving to Ireland the next day. I had completely forgotten about that, until I saw him discussing Dublin on social media. After I reached out, he very kindly sent me activity recommendations. His suggestions constituted the majority of my Must-Do List, and I was so happy (and gagged) that I got to tell him about how much I enjoyed exploring his city.

When I saw Trevor, I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but I should’ve remembered what I wrote about Dublin during my first weeks. The city really is magical. It’s a city that brings you back together with old friends from high school and kindhearted people that you met on time half a decade ago. It’s a place where I got to perform my own music at my first gig, and meet songwriters and jazz artists who are eager to see each other succeed. I’m going to miss this place a lot, and I cannot wait to return. There isn’t another city quite like it. So long, Dublin.