Romanticizing my future in Dublin- A weekend in Dublin blog

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Grace Zheng

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Grace Zheng

<i>Home Institution</i>: University of New Mexico <i>Expected Graduation Year</i>: 2024 <i>Academic Major / Minor</i>: Marketing <i>Destination</i>: Leeds, UK <i>"Hello" in your host country's language</i>: Hello <i>Demographics</i>: Asian/Asian American, First-Generation American, First-Generation College Student <i>Future Career Goals</i>: I want to work in Public Relations to help out the community I grew up in. I want to use my degree in marketing to make some long lasting impact around sustainability and equality. My goal is to bond the people from New Mexico together regardless of the different backgrounds everyone comes from. I believe we can unite individuals by making not only our state a better place but the world as well. Public relations will allow me to spread ideas I am passionate about while providing an opportunity for voices to be heard on a first hand level. <i>Top Three Study Abroad Goals</i>: Travel- To as many countries as possible to diversify my knowledge, seeing the world or other cultures is one of the greatest privileges to have and I want to use this as an opportunity to learn on a global scale; Grow within myself- Going abroad is such an amazing experience however it can be scary and I want to grow as a person in all aspects while being in a new country miles away from the familiarity of being back home; Inspire- To motivate other students with similar background as me to go out there and see the world for themselves by following my journey

Hello everyone, long time no updates!

Before I jump into what my weekend in Dublin, Ireland was like I wanted to provide some updates to where I’ve been. Back in January I have volunteered with ReachTheWorld to teach a k-12 classroom and culturally educate children. I’ve been busy planning blog content for my kiddos however, I am still waiting on a classroom assignment from the institution. If you want to follow my journey there go find my blog under the journeys at https://www.reachtheworld.org!

This past weekend I got to visit Dublin for the very first time. Spoiler alert I absolutely LOVED this city. On our first day we landed in the city bright and early at 8 am. We were there on a Sunday and we shortly realized a lot of businesses don’t open until late. We strolled around the streets and found a small cafe at around 12Pm. I ordered a traditional Irish breakfast, and to my surprise it was very similar to the English breakfasts I’ve been eating in Leeds. The meal consisted of a fried egg, sausage links, beans, toast, and of course a cup of coffee. We then headed to our main event for our first day which was the Guinness Storehouse. This building was HUGE and had easily 8+ floors. At the storehouse we learned how the sacred Irish beer, Guinness is produced and became one of the best selling beers in the world.

On our second day we took a bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher. I have included a picture so everyone can see how beautiful the cliffs were. You may recognize this scenery in Harry Potter, lord of the rings, and even Snow White films. Our tour bus was a 60 seater green tour bus with a massive Leprechaun and rainbow painted on the side. The name of the bus was “PaddyWagon”. When we got to the cliffs the weather was so foggy we couldn’t see much but as we hiked up the cliff the weather cleared up and it was incredible. These cliffs look so man-made but they’re not! Definitely glad the weather was on my side. Although we didn’t see any leprechauns during the tour I did spot a single rainbow which was really cool.

On our last and final day we visited the book of kells library at the infamous Trinity college. This college campus was so bright and full of greenery which gave me slight regrets I didn’t choose to study in Dublin. The library was a bit underwhelming but still very interesting. The “long hall” is captured in the photo attached and as you can see it is beautiful. The library consisted of rows and rows of some of the oldest literature works. The books were in great condition considering some are as old as the 9th century.

Being in Dublin really made me appreciate the life around me and brought to light I am really lucky to be traveling to places I never thought I would visit. Dublin is an up and coming city with headquarters such as Google, Indeed, and Jp Morgan near the dock. I was surprised I didn’t hear more Irish accents while I was there. Actually, most of the people I met were Americans! In Leeds it’s not very often we get to see the sun due to long rainy seasons. The Irish way of living is very laid back. Everyone is so kind and had an amazing outlook on life. That weekend Dublin was sunny and shining. I really loved this city and can envision myself living there after college.