An Unconventional Study Abroad

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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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.

Shopping Local: How to Avoid Becoming a Permanent Tourist

Kelly Knickerbocker – Colgate University, Hamilton, New York

Moving to a different country and attending a new university for the semester has been one of the best experiences in my life, but also one of the most challenging. Coming into this semester, I had very few expectations, but I did know one thing: I didn’t just want to be a tourist, I wanted to make Dublin (and Ireland) my home. Many of my friends who studied abroad previously expressed to me that one of their biggest regrets was that, while they had fun traveling around different European cities, they didn’t spend enough time trying to make their host city their new home. Having never been to Ireland, I wasn’t too sure about how I would make this happen, but I was determined to find out.

The first step towards making Dublin my home, that I can pinpoint, was made during my first weekend in Ireland. I was fortunate enough to go on a guided tour of The Liberties (my beloved neighborhood) with my study abroad program. We were introduced to several local shop-owners, all of whom were so excited to meet us and ask about our experiences in Dublin thus far. Our tour guides emphasized the importance of making these personal connections in our neighborhood, as well as the difference we could make in some of their lives by shopping local for our groceries (even if it was only 10 euro a week).

My neighborhood. We got to know the owner of the flower stall on the right of this photo.

From then on, my friend Kelsey and I frequented some of these stores and formed invaluable relationships with our neighbors. One of the store owners, whose name is Michael, made a significant impression on me with his friendliness and genuine interest in our lives. Every Tuesday, Kelsey and I would wander down Meath Street to his fruit and vegetable store and shop for our weekly produce. There, Michael would inquire how our weekends had been, what our plans were for the week ahead, and even offer up a piece of fruit for us to try (free of charge)! 

In the courtyard of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, right down the street from my apartment.

 It was connections like these that made me feel like Dublin, and, more specifically, The Liberties, was my home. In people like Michael, I found a second family, and this has made my study abroad experience more fulfilling than I could ever imagine it to be. 

What I wish I would have known about study abroad

By Leah Bode, third year Biochemistry, pre-med student from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN; Michaelmas term at Trinity College

It seems that whenever you see or do something new, people are always asking, “what do you wish you had known beforehand?” I usually try to take this question with a grain of salt because if I had known everything before having the experience, then the mystery and the joy of doing it would be taken away. However, when it comes to studying abroad in a foreign country, there’s a bit more at stake than just having a good time. Studying abroad doesn’t just mean abroad, it also means studying. And when it comes to academics, there are some things I wish I knew beforehand.

TCD’s Global Room team had lots of great resources on the topic – I would definitely take advantage of those. However, I didn’t get a students’ perspective on what it really means to go to school in another country’s educational system until it was my own. Out of my experience, I’ve come up with a few pieces of advice that I find notable, especially in regard to the differences between the American and Irish college systems.

Academic Registration is a bit stressful, but it will be okay

I came into Trinity with an idea of the exact modules I wanted to take here. My home university had an extensive list of all TCD classes that had been previously approved, and I had cross-checked all of these with the module enrolment page on Trinity’s website. However, when I got here, only one of those modules that I had meticulously picked out was still being offered. At Notre Dame, I take classes in a variety of disciplines every semester. This means that at TCD, I was signing up to take modules in 4 different courses. Which meant criss-crossing all over campus that first week to get hand-written signatures from Every. Single. Department. Coming from a school where scheduling is done online, in one sitting, with all the timetables posted in the same location, it felt a bit hectic. But in the end, it worked out okay for me. And it will for you, too. If you have any questions about the madness, don’t hesitate to ask the Global Room staff – they are super helpful and conveniently located right next to Academic Registry! Just be ready to get your steps in on Week 1!

You have to hold yourself accountable here

At Notre Dame, I usually have exams every 2-4 weeks. Between those exams, I have problem sets due weekly, usually a couple of papers per semester, and quizzes sprinkled throughout. I usually spend a minimum of 5 hours a day, more when I have papers or exams coming up, on homework and studying, something that is fairly typical in the United States. Here in Ireland, I feel accomplished if I’ve done 5 hours of work in a week. No one is checking up on me or giving me assignments, it’s all on me. My piece of advice is to create a system that works for you early on in the semester and challenge yourself to stick to it as much as possible – keeping up on reading and notes will be integral to succeeding.

Make the effort with your professors

Similar to #2 above, professors aren’t going to make themselves as obviously available as they do in the United States. In my experience here, the professor is usually the last one in the room and the first one to leave. They will have office hours posted, but you’ll be lucky if they’re always in their office during those times. BUT, don’t let this deter you from emailing them after class about scheduling a meeting, or tracking them down in the hallway as you leave. My experience has also taught me that professors are just as excited to answer your questions and talk about the subject they love as they are in other countries – you may just have to do a little bit more work on the front end to track them down.

Live and let go

Not everything is going to go perfectly while you’re abroad. You’ll miss flights. (check) You’ll arrive and find out that your favorite class is no longer being offered. (check) You’ll get sick. (check) You’ll fall behind on reading. (check check check) You get the point. While it’s important to stay on top of things and ensure a successful semester in the classroom, it’s also important to remember that the chance to study abroad is once in a lifetime. One bad grade is not going to tip the scales in the direction of a bad life over the incredible experience of living and studying abroad in a completely new place. So live it up while you can, and cut yourself some slack!

Getting to know Trinity College Dublin

By Michael Singer, Fordham University student, studying at Trinity College Dublin

Walking onto Trinity’s campus for the first time felt, in all honesty, a bit intimidating. After passing through a grandiose hardwood door, I entered into a plaza filled with dozens of tourists and students all gazing up at the heavy stone façades of the veritable city of buildings that ringed the courtyard. Directly in front of me stood Trinity’s campanile, much larger and more imposing than I’d imagined it, standing dramatically in the dead center of the bustle. As excited as I was to be there, a couldn’t help but feel a twinge of fear.

Music is the perfect type of art. – Oscar Wilde

By Ava Kristy, UC Santa Cruz student studying at Trinity College Dublin

I think one of the things people most readily associate with Irish culture are its pubs. When I told family and friends that I had decided to study at Trinity, I got a lot of pub recommendations and a couple warnings about not drinking too much. While I would say that drinking is a big part of college culture in any country, Ireland does it in a really unique way. The live music in almost every bar I’ve been to has been one of my favorite things about going out in Dublin.