Thank you, Ireland.

Thank you Ireland for the most memorable summer.

When telling people about my study abroad program, I've been asked multiple times now, "Why Dublin?". At first, I didn't know how to answer that question and just until a couple days ago, that question had me stumped. When looking for study abroad programs to do, Ireland as a location was not at the top of my head. Other common countries to do study abroad in such as Spain, Italy, etc. were more of what I was looking into. I'd be lying if I said I didn't originally choose this program for the course fulfillments and the internship opportunity. Little did I know that I'd be meeting the most genuine people and exploring the most beautiful country. After spending 8 weeks in Ireland, I can't even imagine how different my life would've been if I had chosen a different program, or if I didn't study abroad at all. And for that, I am so thankful.

I learned so much in such a short period of time. Just at my internship alone, I gained professional experience as an engineering major. Participating in meetings, being responsible for a small project of my own, and learning to manage my time effectively has made me more confident in future jobs. As hard as it is to navigate through a new city, Dublin made this transition really easy. I'm used to driving myself everywhere back home so it was an adjustment getting used to taking the bus everywhere, but after a week I felt very comfortable getting from one place to another. Eventually it became very easy to know which bus to take and what stop to get off at. Luckily, the accommodation we were staying at had a bus stop on campus that would take us straight into city center. 

Thanks to the locals I met along the way and especially my coworkers, I was given a lot of recommendations of things to try and places to go. Irish people are SO friendly and I'll never forget this. My coworkers were very welcoming and even though I only knew them for a couple months, they are people that I'll remember forever. I came to Dublin with a list of things I wanted to do, but it was nice to get recommendations from a local especially if you're looking for less tourist-y things.

I'm thankful for the endless wallpapers I'll have. Every single view in Ireland was so picture worthy and even the pictures didn't do it justice. I look back at my camera roll and think to myself how these locations were even real. I'm not sure if I'll ever see scenery that beautiful in California.

Lastly, I'm thankful for the people in my program. None of us knew each other prior to meeting in Ireland but by the end of the 8 weeks, we all got pretty comfortable with each other. It's funny because all of us are so different that even if we had met on campus I don't think any of us would have actually been friends. Even though all the people in the program were UCSD students, Dublin felt like our own little world. I'm not sure how many of them I'll actually see now that we're back in San Diego but nonetheless I'm glad we experienced this Global Seminar together.

I'll miss exploring a new place. I'll miss meeting random random people every day (it seemed like being American was a good topic for others to spark up a conversation). I'll miss the coastal hikes. I'll miss not having to pay for gas. I'll miss all of it.

So why Dublin? Because why not. Ireland is such a beautiful country with great culture that without the educational opportunities, it was still a place well worth visiting and learning about.