Author: Elisabeth Walters

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Normally, back at Valparaiso University, we are only granted two days plus the weekend for fall break. However, when studying abroad at Reutlingen University, the students are granted a full week. Thus, majority of the students were able to utilize ten days to either travel to other places or stay within Reutlingen. My roommate and I decided to travel around Ireland and the United Kingdom to once again experience different cultures. During our first two days of break we decided to spend that time in Dublin, Ireland.

We left on a train to Frankfurt International Airport on Wednesday night in order to make our flight at 6 am on Thursday. We decided that sleeping in the airport was more economical than getting a hostel for only a few short hours. Luckily, it worked out for the best and we made our flight and arrived in Dublin at 8 am. When we arrived, we immediately visited the Guinness Storehouse. At the Guinness Storehouse we got to learn about a major aspect of Irish culture, Guinness Beer. We got to learn about the different ingredients as well as how they are grown and how the company mixes the ingredients to get the well-known taste. We also learned about the company’s marketing tactics as well as information regarding the founders of the company.

The day after visiting the Guinness Storehouse, we did a free walking tour of Dublin through our hostel. Through our tour guide, we learned about how Dublin got its name through the Gaelic term dubh linn, which means “black pool”. The city received this name because at Dublin Castle the Poddle Stream met up with the River Liffey and created a deep pool. Also, we learned that Ireland has its own language, known as Irish Gaelic, and one of the words we learned was “sláinte”, which means “cheers”. In addition, we learned aspects of the city through our guide that we would have never learned by just walking to the sites and taking pictures. We learned information that helped enrich our ideas of the beautiful city and the country’s culture.

After our walking tour, my roommate and I hung out in our hostel’s lobby. During this time, we ended up meeting two other American students studying abroad, one in Paris and one in Barcelona. We ended up talking with the two other students for over two hours and learned more about their own experiences abroad and about their exchange programs. Thus, through this experience we were able to make new friends with other travelers and learn more about the cultures they were studying in.

Overall, by visiting Dublin, I was able to not only expand my cultural knowledge, but meet new people from where I call home. Also, I am able to come back from Dublin saying that I did more than just visit the sites, but I actually learned about what makes these sites so special to this fascinating city.

Author: Ulises E. Hernandez

Location: Limerick, Ireland 

A few weeks ago, I was able to experience one of the most amazing weekends of my life because I had the opportunity to visit the famous Cliffs of Moher. Ireland, like all countries in Europe, has been shaped by war and by many devastating events. I didn’t know a whole lot about Ireland before visiting that truly amazing country, other than the stereotypes that all Irish like beer, the color green, and leprechauns. During our visit, I got to learn a lot about Ireland thanks to our fantastic and very funny tour guide. According to the guide, the Irish have faced very difficult times due to the English. Not only were they banned at one point for practicing their religion, but they also lost their land to the point where they couldn’t even grow their own food to feed their people. Due to this unfortunate event, the Irish were forced to rely on potatoes as their main source of food which caused a famine that killed thousands of people. It is sad to hear how history shapes people’s nations, but thanks to its magnificent and beautiful natural scenery, Ireland has received many immigrants and a lot of tourists from all over the world which has helped their economy tremendously.

When it comes to people’s identity, the Irish are very different in comparison to the English or even the American people. Not only do they have a very unique accent, but they also tend to be very outgoing and surprisingly happy people. The very first person that I got to meet was our taxi driver. He was an old gentleman with a caring heart, a great sense of humor and overall a great representation of the Irish people. The difference between the Irish and the English is shocking. Based on what I have seen, the English tend to be very reserved and private, which is the complete opposite of the Irish. Regardless of who you are, based on my experience, they treat you like family and they make sure that you feel welcome at all times regardless of where you are. That’s something that I have not experienced to the same level in England, and it’s not that the English are rude people, it’s all due to people’s identities that are shaped by culture and traditions. Based on the people that I talked to, the Irish do not like the English due to the unfortunate events that I mentioned earlier but they are still very welcoming since many people within our tour were English and they received the same treatment as we did.

The pubs and city life in Ireland are very similar to the English. My great friend Ben and I spent the night at a town very similar to Cambridge called Limerick. Even though this small city is not a college town, it still provides its locals with a large selection of pubs, malls, and a great transportation system. Limerick also holds a lot of historical landmarks similar to Cambridge. This town is home to many churches, castles, museums, and historically significant pubs which make the locals very proud to share with the tourists. A very similar problem Ireland and England face is their infrastructure. When I say infrastructure, I don’t refer to their buildings, but their lack of roads that are capable of accommodating the needs of small and large vehicles. Our bus driver had a very difficult time navigating through many of the local and country roads due to how narrow the roads were paved, which is also a problem that I have noticed in England as well. Even though this is just an everyday life struggle for them, the Irish make the most out of what they have and based on what I saw they tend to look at things through a more humorous point of view.

Overall, I had a very wonderful and welcoming experience in Ireland which is something that not everyone shares when visiting a foreign country regardless of your ethnic origin. The Irish are very wonderful and joyful people that are willing to share their culture and beautiful country with the rest of the world. I hope to come back to Ireland at some point in my life and bring my loved ones along so that they too can experience the breathtaking natural scenery that Ireland has to offer.