I’m a graduating senior studying abroad in Ireland. Many people ask me, “Aren’t you sad to miss your last semester on campus?” Well sort of, but not really, because all of my best friends are off-campus this semester. Rachael, the one studying abroad in France, flew over to Ireland to see me this weekend!
Rachael got here on Friday night, and I took her to the classic Irish pub because let’s be real, there isn’t any better way to start a journey in Dublin.
Saturday consisted of catching up at Insomnia Coffee (we had to spill all the tea, of course), window shopping at Grafton Street (only if we weren’t broke college kids), seeing Book of Kells (the obvious perk of being a Trinity student is getting free entrance), and taking the Dart to Dún Laoghaire (pronounced like Dun Leary) to introduce Rachael to my wonderful friends.
Exclusive tour guide: Yuki
Photo creds: Rachael
Dún Laoghaire
In Dún Laoghaire, we grabbed a late lunch with Aoife (the one and only Irish friend I’ve made at Trinity so far) and her partner, John. They were so sweet to us. Then I introduced her to Maël, a cool friend I met in my Korean elective class. I almost felt obligated for this encounter to happen because it’s simply fate. It’s got to be. Maël speaks Japanese, French, and English fluently and Rachael is an English and Japanese double major with a minor in French. The combination of these three languages is quite unique, so it was entertaining for me to hear them talk about their impressions of each culture, their views on world history, politics, etc.
On Sunday, with some of my American friends, we participated in the bus tour to the Giants Causeway and Belfast in Northern Ireland. Rachael is another off-campus blogger so I will pass the baton here. Check out her blog in the next few days/weeks to hear all about this thrilling experience!
Our four years of college career may come to an end soon, but I genuinely believe that our friendship will last for a lifetime. With our burning passion to explore the world, I expect us to be all over the planet. I cannot wait for us to visit each other in random places we end up in and share pieces of cultures we fall in love with for the next 80 years (we’ll be healthy grandmas!). For now, see you in France, Rachael!