WEEK 8 IN IRELAND (THE LAST WEEK)

Today was my last day at my internship, and I have mixed emotions. I’m excited to be home, but I feel like I’m finally getting acquainted with life here. Overall, though, I’m so thankful for this experience!

My internship has helped prepare me for a full-time career after graduation in a few ways. First, it gave me experience in content creation and planning, as well as keyword research and copywriting. It has also given me more confidence in myself by putting me in a new environment that is very different from what I’m used to. I would absolutely recommend this internship experience to another Northwest student (and any student for that matter), as it helps broaden your knowledge of the world and different cultures. As Mark Twain once said, “Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all of one’s lifetime.”

Life in Dublin has not been far off from what I expected. I have been going out often, just as I imagined. The biggest thing that surprised me was how much freedom Faith and I had at work. Our workplace has five floors, and we can sit wherever we want, so normally Faith and I work from the top floor. Meanwhile, our coworkers are normally on the third floor. We feel like we get more done on the top floor because it’s not as crowded. However, we do spend lunch with our coworkers chatting about our week and other random things.

Outside of my internship, this week has been super busy, as we’ve been trying to do as much as we can in the little time we have left. Saturday, the whole API group went to Glendalough and Wicklow Mountains, as well as Powerscourt Gardens. It was super pretty!

Sunday, I went to a pub to watch the GAA finals with some friends. Tuesday after work, Faith and I went to the Stella Cinema and watched Where the Crawdads Sing. We got an entire bed to ourselves, and the workers brought us our food during the movie. It was a very nice treat-yourself moment for Faith and I. Wednesday, we had our farewell meal with API at Quays Restaurant. I got steak and chips, and it was very yummy! Today, our bosses took Faith and I to a place called BrewDog for a late lunch and drinks since it was our last day of work.

After drinks with our bosses and co-workers, we went back to our student housing for a party in the social lounge with all our API friends, then went out to a few pubs!

My final thoughts are: 1. My internship experience was great, and I’m very thankful for the bosses I had, 2. Living in Dublin for two months has been lifechanging. I will 100% be that girl who constantly talks about her study abroad experience, 3. This experience has solidified my desire to travel for a living, and 4. Everyone should go abroad at least once. It’s magical.