Waking up early, boarding a bus, and waiting at the airport for the plane, I was in a weird bittersweet mix of emotions. Looking out of the window on the way to the airport, I knew that this was the last time I would see the rolling flat hills of Ireland, bordered by stone walls and bushes, or at least for a while. I always feel a tinge of sadness leaving after a trip abroad, knowing that there will never be an opportunity to truly replicate the experience that I had. The homely pubs, bustling streets, streets full of history, and low height brick buildings were all things that I will miss about the city divided by the Liffey. Coming back a second time will be different from the first, so my first impression of the Land of the Lucky will forever be ingrained in my mind.

It was a unique experience, not only since it was my first time in Europe, but also since it was my first time traveling as a group, doing set activities. At the end of the day, this is a class, but since I am always used to doing independent activities while abroad, this trip was a mix. My family is independent in general, so when we go on vacations, we will usually do what we want to do, going to major sites or places as a whole, but having enough independence to go what interests yourself. While this is how I love to travel, this group travel was not bad at all. I feel like there are places that I wouldn’t be able to go if I hadn’t traveled as a group, but at the same time, because of the free times that were scheduled, I had enough freedom to visit the various museums, restaurants, sites, and just have my own time to myself. Thus, not having too little free time to explore and the other time supplemented by visits to pre-determined places, it was a nice well-rounded two weeks as a whole. I saw what I wanted to see and did what I wanted to do. If this program was a week or even a few days longer, I feel like I would’ve exhausted everything to do in Dublin. This experience made me surprised at how independent and free-roaming that I am. Doing things at your own pace is not bad, and since everyone has different things they want to do, its hard to do everything you want to do and everything that others want to do as well. Taking this as a learning opportunity, I want to shape myself into a more independent person and really take every opportunity, personal or professional, that truly interests me, rather than ones that might be or look better from other’s perspective.

Another part of this program that I loved was the site visits. It was great touring around the buildings of respective companies, and hearing them talk about their passions, mission, and work. While I learned about the respective company, their culture, and the work that they do, one more critical thing I learned while visiting these companies is the openness of interactions. I was, at first, nervous about asking questions, and by the end, I was too tired of asking them! I was never really someone to ask questions, but during the site visits, I felt so welcomed to ask them, that I felt no resistance asking them. Furthermore, connecting to people on LinkedIn or just in general just felt really open and welcomed, something that I did not expect, and I gained unexpected connections. I should really take this as the time to network with alumni over the summer and knowing that I could connect and network with people that presented for a few hours, I can definitely network with people that share the same school as I do.

Learning not only about the culture of Ireland, more about companies that we visited, and finally, about myself, one important thing that I learned was about networking. I mentioned networking with people that led our site visits, but this effort stemmed from the two guest speakers that we had. Ellie Doyle and Rob Cullen visited us at Griffith College to talk about the importance of personal brand and tips to network, and that was the most impactful thing that I had learned on the trip. I knew about the importance about networking, but it took me back how much more I need to put myself out there and really promote myself, my personality, and my interests. Whether that is something small, like posting a weekend trip on LinkedIn, or going to networking conferences with confidence, I need to take more opportunities to practice networking and getting to know more people, not just professionally.

Thank you very much for following my journey throughout Ireland! I hope to come back to Europe and explore the many other countries, and their respective cultures that they offer. Special thanks to Phil, Meade, and all the people that had helped us through our journey in Ireland.

Go Dtí an Chead Uair Eile (Until next time)

Manato Matsuoka