I have been in Dublin, Ireland for just over two weeks now. So far I have had an amazing time, with lots of new friends and new experiences. It has been great to travel around with other people from my program, Arcadia Abroad. 

I have been working in a biological research lab at University College Dublin. In the next few weeks, I plan to use fluorescence microscopy to show how the wild-type protein Rab33B differs from mutant versions. I will also look at how this affects important organelles in the cell. While there are many similarities between this workplace and what I am used to at the University of Pittsburgh, there are also some differences in the typical daily routine. For example, it seems that in Europe the typical lunch break is much longer. 

The biggest obstacle I have faced navigating a new country has probably been navigating travel to everywhere I want to go. For example, I am used to living in America where there’s the option to drive to a lot of different places. However, since Ireland is an island, traveling to many nearby areas requires flying. Also, it took me about a week to get my student card for the buses around Dublin since I had to wait until I was in Ireland to apply for it. The student card and practicing planning to go to significant places have helped me improve my navigation skills and confidence in exploring new places. 

As I get used to navigating the country and the different ways of travel, I have loved a lot of places I’ve been able to visit. My favorite experience so far has been hiking along the cliffs of Ireland’s coast. I have hiked trails in Howth, Killiney Hill, and Bray so far. The views of the ocean, plants, and even monuments or castle ruins at some of them were beautiful. At Bray, there was also a small beach. Instead of sand, the beach had rocks. This weekend I plan to visit the Cliffs of Moher. 

Above are some pictures from the hike at Bray. You can see the windy beach and steep walk. 

I have also gone to some museums in Dublin, which were free. I went to the Archeology Museum and the National Gallery. I went to the National Gallery with my coworker who’s here for the summer from France. In the city, I have also been to Phoenix Park and St. Stephen’s Garden.