We are currently on day five of our study abroad in Ireland. Upon arrival we have been constantly on the move. It has been filled with lots and lots of excitement. Our group arrived in Dublin and have been moving from city to city since; we have been to Wexford and Doolin and now we are on our way to our fourth city, Dingle. When arriving in a new city, it is always filled with culture shock. Each and every city is unique in their own way. Some people in these different cities speak Irish only, but the majority of them speak English too. This really helped with the overall culture shock. When going to another country, it is very hard to understand other individuals and communicate with them if you do not speak the same language. This came as a very pleasant surprise to me that in Ireland the majority of the people speak English as there first language. Another culture shock when in Ireland was there, were not any chain restaurants. Most of the restaurants were family owned/managed. When you wanted to go out to eat for lunch or dinner, you had to go into a restaurant and sit down and order. Not having fast food restaurants was a great opportunity for our small study abroad group to get together and really get to know each other. The culture shock in Ireland was small, but definitely there. Getting to experience another country with a group of individuals who all go to the same school as you, are all around the same age, and all have similar interests as you were definitely a once in a lifetime experience.
Roll Tide from Ireland!