The Best Summer Past Review

By Mariah B (Special Education, Grand Valley State University) for

GEO: Dublin - Study Abroad Programs in Dublin

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

My experience was so worthwhile! I have a better understanding of the Irish culture and I found a place that I am in love with. I plan on going back sometime and would eventually love to live in Ireland

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The workload was perfect for this program! We were able to learn a lot of information in a couple weeks and only had a couple assignments. Although we did only have a couple assignments, we were challenged by the assignments that were given. The grading system is exactly the same as it in the US. You were given A.B.C. etc for grades on papers or quizzes.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	The host country program administration was amazing. David, Una, and Daniel were very helpful in answering any questions that we had about Ireland. They were always at the school before class started, in between class, and after class, if we ever need to talk about something. The program size was a good size. We were able to meet everyone and really get to know them all. Some of them I still talk to today.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	My host family was so amazing. They immediately welcomed me into their family and I felt like I was part of their family for 5 weeks. I grew such a close bond with them, that it was incredibly hard to leave them at the end of the 5 weeks. I am still in contact with them and I am very grateful that I was placed in their family. I also had an American roommate. She was awesome and we got along very well. It was nice to have someone living with me and someone to go out with. Breakfast and Dinner were provided by the family. I made sure that I was always home for dinner because that turned into my favorite part of the day as our dinners usually turned into 2 -3 hours of just talking and getting to know each other. The location of their house was perfect. It was about a 20 minute walk to the college and around a 10 minute walk to Dun Laoghaire. From Dun Laoghaire, it was a short 20 minute train ride into Dublin. We could go out either in Dun Laoghaire or in Dublin. Each were very easy to get to. Their house was close to other host families, so it was easy to meet up with them to go out at night!
* Food:	The food was much like the food that I would eat in the US. Most of the time for dinner, my host mom would cook pasta or chicken so it was things that I was used to eating. You always get a ton of food for dinner, sometimes it was a little too much, but you never hungry after dinner. The one thing that I did miss was Mexican food, so my friends and I found a Mexican place in Dublin. But overall, the food was great!
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	Every Wednesday, we were able to go on excursions throughout Dublin. The excursions were very well planned out and usually related to what we were learning about in class. My favorite excursions was our weekend trip. All 40 of us spent the weekend in this cute little town, learning to play gaelic football, hiking up the mountain, and having a Irish dinner. I still talk about that weekend trip! So many memories and new friends were made that weekend.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	I felt very safe in both Dun Laoghaire and Dublin. Most of the times I was with my roommate, but if I ever needed to walk back by myself, I felt safe. I never had any health issues, but I know some people did and they were taken care of immediately. Usually someone took them to the doctor's right away and they were able to get medications for what was wrong with them.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

Finances

* 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)

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans Host Family

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	Everything!
* What could be improved?	Nothing! Everything was great!
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Do this program! I cannot think of another program that I would have been truly happy in. I look at my friends study abroad experiences and can say that this is one of the best programs. I had one of the best summers because of this program and the time of my life. I changed so much through this experience and made so many new friends. I talk about Ireland all the time because it made that much of an impact on my life. I know this is something that I will continue to be talking about for years to come. If you want to get the best experience you can get, this program is for you!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Transatlantic Currents: Ireland & America in the Modern Era
Course Department:
Instructor:	David Kilroy
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Normally, history is a subject that I do not enjoy at all, but this class was AMAZING! I actually enjoyed going to class to learn more about Irish history and David made it very interesting. I learned more in this history class, then I would have in my US classes and I actually remember what I learned. We had quizzes every Monday and two papers throughout the 5 weeks, but it was nothing extremely hard! The excursions that we took during the week always related to what we learned in class. It was another way to reinforce the material that we were learning in class and make connections outside of the class. David was very knowledgeable in the Irish history and really knew how to teach it good. One of the best classes, I have taken my college career.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Screening Ireland: Irish Film Into the 21st Century
Course Department:
Instructor:	Seamus
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	I really enjoyed taking this class. Although it was in the morning and I am not a morning person at all, I found the class interesting. We watched Irish films every Monday. Some became my favorite films like My Left Foot and some were not my favorites, but it gave me an opportunity to see all different kind of films. We had to write film reviews over a certain movie and present those to the class. I learned that I have a new favorite film director - Jim Sheridan. Seamus was very knowledge on the topic of Irish film!
Credit Transfer Issues: