How is it already Wednesday? Time flies when the step counter accumulates.

Today was eventful. The morning started early. Walking around the river and being lectured on Irish history was incredibly interesting. Most of the Dublin I am experiencing wasn’t here twenty years ago… Ireland never really went through Industrialization in the 18th and 19TH centuries. Instead, they had other successes and hardships.

The “Celtic Tiger” era is of utmost importance here. In the late 20th century Ireland opened itself to international trade and investments, bringing in the modern day companies that would root themselves here to take advantage of the lower taxes. It gave Ireland the boom it needed to invest in more public universities and better jobs for its people. It allowed Dublin to grow into what is it today—major tech hub and emerging metropolis.

Ireland also has sad stories to tell. During the famine, immigration became the solution. There’s a hauntingly gorgeous sculpture lining the side of the River Liffey, pictured here:

The Irish had to leave their home in search of a better life. This trend, interestingly, continued in the 20th century as the rest of the world advanced but Ireland was—as our lecturer explained—“stuck 200 years in the past” and struggling for better opportunities for its newer generations. As an immigrant myself, I see this as a close mirror to my experience on how the decadence of a location can drive progress away.

But amidst all these harsh truths, there’s always a light of hope. We visited Google today! From its various international cafes, in-house tv studios, massage and exercise rooms, as well as the really nice and interesting people that work there, I personally would love to join the club. The many perks of comfortability in the workplace are a great benefit in addition to knowing that you are hopefully working toward the goal of making people’s lives easier—whether it be automating a company’s advertisements to reach customers better or testing out a new high tech concept that will make people’s lives easier to live compared to the years that have come and gone, Google is making the future. And I was thoroughly impressed with the outlook.

Excited for more adventures tomorrow… See you then!