Northeastern's Dialogue of Civilization to Dublin via ACD was amazing Past Review
By Jerry C (Business, Northeastern University) for
American College Dublin: Irish Language & Culture Program
The culture is amazing, the Irish are easy going, fun loving people who love Americans. I was never given a hard time about being from the States, which was a concern traveling in Europe. People were really friendly, ACD is a good institution with a great location and the history in Ireland is so rich.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was very manageable. I found myself with more than enough time to finish my work and really experience Dublin. The point of NU's trip is to experience the culture and there is only so much you can experience in a classroom and ACD recognized that and encouraged us to be out and about as often as we can. The actual work was not very difficult but extremely effective in communicating important ideas, cultural norms and perceptions, and history. The professors were very kind, helpful and knowledgeable. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The ACD administration was so helpful and really handled everything we needed. We could contact them with any problem at anytime of day. They were extremely knowledgeable and gave us great advise regarding things to do around Dublin. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I had a nice apartment I shared with three other students. It was right next to Saint Patrick's Cathedral and a beautiful park(part of the Cathedral). Washing machine wasn't the best but it was no big deal. |
| * Food: |
The food is what you expect; a lot of meat and potatoes (but its delicious). And if Irish cuisine is not your thing then don't be alarmed because Dublin is one of the most diverse cities in Europe and there was plenty to choose from. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Dublin is a brilliant city, the pubs are great, the museums are excellent, there is literally a bit of history on every block. It is expensive though, but worth every penny. Dublin is also voted one of the friendliest cities in Europe each year. Don't go to temple bar, do the Guinness Factory and the Jameson Factory and all the museums |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Never worried about my safety, usually traveled in groups and we didn't often go into Dublin North (and when we did we stayed within a few blocks of the river). There was so much to do in Dublin South and we traveled about the country to Galway and Killarney which were also fantastic. Killarney was safe, beautiful and a lot of fun |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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Language
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | If you go to ACD you will truly experience Dublin because you are right in the city center, there is always things to do, the program includes kids from schools all across the States so you meet a bunch of great kinds and the workload is very manageable and it frees up more than enough time to go site seeing or hit the pubs. Best five weeks you can ask for |
