Though our first week of classes is already over and our students are already on their first course excursion, it’s been so busy we didn’t get a chance to write about orientation yet.
Our first big day together as a group was last Thursday. We met in the academic centre for a few hours for introductions, but the bulk of the day was for our traditional Dublin Scavenger Hunt. The scavenger hunt gets the students mixing (we randomly draw the groups effort to help the students interact with people they don’t already know) and also leads them back and forth across town in an effort to help them become acquainted with the city and its landmarks.
On Thursday evening we were joined by many of our faculty members for dinner at Dandelion Bistro, named for the historic Dandelion Market (site of U2s earliest gigs) which used to be located just next door in what is now Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre. As dinner ended our jet-lagged students headed home as they had another long day ahead of them on Friday.
 |
| Bray Head (Photo by Annie Grantham) |
Orientation continued on Friday and Saturday morning with more information on program policies, travel tips and ideas, a primer on how to deal with homesickness and culture shock and a short talk on how to budget money when exchange rates are working against you.
Friday afternoon, however, was spent in the lovely seaside town of Bray. To get there we introduced our students to the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) and showed them how simple it is to get out of the city. In Bray we set them free to explore the coast or to climb Bray Head. Bray Head is a 241 m (791 ft) high hill that is part of the Wicklow Mountains. This is a popular spot with hill walkers as the top provides stunning views of the Irish Sea in one direction and the Wicklow Mountains in the other. Despite the intermittent downpours, by the time we all met up again at the Porterhouse Bray for dinner everyone was very content and excited to talk about the hike.
 |
| Champlain College Dublin Fall 2011 at the top of Bray Head (Photo by Annie Grantham) |
We’re really looking forward to working with this delightful group of students for the rest of the semester.
–Claire Gannon