This is my first week here in Dublin, Ireland and so far everything has been nothing but amazing…well except for the flight over. After a multiple hour delay my flight took off and after what felt like the longest 6 hours of my life, my plane landed and I was finally here!
Although I have been to Ireland multiple times in the past, this experience is new for me and has truly allowed me to feel immersed in the culture in such a short amount of time. After settling into my room in the flat I am living in I had a chance to spend time with the girls I am living with. We took our very first public transport into the Dundrum shopping center. I learned later on that this shopping center is the largest in the country! Sunday we had orientation where we got to see Ivy, Kylie, and meet Lily! Staff at UCD led a campus tour afterwards which I found very helpful. Something that stuck out to me on this tour was that one of the lakes at UCD is swimmable, but requires individuals to get a tetanus shot after swimming in it.
During class this week we compared data privacy between Ireland and the United States. While I don’t have a very extensive background on law I found this topic to be extremely interesting as well as prevalent in me and my classmates lives. In today’s world individuals online presence is very important and in this class I learned a lot about the GDPR and the six data protection principles and how they applied to real cases that have existed. I look forward to learning more next week!
Today was my very first day of my internship with Bray Community Addiction Team. There I work with those going through substance abuse recovery by providing them with meals and keeping the space clean throughout the day. I spent a lot of time talking to the individuals who visited the facility and learning about their lives. Additionally they were interested in my life and where I came from and what I was doing this summer.
On my way back to UCD campus this evening I took the wrong bus and ended up passing by UCD and ending up in the city center after coming from about an hour south of campus! As soon as I realized this I got off the bus I was on and tried to find my bearings. Although I felt flustered and overwhelmed I remained calm while trying to figure out the closest bus stop that would get me back to campus. At my new bus stop I asked a stranger sitting next to me on the bench if my route was correct. They were extremely kind and went out of their way to help me understand the bus system better. They assured me that I was on the correct bus this time! The stop that I got off at left me about a 15 minute walk away from my flat and through a beautiful part of campus. It took me right past the swimming lake and I was able to sit on a bench by this lake for a little while to watch swans and other ducks swim around.
I am so grateful for all of the friends I have made, people I have met, and experiences this far and I can’t wait for more adventures!
Awesome. Great story as I can relate to a lot of it too. Keep getting yourself lost but more importantly don’t forget to find your way.