Dublin: The City I'll Never Forget with People Who Have Changed Me Forever Past Review
By Arielle (University of Florida) - abroad from 09/16/2017 to 12/22/2017 with
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Dublin, Ireland
Of course I made life long friends, but I also gained personal values and skills that will stick with me for the rest of my life. CAPA allowed me to develop myself, my understanding of the world and life, and realize how trivial we all can be. I had a chance to step out of my bubble I call America, and see myself, my society for what it truly is. I changed the way I view other cultures because America has fairly ethnocentric views for being a "melting pot" of a country. I had the chance to travel to places where english was NOT their first language so I adapted (so use to the other way around). I even had the chance to intern in Dublin so I had a chance to not only learn about another culture but to work IN that culture. Some experiences are hard for me to verbalize but I promise to anyone, you won't regret a single day. Even if you just lay in bed and procrastinate on your work (which we all do), you will enjoy that lazy day in Ireland.
Review Photos
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. |
Coming from the University of Florida and taking classes at Griffith College in Dublin, Ireland, the difference is prominent. Since Griffith college is an international school with people from all over the world, their english is not always excellent. With that being said, teachers water down the material and dispose of complicated terminology and get straight to the material. What is taught in class is on the exams. There is little to no space for ambiguity except for assignments which are sometimes left up to students for their own interpretation. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They seemed unorganized and every time I needed a specific task done, I was almost always redirected to another department. Also, signing up for classes was tedious and confusing coming from an American system. In America, we sign up for classes online which gives us the time tables and details of the class. At Griffith, it was done on paper with descriptions of the class in a separate booklet. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was unsatisfied with housing at Griffith because the housing department was too strict when it came to having people from other rooms visiting you and also, the lady over the department was rude and inconsiderate. |
| * Food: |
There's food from all over the world in Dublin. You can NOT dislike anything. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
From American culture to the Irish, the cultural distance is low. Therefore, adjusting to the change was easy and almost unnoticeable. I did notice the generosity and genuine niceness of Irish people is considerably higher than that of Americans. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not have any issues with Health care but I was covered regardless. |
| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
CAPA had all turns, curves, drops, excursions, etc. planned and figured out prior to me even registering for the program. Any question or concern I had during my stay was answered on site or within a few hours. CAPA is prepared and BEYOND qualified to be your study abroad host. |
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) |
It all depends on the exchange rate of your county's currency and the purchasing power parity of Ireland at the time of studying. During my time, meal were roughly $15-25 USD. That is fairly expensive for a student budget. Since I was on a trip, I did not worry about my finances as much. As far as the tours go, they were priced reasonably. Tours to Cliffs of Moher are as low as $35 USD for an entire trip there and back from Dublin. You can easily live on $100 USD a week but you will have to do daily trips to the grocery stores which are not as diverse and big as the ones in America. Some products you are use to seeing and cooking with are no longer available to you. Also, some products you are used to buying may not be the prices you are used to. Prepare to spend more on manufactured goods and less on local produce/meats, Visit the local butchers (especially Ennis Butchers at the end of Harrington/South Circular) |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $200-400 USD |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you have a budget, go to the grocery stores and plan when you eat out and how much it costs. Menus are available everywhere. If you do not have a budget, spend away. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I could have set up my internship schedule prior to going to Ireland (which would require CAPA to place us sooner than they did upon arriving to our site) to allow me to have time to plan trips and have holidays sorted. Being able to plan weekend trips early is vital to saving money on flights and hotels/hostels/airbnbs/etc. I felt I lost time to travel because setting up a work schedule while trying to select my classes and adjust to that schedule was frustrating and confusing. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
