A Legendary Week(end)

Have you ever had a day that just seems to be a culminating experience of everything that’s lead up to that point – something where one thing after another falls into place (and not all good) but looking back, it just all seems too fantastic to be real?

That was this past week for me.

Studying in Dublin has been a remarkable experience – so many new friends and just ridiculous Swingers/Wedding Crashers/Old School-status stories I won’t post on here.

The past 10 days here have really epitomized my experience in Dublin over the semester. Two weekends ago, despite the volcanic ash cloud looming in the stratosphere, I spent my entire Saturday afternoon lounging outside with friends reading and smoking a hookah. My friend from Wales commented that we should have a barbecue and after a bit of brainstorming, we decided to go through with it. What was originally a passing comment made on a gorgeous day turned into an epic 40+ person affair that lasted the better part of the evening/night.

 

Monday night, the “BU Wolf Pack” headed to the city for our Quinn Business School farewell dinner. Free pints, delicious Irish food, and live Irish dancing/music. A bit hard to sum up, but the dinner conversation was a hilarious back and forth that typified the relationship that I have developed with these six new friends over the past semester.

On Tuesday, we had goodbye dinner round two at the UCD campus – for the entire American study abroad program not just the business kids. Between the free wine and seeing the ridiculousness of the “Irish House Party” a second time, it was a great night. I actually met some really cool people from Bentley, a bit late in the game – but hey, at least they’re from Mass.

Wednesday, we returned to our usual midweek haunt, Dicey’s for some 2.50e pints. The end of the night produced a story that was on par with the ridiculousness of the semester: I got left in Dublin without enough money to take a cab by myself (i.e. a small fortune). My friends inadvertently all got in cabs and I got lost in the shuffle of the hundreds of people milling around outside the bar. Despite the initial barrage of anger-filled (yet hilarious) text messages between me and a couple people from Blackrock/BU, the night was not lost. I actually ended up crashing at the Bentley apartment and had a hilarious rest of the night.

The weekend was like a “greatest hits of Dublin tourism” album for me, as I showed a few of my favorite places to a friend visiting from Madrid. Saturday night was a glorious trip to a new locale for me called “The Academy” with a great DJ set, good pint prices, and a fantastic group of my best friends from Blackrock. And of course, I couldn’t forget my visit to the “UCD Ball” on Friday, which is a drunken concert on the UCD campus that in many ways puts Marathon Monday to shame.

 

Walking back from the grocery store the following day, I had this realization:

I am genuinely going to miss the friends I have made here and will remember my semester in Dublin for the rest of my life.

It’s true that that’s what everyone says about studying abroad, but it is an incredible realization to actually have. My time in Dublin is not over yet, not by a long shot, but the start of my internship is a new chapter in a book that will certainly have an impact on my life.