Submitted by Nadia Persaud on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in Ireland and London, England sponsored by the Department of Accounting and the Department of Finance…
I was very eager coming on this study abroad program because I have been to Europe several times before, but not with friends and people my age. I have been in Ireland for a week now and I already feel like I have experienced so much and feel very close to this group of students. One thing that I have noticed right away is how friendly the Irish people are, especially towards tourists like us. On the first night, a group of us were starving and looking for food, so naturally we gravitated toward the Temple Bar district to find dinner. We walked into what looked like a local restaurant. The owner was the one who greeted us and instead of trying to sell us what was most expensive on his menu, he said what he genuinely hated on his menu and what was the best. After we were done with our meal and were about to leave, he asked us if we watched football (soccer) because that night was the Liverpool vs. Manchester City game which was like the Super Bowl to Irish people. We all said yes and he proceeded to direct us to his favorite sports pub to watch the game. Every inch of the pub was covered with locals cheering on both teams. Other countries I have been to in Europe try to scam Americans, especially what could seem like an easy target like study abroad students, but every person we have encountered here have welcomed us with open arms and have tried to give us advice on how to have the best experience.
We flew from Dublin to London yesterday and all of us settled in pretty quickly because there was no change in time zone. We were given the option this morning to go on a river boat tour and about 24 out of 27 of us went even though it was early because we were all so eager to explore London. We all got Tube passes which is London’s underground railroad system and just being here for a day, I can already tell that this is the best form of transportation. I’m from New York and London reminds me a lot of New York City because it’s such a big city and public transportation is a necessity,except the Tube is a lot cleaner and easier to follow then the Subway. On the river boat tour, we saw lots of buildings and bridges, but the most important was the London Tower Bridge. I’ve seen pictures before, but it is absolutely beautiful in person and I think it’s something everyone should see. After we walked across the bridge like any tourist would and then went to the Borough Market, which is like a food stand market. London is a very diverse city especially compared to Dublin so the market had all different kinds of food from every culture. After carefully deciding, a bunch of us ended up splitting a bunch of things so we were able to taste everything.