Checking in to let everybody know Dublin is 10/10 so far! After a rough first day, I (mostly) slept off the jetlag and woke up bright and early for two back to back tours of this beautiful city. And beautiful it is!

From the picturesque blues of the fishing village, to the colorful cobbled main streets, and the bright greens of the mini forests all around, I’m afraid of blinking in case I miss some other gorgeous sight. I’m entirely impressed by the presence of classic European history around Dublin’s architecture. At the same time, I’m surprised there are so many modern buildings to marvel at, as well. The tour guides were thorough in explaining the impact the British Georgian and Victorian eras had in Ireland’s history. The Gothic style is all around—churches, older townhouses, mini-castles, lampposts, bridges, and more. Along with that, there is a sparkling presence of modern sights. Right next to those older brick establishments, you would see a taller, sleeker, building with fun angles made of all glass, establishing a vibrant and immediate contrast between what Ireland was and what it is forming into. I wasn’t expecting to see this much mixture between the time periods in a city that is famously developing as a technology center, but it has been so interesting to notice this visual discrepancy.

I think that’s the key word: development. Change takes time and Dublin’s work in joining the most modern era has been really successful. Its history is deeply embedded with the UK which has made the Irish have to form a strong sense of identity and that is definitively evident in the way the Irish speak about their heritage. It’s important to know the history and culture of a place you would want to do business in because although the British occupied Ireland for a long time and are still their biggest traders, the Irish, I have noticed, have a distinct pride in their own people. Preconceived notions of other cultures in relation to those culture’s relationships can be really harmful, especially in a business negotiation setting. It’s only day one but I have already learned that it’s best to keep an open mind and focus on the country and culture you are actually in, and not necessarily too much on it’s neighbors.

For example, we saw where Bram Stoker worked as a clerk before he wrote Dracula (as a literature major, I was trying to keep my cool) which is mostly set in England. Although that would become the most famous European vampire novel, another Irish writer, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, had published Carmilla 26 years before Stoker. Carmilla’s Irish heritage is a lot clearer than Dracula’s—the myth of “fearies” and their animal “familiars” is part of Irish folklore and a large part of the plot of this vampire novella. I asked our tour guide about these two authors and found out that both went to the same college (Trinity College) here in Dublin! Knowing that piece of their literary history is vital in understanding the Irish pride I have been noticing and it definitely impressed the tour guide, which is another way to show how knowing and respecting history will help you communicate better with a different culture.

That’s all for today’s reflections in Ireland. I go back to Griffith College tomorrow to learn more (and hopefully buy a nice college water bottle). See you then!