After the first 6 weeks, when the accelerated course we were all taking together ended, I [mostly] gave up on my efforts, but I certainly was not by myself. My 4 wonderful roommates - Brendan, Antoine, Laura and Paul, were so nice (!!!!), and we always managed to have a good craic in the suite. Paul introduced me to his friends from his aviation major, and I was further surrounded by funny, wonderful people. During the month of May, I did all my travels around Ireland and Scotland alone. While I did not hang out much with anyone in my group for the rest of the trip (except for the occasional lunches, dinners, and trips to City Centre), I felt I got something greater out of my program than they did: I made friends from Ireland and France that I know I will keep in touch with for a long long time.
I got to travel all over Ireland, and went to 4 great countries in Europe: England, Czech Republic, Spain, and Scotland. While I wish I had traveled to more countries, I am happy with the way the experience turned out. I went to London with my entire group - on a media related trip, and traveled to Prague with two people from my group. I journeyed to Barcelona with a girl from Arizona, and finally, Edinburgh and the Highlands by myself. Traveling without people from my group allowed me to step outside my comfort zone. I traveled to Scotland alone, met wonderful people in hostels and on bus tours, and took frequent trips on the train by myself to see the different parts of Dublin and Wicklow. I learned that I was better off alone, and it allowed me to be more independent.
Dublin, you treated me well. Thanks to all of my wonderful roommates and friends for making my abroad experience amazing. Ireland, I'll be back soon.
