Reunion at Last!

First stop: Dublin

Monday, May 3

I met Mom, Dad and Tim Monday morning at the airport for quite the emotional reunion. It was great to see them safe and sound. Although none of them slept for more than an hour or so, they were all in good spirits and we set off for our hotel. Our place of residence for the next two days in Dublin is more of an apartment style setup, and we arrived to the news that the room would not be ready until 2:30. They are quite the troopers, and we did not waste any time as we set off to explore Dublin. First stop, coffee!

We had a very productive couple of hours and saw many of the big sites, including the River Liffey and the Ha' Penny Bridge, Trinity College, Dublin Castle, City Hall and Temple Bar. We grabbed some lunch at Mark and Spencers and enjoyed our food in St. Stephens Green. It felt like no time has passed at all and it was incredibly refreshing to be back in the old swing of things, just in a slightly different setting. I still cannot believe they are here!

After some sightseeing, Tim took the bus with me to DCU to pick up the last of my luggage. We sat in the top of the double decker bus and couldn't help but realize how different things were from home. We all had dinner at the Porterhouse in Temple Bar and I couldn't be more thrilled to be reunited again. Following dinner, I took them out for some traditional music, the first taste of all the wonderful Irish culture to come!

Tuesday, May 4

We got off to a slightly later start Tuesday morning as jet lag took its hold, but with the extra sleep we were all ready for another busy day. We spent the morning doing routine touring around the city center, including O’Connell St., Henry St., and a nice walk down the Liffey. I enjoyed seeing my family’s reactions to the little differences in everyday life: Tim especially found the odd combinations in sandwiches to be amusing, whoever would have put celery and three cheese together? The morning was very laid back and I thoroughly enjoyed showing them the routine aspects of my life during the past four months.



Next stop: Sandymount! A trip to Dublin would not be complete without a tour of the charming village of Sandymount, home of my internship. We all jumped on the DART so they could catch a glimpse. I had no plans of going in Enable Ireland, as it was a spur of the moment trip, but we happened to see my supervisor down the road and she welcomed us in with open arms. As a result, they were able to meet my lovely coworkers and see the facility. It was great to share this with them.

The trip would not be complete without chips! My new love for french fries is a bit overwhelming. I think they appreciated the treat as well.

We left Sandymount just in time for the Guinness Factory! We all enjoyed the tour…
And the Guinness at the end!




We had a delicious dinner at Fitzgeralds where Dad was able to order shepherd’s pie, a loved dish in Ireland. After a quick trip to DCU to exchange luggage, we called it an early night in preparation for the 5:30 am cab ride in the morning. Next adventure: London!

How is it the end already?

During late night goodbyes last night, we all tried to remain positive thinking of how incredible this experience has been, but we all struggled a bit realizing that it has come to an end. We listened to some of our favorite Irish tunes as we all had many accounts of "remember when??" Not much sleep was to be had, and I sent off members of my apartment this morning at 5:45 as they had to catch the bus to the airport. I will be staying in the apartment at DCU until Monday morning, when Mom, Dad and Tim arrive in Dublin! I'm way too excited to see them and am grateful for the situation; I couldn't say goodbye to both the people and the city at the same time...

Here is an update of the best last day in Dublin that I could ask for.

11:00 marked the official start of summer vacation as I turned in my portfolio for my internship. This news did not carry with it the same feeling of relief, but instead was more bittersweet knowing the internship was finished. Regardless, we came back to ready ourselves for a going away luncheon which BU organized on our behalf. It was quite the affair and was really nice to have everyone together one last time. With the program being as small as it was, everyone was able to get to know each other and it felt like a massive family dinner after fifteen weeks of bonding.

This is Mary McCloskey, our program director (Picture by Meghan). She was incredibly sweet throughout the whole trip, and was very much like the program mother.
We enjoyed a very delicious three course meal which was perfect since most of us did not have any food left in the apartments.


As a little souvenir, Mary gave us little Irish bears to remember our trip. I most definitely do not need the bear to remember everything, but it was an adorable surprise.

And an absolutely beautiful day.. at least for the time of the picture.As soon as it was decided that frisbee was the activity for the afternoon, the rain clouds began to roll in. By the time Molly and I had changed and set out to meet the group, it was pouring! After being in Ireland for fifteen weeks, we knew better than to let this stop us, and we all organized a great game of Ultimate Frisbee. Take two was not technically as successful, as the rain made it quite difficult to catch, but we had some great laughs as people were falling all over the place. Throughout the two or so hours we were playing, the rain managed to stop and hold off. Towards the end of our game, I head a unanimous "ahhh" as the sun actually came out in full force. Although we had learned to ignore the rain, our culture was apparent as we were all thrilled with the thought of the sun! We finished the game with blue skies, thinking how wonderful the spontaneous weather could be.

After the game, we all dried off and headed down to Maguires in the city center for a pint. This was the first place I had gone after arriving in Dublin, and it was nice to be back again. We enjoyed each others company for quite some time before realizing that the packing needed to get done.

Walking back to the bus stop! One more picture in front of the loved Liffey.

On the bus ride home, we decided we needed to eat up all of the remaining food, and we produced quite the spontaneous potluck. Molly, Melissa and Trevor brought food from their apartment upstairs, and we cooked pasta, frozen vegetables, french fries and more. People from all apartments came for food and it was great! Slightly odd combination, but that made it even better.

Very stuffed, we all realized we couldn't put off packing any longer. I was lucky in that I did not have to get everything done in one night, but I definitely wanted to start the process. Tara and I put on some of our favorite tunes, including Stevie Wonder, and set out to conquer our room. We all did some major cleaning, including scrubbing down the kitchen but we were all quite successful and it was not half as bad as I had imagined the process would be. We decided to take a picture when all four boys were working through the dishes.

What a semester! It has truly been the experience of a lifetime, and I am blessed for both the people I met and the opportunities I had. I would do it again in a heartbeat. All for now, more will come once the family arrives in Dublin!

Irish Céilí

Today was my last day of work for my internship. I knew I was going to be sad to leave, but when my coworkers surprised me with a pizza party at lunch, it all began to hit me. They were incredibly kind and gave me a very thoughtful gift: a necklace and a bag full of Cadbury creme eggs. It was quite obvious they had picked up on my love for chocolate over the past seven weeks, but it meant a lot that they remembered the details. As I was leaving, the physio who I had spent the most time with tried her American accent once more, and I could only laugh as it sounded so unnatural. I feel incredibly blessed to have been given the opportunity to meet such wonderful people, and I know that I will be back in the future. I was told to come back and work once I am qualified, and with how positive the experience was, I certainly cannot discount it at this point. Who knows what the future holds?

After work, I came back to DCU for a quick dinner and Molly, Tara, Melissa, Meghan and I headed out to the city center to meet our dance teacher, Mary Beth for the Irish Céilí. She explained to us that in Dublin, the tradition attracts an older crowd, whereas in other parts of the country a greater variety of ages would be present. This fact did not bother us at all, for we were too determined to show off our moves. We arrived shortly after 9:30 and had a drink while we waited for the accordion player to arrive and learned some quick tips in the meantime. The first set was one we had not learned, but Mary Beth offered to dance the male part and led me through the set. The music made me feel light on my toes, regardless of how I actually looked to the rest of the crowd. I was definitely moving in the opposite direction at times, but with the help of a positive teacher, we made it through all sets and I ended with a smile and a new appreciation of the art. The girls were nice enough to snap some photos!





This move is called "Christmas" and was by far my favorite of the night. With interlaced arms, the object is to spin around as fast as possible, while still looking graceful, and boy does everyone move quickly. The graceful aspect needs some work on my part, but I enjoyed the move nonetheless.

Meghan was quite the photographer and managed to catch some of my moves!



Melissa relieved my position and took a go at the end of this same set. She was a pro and caught on very quickly.

The next set was the Connemara set, the one we had practiced in class. It was time to show off what we had learned in dance lessons. We had two different sets dancing, sixteen people in total. I was the lucky one and danced the male part and Meghan was my beautiful partner. With only a few glitches, we made it to the end and had impressed a couple of the locals in the process. It's quite the form of exercise, and we were all soon tired. It was the perfect event with the end so close, and we all had a blast experiencing a unique form of Irish culture!

All Kinds of Music

I had to start the goodbye process at work today, as some of my coworkers will not be in tomorrow. It was a very odd reality shock when I realized that it could be quite some time before I am able to come back. I am looking forward to enjoying my last day tomorrow.

After work, I met Molly, Meghan, Tara, Mary and Melissa for dinner. We decided to go to Green 19, a little modern restaurant Melissa had suggested and it was perfect. I had a gourmet club sandwich and we relaxed as we heard about each others days. We were stuffed to the brim before we knew it, and it was soon time to head back to campus.

Tonight was our last Irish dancing lesson of the semester. Tomorrow, our teacher is going to take us all out to a Céilí, a Irish dancing session, in the city center. I'm really looking forward to hearing the music and trying out our new moves. More on that will come! After dancing, we quick hopped back on the bus for a silly night of Karaoke. We all had a blast singing songs from the 90s, and realized at the same time that none of us will be entering the music business anytime soon! Regardless, it was a great time!

Just a Little Slagging

Before we started our internships, we had a brief meeting to discuss our upcoming placements. In general, we were warned that the Irish tend to "slag" or pick on one another in social situations. I thought this was great, mainly because I know I can take a joke and think it makes the workplace much more fun. Today made me smile as I realized how comfortable I have become in such a short time. As we were all walking back from lunch, one of the therapists commented on the way the other had developed an American accent as a result of spending so much time with me. Hearing her say "awesome" or "o man!" in a poor attempt to imitate me just made me laugh and they all got quite the kick out of listening to me in my best Irish accent. After hearing it for over three and a half months, you would have thought I would have perfected the tone, but I still have work to do. Guess I will have to make a trip back in the future.

After work, we went for our weekly tennis outing in Herbert Park. As we pulled up to the courts, the sky greeted us with dark clouds and we debated whether or not we should go through with the game. We're in Ireland so I'm sure you can guess the decision. They certainly do not let a little bit of rain stop them from the fun, and we ended up having a very entertaining hour of tennis!

Queen of Tarts

This morning as I scrambled to leave my room at 7:45, it hit me how routine my commute has become. I can honestly say that I really enjoy the hour or so that I have to myself before the hustle and bustle of the day kicks in. I looked a little silly taking pictures so early, but I know I will enjoy this later. Here is what the morning consists of....

I catch the bus on Ballymun Rd, right outside of DCU.

The Tara St. DART station in city center. It's glamorous...
The infamous DART.
My destination...
The beautiful walk through Sandymount to Enable Ireland...
...and I have arrived!
The day was another quick one. I glanced at the clock around 2:45 realizing I only had about an hour left. This never fails to catch me off guard, but I know that's a good sign. After work, Meghan and I planned to celebrate the first day down and meet for tea. We chose the Queen of Tarts, a very charming cafe near her internship which Meghan especially has grown to love. It was delicious and a very fun thing to look forward to throughout the day.

We got tea for two...

...and shared an apple crumble and a chocolate chip scone!
I really have grown to love tea and will be carrying this love home with me very soon. Overall, it was a very successful outing and always nice to have time to chat.