Before leaving Texas, I anticipated that this trip would the first and last time I visit Ireland. I'm not sure why, but I wasn't expecting that there would be much to this tiny island.
Just as winter gloom gives way to sunshine in the spring, each passing day here seems to be more radiant than the last. Ireland is full of surprises: rolling hills of emerald, babbling brooks, cliffs careening up from the ocean, enchanting castles and even hidden nightclubs that should only exist in movies.
As my time here comes to a close, its pretty safe to say that I was all wrong about this place. I will definitely be back here again.
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Last night, all of the international students on University College Dublin's campus were invited to a barbeque that included a traditional Irish dancing demonstration. Of course my friend Sarah and I volunteered to showcase our moves. What'd you expect? #SWAG
In any case, I thought that it would be a nice to interview a few Americans on how they were feeling about their Irish study abroad experience. I approached a random table of people and here's what ensued:
I discuss studying abroad in Ireland with a few Texas A&M Aggies I met at UCD.
Well, there you have it: even Aggies will agree that Ireland is quite the enjoyable place to study abroad.
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In all seriousness, I really enjoyed myself here, if that wasn't already obvious. A big part of this great experience has been getting to know my PR 348 classmates and professor, Dr. Dave Junker, without whom, none of this would have been possible.
We experienced a lot together these past few weeks, and in turn, we learned a lot about ourselves, society and (even) global marketing/public relations.
The University of Texas at Austin 2011 Maymester in Ireland 'gang' stands outside of Carr Communications in Dublin after our meeting with managing director Tony Hughes.
Left to Right: (first row) Dr. Dave Junker, Carla Garces, Claire Battafarano, Sinead Hultman, Lauren Jones, Sapna Patel, Calvin Berman and Sarah Holub
(second row) Kaitlyn Howell, Stephanie Mejia and Caitlin Perdue
(third row) Shanna Oatman, Casey Kelly, Megan Plunkett and Hooff Cooksey