Last week we welcomed 48 Champlain College students to the Dublin campus. Orientation was a great time to get to know our students before classes began, we even played a name game on the first day… we had to loosen them up somehow! We used these first few days to discuss the important stuff; Dublin policies, courses, culture shock, advice for making the most of their time in Ireland and to get them used to navigating a big city.
We did have a few fun things planned for our new students. The afternoon of the first day of orientation was dedicated to a Dublin scavenger hunt. Students were split into teams and given clues that would lead them all around the city centre collecting items, answers and photos along the way. The winners of this term’s hunt collected a whopping 645 points, I think this may be a new record!
Tara Station. Such a happy employee too!
(Photo by Jordan Hamilton)
vendor holding carrots & and ‘I Love VT’ sign.
(Photo by Samantha Maslak)
Friday morning was more business, but the afternoon was spent on a trip to Howth. Howth, a coastal town, is a short DART ride north of Dublin city centre. We taught the students how to use the DART system, very handy for short trips out of the bustling city and asked them to explore Howth at their own pace. Some students walked the piers where fishing trawlers come into port and fed the seals who wait for the boat’s scraps. Others battled the elements (a brief but powerful downpour) to hike to the top of Howth Head. All in all, Howth received fantastic reviews from our slightly damp students.
Before we set them loose in Howth we took a moment to take our first group photo.
–Claire
p.s. I hope to be posting more photos from orientation in the next few days, so stay tuned.