Top 8 places to check out during your first month in Ireland

By Carina Dozier

Hello! My name is Carina, a student from the University of California, Berkeley, and I’m currently studying at Trinity for the spring semester. I chose Trinity, and Dublin specifically, because of the “small-big city” vibe (much like my home city of Berkeley), the exceptional Trinity academics, and especially opportunities to travel all over Ireland and Europe! I have only been here a month, but already I love the history in Dublin, the endless beauty and quirkiness of the city, and the friendliness of the Irish people. I am lucky enough to have been able to travel to a different place in Ireland almost every weekend as well, so I wanted to share my experiences, to help any students uncertain about what to do while they’re here!

My Travels whilst attending Trinity

How is it already two weeks into my second semester at Trinity?! Time is flying by way faster than I would like it to and a lot has happened since my last post! I think it would be best to pick up at my trip to Amsterdam. The Saturday after my first semester classes ended a friend and I took a flight from Dublin to Amsterdam to meet up with my roommate, Lydie, as well as her friends from home. Here we had a blast, like any reasonable twenty-year-old would. For me, the highlight of the trip was spending a sunny day weaving in and out of the side streets and small parks, that are dotted across the city, on our rental bikes. Thanks to a foodie in the group who was determined to try as much traditional Dutch food as possible, we were able to indulge in ‘chips in a cone,’ olliebollen, poffertjes, and more delicious bites to eat. With adequate fuel, we wandered around a few colorful markets and checked out a variety of thoughtfully constructed museums. Two particular museums that I enjoyed, due to their intense content that forces visitors to unwittingly leave their superfluous thoughts and anxieties behind, were the Anne Frank Museum and the Museum of Prostitution in the Red Light District.

Junior Year at Trinity College Dublin

By Maria Heines

I am writing this second blog while treating myself to a hot chocolate at a café across the river from Ireland’s immigration office. Today is the day I will (hopefully) officially be able to call Dublin my home away from home! Despite not having the official paperwork, yet, Dublin has certainty begun to feel like home as I have gotten into a rhythm of classes, sport practices, chilling at Binary Hub, and wandering around town with friends.

The Spirit of Dublin is On Fire

By Amirah Orozco

I vividly remember the moment I opened up the email with the approval to attend Trinity College for my junior year or third year. Being given the opportunity to attend Trinity College will always be a dream come true. One of Dublin’s most popular tourist attractions, Trinity College’s beautiful architecture is hardly rivalled. Established in 1592, the walls have stood tall and steady for much of Irish history. The classrooms have seen the likes of Mary Robinson, Oscar Wilde, and even One Direction’s token Irishman, Niall Horan. While I was certain about Trinity College, I naïvely never even considered the experience of living in Dublin. It is now, one month into my experience, the one thing I would cite as having the greatest impact on my time here. While the small island of Ireland is only the size of Indiana, Dublin’s unique historical situation makes it a cosmopolitan centre unlike any other.

Why I Call Ireland “Home” After Two Months

By: Agape Deng (M.Phil in Speech and Language Processing)

I started pondering whether my soul was dead when I was fourteen years old after reading a patriotic poem by Sir Walter Scott titled, “My Native Land.” In it, the narrator asks if there exists a man who is so soul-dead that he has never loved or longed for his homeland. He warns readers that “if such there breathe, go, mark him well,” for he is, in short, a proud, vile wretch doomed to die alone in shame. So there I was, a little Chinese girl living in Russia learning this English poem about what it is to love your country and feeling, on one hand, guilty that I possessed no such loyalty, and on the other hand, forlorn that I had no country to call my own.