Lonely December 08, 2023
By Sarah M (English Language and Literature, Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/15/2023 to 05/01/2023 with
Arcadia: Dublin - Trinity College Dublin
Independence
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Academics were engaging, but hard to connect with faculty. Additionally, my literature courses were significantly stronger than my creative writing course. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Fine. Nice people, but not a very limited orient station process and limited events throughout the year. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I enjoyed my single and shared kitchen space, but was housed in an unsafe neighborhood. |
| * Food: |
The Irish are not known for their food… |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Study abroad kids really stick to study abroad kids. I loved the pubs though. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
N/A |
| * Safety: |
I was mugged while abroad so that definitely colored my impression of the city. As someone from a city in the U.S that is far more violent than Dublin, I think I was unprepared for the local tensions in the landscape. They are experiencing a big housing crisis and lots of discontent over immigration. Be more in your guard than you might think and you’ll be fine. Don’t go to any ATMs at night. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I would go to Oxford or Amsterdam. |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Idk |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | But plane tickets for trips as far in advance as possible. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I knew how difficult it would be to connect with the other people in the program. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Creative Writing: How the Weather Was |
| Course Department: | English |
| Instructor: | Eoin McName p |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Not challenging evening enough. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales |
| Course Department: | English |
| Instructor: | Brandon |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Challenging and interesting. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Irish Writing |
| Course Department: | English |
| Instructor: | Rotation |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Massive lecture so the ability of the lecturers varied, but otherwise a very interesting way to get to know a culture. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No |
