Dublin: Outside the classroom

With only two busy weeks, one short weekend, and a showcase to prepare, the last bit of time in Dublin seemed to fly by. I began looking at the city and seeing a multitude of places that I had yet to visit. My bucket list of experiences was extensive (but my list of restaurants, coffee shops, and pubs was even longer). Even more pressing was the thought of leaving all of the people I had met in Dublin this summer. To solve both issues, I spent the second to last week and final weekend trying to see, do, and experience everything with as many different people I could.

One of the places the Gaiety School took us to was the EPIC Diaspora museum of Ireland. The museum focused on where, when, and how individuals spread out from Ireland over the years. It traced Irish culture and explained Ireland’s impact on other communities around the world. Seeing how far Irish culture spread was fascinating because it has impacted each of the students in the program in some way. For some reason, each of us was drawn to study in this country for this period of our life. It’s beautiful how a place can bring complete strangers together and create a unique community, even if just for a short time. That kind of instant community is incredibly important, especially in the theater, because we must rely on and trust each other, in and out of the classroom. So, here’s a look at just a few bucket list adventures I had with my wonderful strangers-made-friends.