My last full week in Ireland was full of a lot more experience at my internship and a weekend trip to another country. I want to first talk about the progress that I’ve made throughout my internship during the eight weeks that I have been in Ireland. I came in with very minimal experience on the background algorithms of AI agents, and I can honestly say that I have learned a lot about problem solving in general. But outside of my internship, this entire trip to Ireland has been quite transformative and helpful for me as a person both culturally and academically. It’s been one of the most fun trips of my entire life, being able to see this beautiful country has made me appreciate other cultures and places that are different from my one. It has also pushed me out of my comfort zone, which was especially apparent when I planned a solo trip to Belgium on the free weekend we had in order to see the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix.
My flight to Brussels, Belgium was at 5:30 Dublin time on Friday and I landed there around 8:45 their time as Belgium is an hour ahead of Ireland. I stayed in a hostel with five other for the first time ever for three nights, and it was honestly quite the experience. I’m not sure if I’d do something like that again but maybe I’d reconsider in the future since it was kind of cool to meet people who were also going to the F1 Grand Prix like me. On Saturday I woke up early and got breakfast before catching a 10 AM tour I had in Brussels to see some different sightseeing spots and learn about the history of the city. My tour guide for the group was actually from Australia and had moved to Brussels 4 years ago, but he was very knowledgeable about the city of Brussels and the best spots in the city. I saw many different structures like the Grand Palace and the Manneken Pis statue. It was a really cool experience that started my day before I just walked around on my own and explored for the rest of the day.
Sunday was quite a journey, as I woke up at 6:30 AM to catch my train from Brussels to Verviers station at 7:10 AM. I had bought a ticket for the actual F1 shuttle bus from Verviers to right outside of the actual track, so I took that and after walking for a bit, I was on the circuit grounds around 10:30. The Belgian F1 Grand Prix is at the circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, which is the longest track in the entire circuit, so I had to walk a couple of kilometers to reach an area where I had an amazing view of the actual track. The race was supposed to start around 3 PM but it got delayed around 40 min due to the rainy conditions causing visibility issues for the drivers. The actual race was awesome, though as it was quite thrilling to see the cars race over 200 miles per hour on the track. I then headed back to the shuttle bus station from the track and took the train back to Brussels before my final night in the hostel.
On Monday I had an early flight back to Dublin and was able to get back to UCD around 12 PM, but the trip to Brussels was very memorable to me. It was my first ever time traveling alone to a different country and it allowed me to experience another culture in quite a different way.
Now that I am at the end of this trip to Ireland, I want to really reflect on how it has allowed me to grow as a person in both my own personal and professional ways. I am very grateful to have been apart of something so cool, Ireland is such a beautiful place with such great people, and it is very bittersweet now that its over. I’ve met so many amazing people through the program that I can now call friends at Bucknell, and also people just outside exploring Dublin. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone attending Bucknell University, it has been one of the best experiences I have been apart in my time at Bucknell.
Fountain I saw in Brussels
Amazing building I saw near the Grand Palace in Brussels
The Manneken Pis Statue
The track at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium
F1 driver Max Verstappen racing at the Belgian Grand Prix
Wow! F1 looks so cool, I’m jealous! I really liked how you mentioned how transformative this trip has been, and how it has increased your appreciation of other cultures and pushed you out of your comfort zone. I totally agree!
Sounds like an amazing weekend Nick! F1 looks amazing, and I’m glad you took time to explore Belgium as well. So happy to hear that this trip has been such an amazing experience for you.