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!