Mika Wesley, Arcadia Abroad Summer 2023
This summer, I participated in the Arcadia Abroad STEM Research program. I stayed at University College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland, and I worked in one of their biomedical research labs. This program was a great way to both spend time abroad and participate in research. About twenty five other research students also lived in the same building as me and worked in different labs throughout the university. This community as well as my workplace provided me a way to make friends and people to travel with. With these people I went to places all around Ireland, including the Cliffs of Moher, Cork, and the Ring of Kerry. I also went to Northern Ireland and Scotland with some of them.
However, one challenge I faced was that, because I worked in a different lab as others and didn’t have a set schedule like I would for classes, I was often not available at the same time or days as friends I had made. Instead, I spent some time traveling or exploring on my own. I would advise others in similar situations to not be afraid to travel by yourself and not to miss out on places you want to go just because there isn’t someone available to go with you. When I found myself with an afternoon free I would go into the city center, walk around, and go to a museum or a cafe. In the last week of my time in Ireland, I had a few more cities I hadn’t visited yet so I made sure to go to them. I went to Westport, Ireland and London, England by myself.
Westport, Ireland is a coastal town on the northwest coast. It is in the Connaught province of Ireland, which was the only province of the four I had not yet visited at that time. I saw cute shops, walked along a river, and sat at the beach. On the horizon of the bay, there was a great view of Croagh Patrick, a large mountain. In London, I went to the Tower of London. I really enjoyed learning about the history and touring the different sections. From there, I also walked around the city and across the Towers Bridge. I saw the original site of the Globe theater, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and the London Eye. I’m really glad I took the initiative to plan trips and travel to these places to make the most of my study abroad experience.
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