Today was our second full day in Dublin. We woke up early this morning and went to breakfast then we went to Food Cloud, which is a non-profit company that provides charities with meals while also maintaining their goal to reduce food waste. It was very interesting to hear and learn about the company. After our site visit we went on a tour of Croke Park, which is Dublin’s main stadium for sporting events, concerts, and conferences.

Before coming to Dublin I had looked at pictures and did some research to prepare myself for this trip. I had an image in my mind of what Dublin would look like, but my predictions were wrong. I was expecting Dublin to be a cute, little, quiet town with all the major companies being located in the same area. I immediately realized that this was not true as Dublin is very spread out with many people, buses, and cars. Many of the companies have been located outside of Dublin and are not located near one another. We have been using the bus system as our main form of transportation while also walking far distances to get to places, which is not something I was expecting since I thought everything was within walking distance. Although this is not what I expected I have liked being able to drive around and see more of what Dublin has to offer.

Dublin is very different than Pittsburgh, but there are some similarities. One difference that I noticed was there is not much of any marketing throughout the city. Driving through Pittsburgh I always see billboards, signs with promotions, advertisements for events, window displays, and large store name headings on buildings. Here in Ireland I have not seen any billboards or advertisements promoting specific stores or restaurants. A similarity that I noticed between Ireland and the United States is the weather. In Pittsburgh we are known for having many gray days, which is exactly what it has been like here. Throughout the year Dublin is known for having gray, cold, and rainy days.

While in Dublin we have been staying in Stay City apartments, which is located by many shops and restaurants. Our accommodation here is different compared to our hotel in Charlotte. Our apartment in Ireland is very simple. We are provided with the basic necessities and there are not many other features or decorations whereas our hotel in Charlotte had a large seating area in the main entrance, decorations throughout the hotel, and other additional features within our rooms. Another difference I noticed is that the rooms here are much smaller and more compact. Everything in our room is very close together with not much storage. Our room in the Hyatt had more space to put our stuff and spread things out in our room.

I am sure as the trip continues I will notice more similarities and differences between Pittsburgh and Dublin. I am looking forward to the rest of our trip and having more new experiences.