Exchange Testimonials -> Ireland
Nicola Eason, Architecture
Home University: University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
My semester at University College Dublin in Ireland has been amazing! I came to Dublin in September to study architecture in their semester one. The architecture course at UCD is very similar to UQ’s except a lot more intense, which I actually didn’t think was possible! The modules (subjects) are a bit less formal than home, I still don’t know who a couple of my course coordinators are, but everyone was so helpful. I could write for ever about Ireland but I’ll just tell you about my 10 favourite things...
· The Irish people - the people are incredibly friendly and they really helped me settle in, and because architecture is such a small course they’re all really good friends. I got invited to everyone’s 21st’s, even though they’d just met me!
· Dublin town – I could have (and did) spent days exploring the city, let alone everywhere around it!
· UCD exchange program - meaning the 3 social groups which each organise a party every week. The campus is nice too, their lake has nothing on UQ’s but still, it’s a pretty campus with a lot of stuff going on and its only a half hour bus ride from the city.
· Irish music – I’ve become a little bit addicted to the local music. All the pubs have live music most nights and everyone gets really into it.
· The weather – a taxi driver told me he hears this a lot from Australians, which is probably because we’re all pleasantly surprised that it doesn’t rain constantly! When it does rain it tends to come in horizontally so even if the umbrella’s strong enough to withstand the wind, it still doesn’t do much good!
· Soda bread – a traditional brown bread, best with fresh vegetable soup in a little pub, I’m just sad it took me 20 years to find it!
· The Irish countryside – the country side is just like you’d imagine it to be. There’s a hundred shades of green, crumbling stone walls, castles, little white washed cottages with thatched rooves and sheep everywhere.
· The language – not just Gaelic, but the words and phrases that everyone uses... class, slick, deadly, your man, great craic, and my personal favourite, grand. It sounds so much cooler in an Irish accent but that doesn’t stop all the international students from slipping it into their vocabulary!
· My housemates – I lived on campus with 5 other exchange students and I couldn’t have wished for better people to share my experiences with! We’ve spent countless hours just sitting in the hallway procrastinating and enjoying the novelty of Ireland.
· Weekend trips - I went to the Ring of Kerry and Northern Ireland with my housemates and had a fantastic time. We went on a traditional jaunty cart, got photos with a lamb on the Atlantic, braved the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, learnt about the murals in Derry and Belfast and got stuck on the bus due to a runaway cow!
I would jump at the opportunity to extend my time here and encourage everyone thinking about exchange to just go for it! I have had the most incredible 4 months, the only down side is having to leave!