I feel like I should mention the staff over here and how helpful they really are. One of the big reasons why I have had such a good time studying in Dublin is because the staff here are so helpful. They really do try to make your experience in Dublin as painless as possible, and they are damn good at it. I suppose it is one of the advantages of using Champlain Abroad over a 3rd party source.
So, in what ways are the staff here helpful? I’ll start with Tom, our Head Resident. Nearly every weekend, he finds something new for us to do in Dublin or the surrounding area and Champlain Dublin pays for it. For someone like me who hates planning trips, these opportunities are great and get me out into places in Ireland I probably would have never visited otherwise. Some of my favorite and most memorable experiences this semester have been on these trips and I’m sure the other students share my sentiments. I strongly encourage anyone coming here in the future to take advantage of those opportunities and go on as many of the weekend trips as you can. They’re totally worth it.
On top of the frequent day trips that Tom runs, there are also the two big weekend trips to the West coast and Northern Ireland that the administrators plan and run. These trips cost around 40 Euro (which is what the bus ticket alone costs) and get you a whole weekend of fun. Some of your meals are paid for, your lodging is paid for, the ride there is paid for…it’s a pretty good deal. And when they take you out to dinner, it isn’t to some fast food joint. You get some of the best tasting food you will find. The weekend trips have a lot of time planned in them for you to go off and do your own thing so you can really make of the trips however you want. I have already covered some of the fun things I’ve done on the trips in my earlier blogs to give you an idea of what you can do. And, if you are anything like us, you can take heart in knowing that you never have to travel far to find a good pub in Ireland.
If you thought the travel ended there, well, you’d be wrong. The classes are scheduled to all end on Thursday so that you have Fridays off. The reason for this is that half of the Fridays are reserved so that your classes can schedule field trips (and believe me, they all do) to different places in Dublin or way out somewhere in Ireland. This semester I have gone to Armagh, the Hill of Tara, and the Marble Arch Caves in Northern Ireland, as well as various smaller trips in Dublin, all as part of my classes. I would have gone to Newgrange too had I not missed the bus that day
Beyond what I’ve listed above, the staff here are also helpful in the normal sense of the word. Often times they will open the academic center outside of normal hours, such as on the weekends or later than normal, when they know students have big assignments due or for mid-terms and finals. They are easy to get a hold of and will give you advice and answer any questions you have about Dublin. They just make living in a foreign country easy.
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