Rebecca Templeton, Semester 1 2020-2021 study abroad student from Northeastern University, Boston, USA
We all knew that this semester was not going to be the study abroad experience we’d initially signed up for. However, I never could’ve known how exceptional my time at Trinity College Dublin would turn out to be.
I arrived in Dublin two weeks before orientation in order to complete quarantine (at the time, there was an idea that orientation may still be in-person). We were allowed one brief walk on campus every day.
The campus was even more beautiful than I’d imagined, which helped ease the fact that we essentially weren’t allowed to exit a walled fortress for weeks. Despite this, after 2 weeks we were more than ready to explore Dublin. Only outdoor dining was open, but we managed to make a substantial contribution to Dublin’s restaurant sector.
And then… Dublin shut back down. Almost immediately. Straight out of quarantine. It was difficult not to be discouraged. But there was hope! Just before everything closed down, I met a couple of other people studying abroad. We reached out to each other to grab lunch using our emails in the study abroad email chain (yes it was a little unorthodox, but we were relatively desperate to meet people at this point). Two of these girls ended up becoming incredibly close friends of mine, and they are the reason that the semester was so extraordinary despite it’s challenges. Together, in lockdown and unable to leave County Dublin, we went on what can only be described as an absurd amount of walks.
To parks such as St. Stephen’s Green, Merrion Square, and the Iveagh Gardens (my personal favorite)… As well as Phoenix Park. Here we wandered for 3 hours until we found deer – which was a big deal to us, and rolled down a hill.
And of course taking in all of the amazing architecture. Tell me the Christ Church Cathedral doesn’t look like a castle!
Before Dublin went back into Level 5, my Animal Behavior class bought me a ticket to the Dublin Zoo. Highly recommend both the zoo and the class (which is called a “module” at Trinity).
In Level 5, our options were a little more limited, but we still made the most of it. We had a three-person thanksgiving feast (fortunately Ireland’s Christmas food is very similar to our Thanksgiving food), and got tons of to-go hot chocolate.
Butler’s is famous for their hot chocolate, and it comes with a small specialty chocolate of your choice. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Three Twenty – which toasts homemade marshmallow fluff onto your hot chocolate in front of you! It’s absolutely incredible. I found it from Lovin’ Dublin, a website which we used to find nearly every restaurant, activity, and all other Dublin-related enjoyment. Seriously, that website is one of my most visited (tied with Blackboard).
Seeing as Dublin doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, they start decorating for Christmas the instant we entered November. And we were all for it (seeing as we’d walked just about everywhere, this added some excitement).
Finally, December 1st, after 6 weeks of lockdown, Dublin reopened. Naturally, our entire bucket list had to be rolled out in the remining 3 weeks we were in the country.
For the first time, we able to experience indoor dining and afternoon tea.
And we did all of our holiday and souvenir shopping –
Powerscourt Townhouse Centre is the most insanely gorgeous “mall” I’ve ever been to, and Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre is also lovely while being actually affordable.
We toured both the Guinness Storehouse and the Jameson Distillery. An extra special shoutout goes to The Gravity Bar at the end of the Guinness Tour, where we saw 360-degree views of Dublin from the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Lastly, a couple of pointers if you choose to do a semester in Ireland:
1: Watch The Late Late Toy Show!!! This was recommended to me by my Parasitology group chat. It was so fun and so adorable, we actually watched it twice. Apparently, it’s tradition to watch the Toy Show every December starting when you’re a child. However, the jokes are for the parents, and both the host and children on the show are hilarious as well as inspiring.
2: In Ireland, food actually expires. This probably sounds like a weird statement, but when your bread has mold 2 days after you bought it, you’ll see what I mean. Share your groceries with your roommates so they’re finished on time, or you’ll end up inhaling what’s probably toxic fumes from the fridge (I wish I wasn’t speaking from experience).
3: Join societies! Our semester they weren’t allowed to meet or really host any events, but they still had tons of perks. I won restaurant gift cards by doing a virtual cooking competition with the DU Food and Drink society (who normally host wine and cheese nights). Also, the Global Room does giveaways and events for international students (such as a free on-campus ice cream truck), so following them is definitely worth it.
Of course, it was disappointing that we couldn’t leave County Dublin the whole semester. We’d planned on seeing the Cliffs of Moher, Galway, and The Dark Hedges. But this is just a highly compelling reason to return to Ireland together. Additionally, I was taking six classes, and which frankly allowed for limited free time.
Studying abroad during a pandemic takes a certain mindset. You have to understand it’s going to be different than any typical study abroad experience. But if you’re creative and positive, then it can still be amazing. Our last week in Dublin, every toast was to a study abroad we described as “unique”, “unconventional”, and “extraordinary”. We may not have been able to go to a single wet pub, but did make memories that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.
We made a lot of jokes about traveling across the Atlantic for college, just to wind up only close friends with other Americans. But at the end of the semester, these girls had become my family, and we are so grateful that Boston, NYC, and DC are close enough that we can see each other again very soon.
The World of Trinity 