Time to own a sheep farm

Author: Tessa Freberg | Major: Supply Chain | Semester: Summer 2023

I chose this trip to Ireland not knowing much about it except that it was in a seminar style rather than a traditional classroom style. I quite favor this style as I firmly believe that you learn the most when getting firsthand experience rather than sitting in a classroom. This means that the program had three days of classes the first week. Three company visits the second week of the trip, followed by 3 farm visits to understand the full scope of business in Ireland.

For our first week, we had classes inside University College Dublin’s Quinn School of Business which focused on the intersectionality between the United States and Ireland. This class was a great introduction to how the history of Ireland not only shaped the Irish culture but also, it’s impact on shaping their involvement in international business. I absolutely adored this class at UCD as it was a crash course into Irish history, politics, and the business world. These classes enriched my experience abroad deeply as I fell in love with the UCD campus and with the history of Ireland.

This class experience directly translated into our company visits as we visited 3 out of 4 big four accounting firms which are heavily engrossed in international business. Getting to visit these firms allowed us to see the business culture in Ireland and gave us the ability to discuss with real professionals what their daily lives looked like. I also really enjoyed the lectures they offered as we were able to have a cultural lecture, a personal development lecture, and a company program lecture which gave us a wide variety of experiences. Seeing these companies also helped us better understand Ireland’s massive farm industry when we took our visits to local farms. Farming in Ireland is incredibly important and being able to see these farm’s firsthand really helped our group get a deeper understanding of the business and cultural importance of Ireland’s farming industry.

My favorite part of this trip was the cultural experience and was what really helped me fall in love with the country. I wanted to ensure that I got to see the different parts of Ireland fully and made sure to knock a new thing from my list every day that I was there. The best part about Ireland is that there truly is something for everyone in so many ways. They have many fantastic museums of all types – art, history, culture, animals, literature, and music. A great part about these museums is that they are found all throughout the city and hidden everywhere. That random house you walked past had a museum in it, that giant Roman Architecture building on the corner also had a museum in it, and soon enough, it can easily become a game when searching for the next museum to visit.

Museums aren’t your cup of tea? The city has so much to offer outside of these museums such as actual cups of tea. There are tea and coffee shops on every city block in Dublin and each of these little coffee shops have their own unique personality that makes finding new ones fun and eventful throughout your day – not to mention that the coffee tastes far better there. Some notable coffee shops that I visited with very unique personalities include one that had a loft for a live band and didn’t allow computers as it was a social space only, one that did latte art of the Dublin skyline and pretty much anything you could think of, and another was an absolute hole in the wall where the scones came with mini glass jars of jam you could keep and with the sweetest ladies running it. These coffee shops, while small, were an integral part of the city and truly gave it a unique feel that you don’t find anywhere else.

Outside of the indoor activities, Dublin and Ireland have some of the most amazing outdoor spaces and scenery that I have ever witnessed. Less than 30 minutes from the city center both Northbound and southbound are some amazing cliff walks and hikes that go right along the sea and feel like something you would only see on a screen. Not only are there these cliff walks, but there are also the Wicklow mountains just outside of the city that offer some splendid hiking spots along with massive lakes that you can swim in during the summer months. On the western coast there are also some amazing natural spots that you will get to visit with a tour guide on this trip as well.

If you want nature inside the city then you are in the right spot as there are some amazing and massive parks spread throughout Dublin that are constantly busy with people reading, playing games, or hanging out with friends throughout the day. These parks were amazing to visit and really showcased how much the city of Dublin values their outdoor spaces. If you like botany or just want a stroll through a field of flowers, I recommend the National Botanical Gardens as they are not only gorgeous but also have a café for reading, a pond for people watching, and multiple areas for learning more about Ireland’s botany.

I highly recommend this trip to students as it allows students to really make the most of learning about Irish culture. This trip truly changed my life as I quickly found my attitude changing from indifference to love for the city and country I was visiting. When I came home, I quickly found myself reexamining my career plans and what I truly valued in my life. I learned to find peace within myself and to stop being afraid of what I wanted and to truly go for the dreams I have let sit on the backburner. I always hear people say studying abroad changes lives and I never believed them, that is, until it changed mine.