CEA CAPA Education Abroad in Dublin, Ireland

Finding CAPA's Dublin program was one of the luckiest moments of my life. I honestly did not understand how incredible of an opportunity it was until I got there. Dublin is a great city; we always described it as an international city with a small town feel. It was easy navigate and easy to love.
Living on campus and having an internship abroad truly immersed us in Irish culture. Our on campus staff were there all day to chat with or check in with if necessary. I got sick while abroad, and CAPA made that a lot less stressful. Furthermore, my internship was fantastic. I learned a lot about myself, but I was also able to meet people many different generations in Ireland, and I know that I made connections that will last a lifetime. Outside of my internship, I was able to make friends with some of the kindest, funniest people that I still speak to today.
Besides being the first thing commented upon on my resume, this experience is one of the first things I mention about myself. It truly made me more confident, more introspective, and happier. I am so grateful for the opportunities that CAPA presented to us & how it continues to further success and happiness in my life.

My experience in Dublin was amazing. The CAPA program had me studying at Griffith College, just a 20 min walk (less than 10 on the bus) from city center, and interning at Island Key Childcare. I thoroughly enjoyed my courses; compared to my home institution they were not as academically challenging, but I learned a lot and had a great time. Dublin is a diverse and growing city that has so much to offer any college student.

I have to say, I have written a bunch about CAPA and how much it has changed my life. I am unsure what life would have been like had I not gotten accepted. My life right now is all about international affairs, and I can thank having connections and a beautiful team behind me letting me know that I was going to thrive.
I have always wanted to live abroad, and through the course of 5 months I was whisked away to a wonderful world of Irish culture and environment. I traveled the country and drove a car as I explored many cities you have and haven't heard of. I saw castles in the middle of nowhere and a lot of houses that had land for miles. I think the best moment was looking over the sea coast on the last day of the trip and knowing that I had done everything I had set to do and done it with the confidence I never realized I had. It has been natural guts mixed with a wonderful team whom I hope to never forget. I will absolutely come back to visit!

While abroad, most of my time was spent interning back and forth between two theatres in Dublin, so I only had one class each week. We met Tuesday evenings for about an hour and a half. The class material was enlightening and engaging, but not difficult in nature. The first few weeks we focused on learning about the Irish culture/workplace, and then the class became a general internship course. "Homework" assignments would usually consist of self-reflection papers, watching a video and writing a response, creating a powerpoint, etc. We had one big group presentation, and one out of class mock interview. The workload was absolutely doable, but some of the assignments seemed unnecessary a couple of times.

The CAPA administrators in Dublin were incredible! From our day of arrival to our departure, they were always readily available to answer our questions and give dining/shopping/touring suggestions. They were very responsive to their emails and easily approachable in person. There were attacks in Europe during my time abroad this summer, and the CAPA team handled it like pros and made sure that everyone checked in and was safe. I know that we were in good hands.

I lived at Lad Lane Apartments. CAPA utilized many different housing areas for their students in Dublin, and this was mine. The staff were always so kind and ready to assist, so I will give them credit for that. However, it took almost two weeks to get my own key for the flat (I relied on my flatmates to always be around to let me in) and the wifi was not always reliable. The shower head didn't have a place to hook into the wall, so you had to hold it the entire time you were bathing. The flats were in a fairly good area, though. I never really felt unsafe if I was walking around alone, and it was within walking distance of a grocery store, pharmacy, several great pubs, and a couple American fast food chain restaurants. I was happy to come home to my charming little flat at the end of the day.

In regards to dining, I like to call my time abroad, "The Fish and Chips Tour of Ireland". The food was absolutely incredible, and yes, I indulged in so many fish and chips. Whenever I missed home, there was a Burger King right by my flat, so I went there a few times. The Irish are big fans of Thai food, so I tried some Thai a few times and it was great. But the traditional pubs were my favorite, by far. The food was amazing, the atmosphere was cozy and musical, and there was never an unfriendly face.

It did not take me very long to integrate myself with the Irish culture. My ancestry is heavily Irish and I was so incredibly excited about this study abroad experience, that I wasted no time thrusting myself into the Dublin scene. I frequented pubs to eat and listen to music, I toured the city and the rest of the country during every spare moment I had, and made friends with my coworkers. I made sure to spend just as much time alone and traveling as I did traveling with other people, because I learn best if I am on my own. I also made it a point to hang out with more Irish people than Americans, and it shows. I quickly picked up on the behaviors, the way that they talk and express themselves, etc. I still catch myself saying that, "I'm grand". I admire their culture for many things, but above all else, the Irish are friendly and accepting. I miss it so much.

I had no health emergencies during my time abroad. I know that during my second weekend in town I got what I call the "traveler's sickness": sore throat, tired, congestion, etc. It passed within 24 hours. I had a slightly sore throat at one point a few weeks later, but it was easily remedied with cough drops and tea. I
am unaware of any big health emergencies that occurred with other students in the program, but CAPA did a great job of making sure we knew where to get medical help if we needed it, where the pharmacies were and what resources they provided, and how to contact them if something happened.

I never felt unsafe once in Dublin. The people there were all so kind, hospitable, and carefree. Everybody jay-walked, and everybody helped strangers if they needed directions. Even when I got lost on my third day in town, I did not feel unsafe (just very turned around). I still wouldn't advise women to walk around alone at night, and always use good discretion since Ireland has a definite alcohol culture. But I never felt terribly unsafe in our city.

Rollins did well when it came to prepping me to go abroad. They sent plenty of information out, held one-on-one meetings, and we had a pre-departure orientation where our Campus CAPA Ambassador came and talked to us about her experience in Dublin. All of this, plus a LOT of personal research and prep, assured me that I was ready to go.

I worked mornings-early afternoon at Bewley's Cafe Theatre, located in Dublin City Centre. I prepped the theatre space for shows, folded playbills, seated guests, flyered around city, helped with administrative work, and guest relations.

I worked late afternoons-evenings at The Viking Theatre at Sheds, located in Clontarf (a northern part of Dublin city). I did a lot of marketing and publicity work. I flyered, organized lists of groups to reach out to for promotions, managed social media accounts, designed promo emails, etc.

Go out and sit in a pub and just talk to people. Seriously. I made plenty of friends in my workplace and that was a great base. But I made so many friends just by being friendly and having conversations with the people.

As long as we were respectful, they reciprocated. Most of the Irish people that I met loved Americans and were as fascinated by us as we were by them.

When I wasn't walking then I was taking the bus. It got me most everywhere that I went. I took the train a couple of times in town if I wanted to go to the most northern or southern parts of town. I only cabbed if I had to. Using the bus was the most convenient, and after getting used to it, it proved most effective.

I just appreciate people so much more. It is so important to appreciate the differences in people and this experience reminded me of that. At the end of the day, we're all just people. I wouldn't change a single thing about my time abroad. The weekly class got annoying at times, but my internships were eye-opening and the out of class travel was life-changing. In a way, I found myself.

I chose to study abroad in Dublin, Ireland. It was the best decision I could have made.

During my time abroad I was an intern at a social media analysis company. The experience was enriching and positive; never a dull moment. I was able to tap into my major - Journalism, use innovation to suggest ideas, present content I researched, and pitch ideas to the young team. Overall, I am so glad I did my internship abroad - nothing can compare.

Some highlights from my experience abroad are travel, internship, and friendship. All three of those aspects of my experience abroad helped shape who I am and instilled me with new perspectives on the world and myself; the world is a much bigger place than we realize, but that is the beauty of study abroad. You get to see it from your own eyes and perspectives and make connections around the globe.

My CAPA study abroad experience was more than I could have ever hoped for. I not only got to learn in and explore a wonderful country and meet some incredible, lifelong friends, but I was helped along the way by some of the nicest, more genuine people I have ever met.

Dublin was my utterly amazing experience for me and CAPA is a big part in why I got to enjoy it so much. They helped to facilitate one of the best times of my life and I will be forever thankful for that. I got to truly experience Dublin as a resident and learned so much about myself and the world around me. Including the wonderful amazing things everyone has to offer by bringing their own unique background to the table.

I would wholeheartedly recommend CAPA and specifically CAPA Dublin to anyone considering a semester abroad.

Studying abroad will always be one of the best decisions of my life. Not only did I gain so much confidence and knowledge about myself, but I also learned cultural competence and a respect for the differences between all the cultures with which I came into contact. I will always be glad I took the leap of faith to study in Dublin, because I knew no one in my program and I was the only person from the Midwest. I had to break out of my introverted shell a bit and I became all the better for it. I was able to travel all over Ireland, learn about Irish history in one of my classes, and experience almost all areas of Irish life.

I studied abroad with CAPA in spring 2016 and it was a life changing experience. Between both studying and interning in Dublin, I was fully immersed in Irish culture in every way possible. I got to explore a career path that I now plan to pursue after graduation and made so many connections that will serve me well in the future. The smaller size of the program in comparison to others that my friends have completed allowed everyone to get to know each other really well and experience the country together. I made lifelong friends who I still speak to regularly. Dublin truly became my home and I cannot be more grateful for all of the opportunities I had while there as well as all of the opportunities I have gotten through CAPA after my return home. I cannot speak highly enough of this program!!