Many people hear about the wonderful trips that study abroad students go on and the unforgettable places they see. These are semester highlights and no doubt I will have many of those by the end of my time with Champlain Abroad Dublin.
But what does the average day look like for a Champlain Abroad Dublin student? Those days when I spend more time at the Academic Center than I do exploring Dublin or other places are just as interesting. I’d like to lead you through my typical Tuesdays!
I’ve always been a morning person, so I wake up for my day around 7! (I know, crazy right?) Recently, the sun has begun to rise later, so it’s often still dark when I wake up! But here’s an early morning view from my apartment:
After a quick breakfast, my roommate Emmalee and I head to the Academic Center for our Early Irish History class at 9. It’s about a 30 minute walk to school, and though that may sound intimidating, it’s not at all bad once you get used to it. I get to see some pretty cool parts of Dublin on my daily commute too!
Niall Colfer, an archaeologist, teaches Early Irish History (HIS 316) this semester and we’ve been learning about the prehistoric people who lived in Ireland. A few weeks ago we went on a field trip to the National Museum of Ireland- Archaeology to see the ancient artifacts we’ve read about come to life!
Today, we stayed in the classroom, but we’re sure to go on another field trip soon. Champlain Abroad Dublin and its teachers organize and plan classes where there’s plenty of time for learning outside of the Academic Center. It’s so cool that I get to see all of these places in Dublin that I may not have gotten to see otherwise!
Since I’m on a budget for the semester, I usually pack my lunch and eat it between classes at the Academic Center to save some money. While I’m enjoying my ham and cheese wrap and finishing the last bites of my apple, I look around the Georgian building that the Academic Center is in and it’s amazing to me that I get to go to school in a piece of history!
Between classes, I also stop by Ciarán O’ Rourke’s, the head resident and activities coordinator, office to confirm my ticket to a theater production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Champlain Abroad Dublin was nice enough to get tickets for a show and I’d love an opportunity to see a show! That’s yet another thing I love about this program: there are endless opportunities to get involved in the Dublin community with volunteering, clubs, and events and many, many activities to participate in.
My second class on Tuesday is Environmental Earth Science (SCI 155), taught by Champlain Dublin’s program director, geologist and bog enthusiast, Stephen Robinson. The class had our first quiz today, on rocks, minerals, and plate tectonics, so that’s not too exciting, but it is study abroad, so there has to be some quizzes involved!
After Science, I get to walk back to the student apartments on St. Augustine Street and relax for a few hours before I cook dinner.
We cook communally during the week in my apartment and Tuesdays are my day to do the cooking. Honestly, cooking and buying my own food was something that I wasn’t so sure that I could do before I came to Dublin. I had never had to do it before, since this is the first time I’m living on my own in an apartment. But what better time to learn than abroad!
So tonight I made sun-dried tomato ravioli with a pesto cream sauce and it actually came out pretty good! If anything, this semester has sparked an interest in cooking for me and I’m excited to learn more when I get back home at the end of my time here. Also, I’ve learned that I can cook for myself and I’m much more confident about living on my own in the future!
And that is a typical Tuesday for me this semester with Champlain Abroad Dublin! Thanks for reading!
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