Day 6 - Parliament & Google

Rain, rain, rain, please go away!!! It's been raining off and on every day and when you're not use to that it can become very worrisome. My day started late, which is good. I was given the opportunity to sleep in because our tour of Parliament and Google didn't start until later in the afternoon.  Not wanting to waste ANY time, we decided to head into town to get some more interviews. We intended to visit only one skate shop but the worker give us directions to others within the area so we stopped by them as well. Even though skateboarding wasn't my topic, but my partner's, I've enjoyed her interviews and the shops we get to visit. 

One of her interviewees took the time to show us how to identity counterfeit boards. He informed us that many companies are now making cheaper boards but charging the same price to get more profit. I thought it was very interesting how quickly, once showed, one could spot a "fake" board. I appreciated the information, there's no telling when I may need to use it. 

Afterwards we ran to catch the bus to Parliament. Once we got there we were told that photography was not allowed inside the building due to the nature of what we may see or witness. Our tour guide gave us a small tour of the building, allowing us to listen in on a discussion about making citizens in rural areas start paying for water.

The Irish still hold President Kennedy in high esteem for one, being the President of the United States and two, being of Irish decent. The gifts he gifted the country on his visit are still on display and some of the people that were politicians then are still alive and can recall all of the many details of Kennedy's visit. It was also noted how Kennedy's death affected their country. It's amazing that not only did the United States mourn, but so did others, others like Ireland. 

Next we went to Google. Our tour guides, Miguel and Ishmail (his spelling, not mine) were young, extremely smart, and cool. They literally gave us a tour of their building and spoke about how cool it was to work for the company. Miguel was from Portugal and Ishmail was from London but both migrated to Dublin to work for Google. The interesting thing was hearing that Google doesn't seek out computer science majors or those who are coding experts, but people from all backgrounds that are cool and think outside the box. I plan to apply for a job and internship once we return to the states, I'd love the opportunity to love for this company. 

Day 4 & 5 - More Research and Microsoft

Today we ventured out to the Omni Shopping center. I was hoping to get some interviews since I hadn't been too successful and I did. Although I tried four businesses I did get to speak to 2 of them. There was also a grocery store located inside the shopping center so we were able to check the prices of milk, eggs, and cuts of meat. 

Afterwards we headed to lunch and then downtown to view some more skate shops. Unfortunately, we weren't able to find any but I still count the day as a success. One thing I do realize is that it's hard to find people who don't mind giving you 10 to 15 minutes, let alone 30 for interviews within the city's tourist areas. Majority of my interviews have come from residential areas or areas of downtown that isn't geared towards tourists.

We cut today short and returned back to the school due to being tried, so today ended up being short.

Day 5

Today we toured Microsoft! Over and over again we were reminded that the company didn't grant many tours so we should be considered special. Being Microsoft, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the building, which was to be expected. All together we had four speakers who all spoke on different topics. The one that stood out the most was the last one. The speaker, Stephan Howell, shared that one of his children has a disability and he has actually used Xbox's Kinect coupled with a simple coding software to design video games to help him learn. It's the simple coding program that allows people from all backgrounds and ages to be able to create games that can be used for anything. For example, companies have used Howell's example to create programs for kids who are in rehab and need motivation to exercise.

Howell's excitement and passion for his job was evident. His children are clearly his passion and he gets to create things that benefit them for a living. I walked away today with the confidence to create a job for myself that is based on my passion and not just someone else's vision. 

June 25, 2016
The Last Day
Our last day here in Ireland was spent walking the cliffs of Howth. It's a cute small town on the coast with beautiful scenery. The weather was cold and windy but bearable and pleasant at the same time, mostly because it wasn't nearly as menopausal as the inner city weather. Went spent two hours hiking the cliffs and photographing the scenery, and even though most the paths attempted to trip me and send me to a horrible death, it was very enjoyable. And after getting in our steps for the day and walking off some pounds we proceed to stuff our faces with food from a cool market place and gelato.

Overall my time here in Dublin, Ireland has been a very memorable experience. I learned a lot of history about this great country and found out our countries are more alike than I thought. Also that the people here are truly friendly and open. From the simple random hellos and the helpful willing attitudes to guide us lost tourist in the right direction.  to the full support from almost all the whole nation for gay pride day. I will always cherish this adventure and will most definitely be coming back later down the road in life.

June 24, 2016
Walking Around
Not much occurred today, other than the Brexit chaos (btw pretty cool I get to say I was in Dublin when the UK left EU). We received a tour of the Leinster House, the Irish Parliament, which was filled with a lot of history and beautiful architecture. Next on the tour we visited Dublin's Google Headquarters. Although we weren't allowed to see all the floors we were able to see a few. Also we were able to get the inside scoop on how to apply/be able to work at Google.



Along these many adventures in Dublin I've come to notice that there many brands for America change their name but essentially it's the same product. Like lays became walkers, almond joy became bounty, and milky ways are mars bars. Their whole marketing for the same product consist of simply a name a wrapper change. Also the rain here is cold, like really cold plus wind so for a future reference keep that in mind. Anyway I'm done rambling, it was overall a good day.

Dublin Day 7 6/25/16

  Today was our last day in Dublin! In the morning, the group took a day trip to Howth to see the cliffs! I really enjoyed the hike on the side of the mountain. I am not afraid of heights but was afraid of falling off the side of a cliff. Macy, Courtney and I took this cliff opportunity to have a photo shoot. We threw up our sorority signs and just made sure nobody fell off the cliff from a cute pose. Courtney tried to do a dangerous pose and I was like no because she was too close to the side of the mountain. After we climbed the cliff, it was lunch time so we headed into the city. We went to a quaint oceanside restaurant that severed awesome seafood! I had a shrimp pasta and a berry bulmer, which was pink colored!

  Then we decided to explore the town of Howth. First stop was the Cathedral, where I said a prayer for my family and for safe travels. There was a cute shop across the street that was having a big sale but I didn't find anything inside. We decided to head back to the bus stop to go back into town. Once we got back into town we stopped at Magnum Dublin to make a sweet treat! The store was a fun experience and was the best ice cream bar I have ever had! I got a couple postcards and a magnet as a souvenir to round up the day. We headed back to start packing and have an early night for tomorrow. I bought a lot of stuff so I hope it fits in my suitcase.

Dublin Day 7

Today was my favorite day in Ireland. We finally got to get away from the city and go on a hike at Howth. I wore Teva sandals and I didn't have any trouble at all. The views were absolutely breathtaking. Sierra, Courtney and I thought it was the perfect place for a photo shoot. We all played photographer until everyone got the perfect pic. We kept each other from falling off the cliff and threw our sorority signs. This is what you imagine Ireland will look like. I was so glad to finally be able to see it. The houses there were very cute, and the town was quaint. It was much nicer than a big city in my opinion. We had a great seafood lunch and then after a little bit of exploring we headed back to city center. It was super crowded from the gay pride parade so it was not very enjoyable at all. We came back to DCU early to start packing for London! So excited!

Dublin Day 7

Today was our last day in Dublin and we went on a group hike to the Howth cliffs. This was my favorite day so far. I enjoyed it so much I wish we would have done something like this every day. When I think of Ireland I think of exactly what I saw today; green lush hills with animals, rocks, deep blue waters, and amazing views. This was amazing and I took so many pictures so that I wouldn't miss anything. Most of our class went, but of course Sierra, Macy, and I hung together and had a lot of photoshoots. I tried to climb out on the cliffs but they wouldn't let me. After our hike was over we went and ate lunch at a local bar and had fresh seafood. I had the most amazing crab sandwich and we had an ocean view at our seats. After we ate we walked around Howth and went into a beautiful Catholic church and walked around it.

Dublin Day 6

Today was so so so rainy it was kind of miserable to walk in. We stopped in several restaurants and shops just to get out of the rain. Luckily most of the food here is comfort food so it easily made me feel better about the weather for a little while. After eating and shopping we made our way over Leinster House for our tour. Pam shussshed us. Sierra fell during the tour. Courtney and I couldn't keep it together after that. After the Leinster house we took a long long long walk to Google. Touring Google was pretty interesting to tour. It seemed like a great work environment. Also there were free drinks and snacks so that was a big plus. Dr. V made us take an awkward picture with the tour guides at the end. We were so tired after this day that we just had cheese toasties for dinner, the hanger was real.

Dublin Day 6 6/24/16

  In the morning, Macy, Courtney and I explored around the town that is by the dorm. It is a really nice residential area that has a grocery store and several shops! After exploring the town, we took the bus to Henry Street. This area is downtown and is a great place to shop. The spire monument is also right next the street so it is easy to find. Next, we starting heading to the Ireland Parliament for our group tour. Parliament was in session during the tour and a brief history of Ireland was giving. The building was beautiful and very well kept. My favorite part was 3 chandilers that were each 200,000 euro. The manufacturer comes once a year to clean each piece by hand!! Once I was leaving that room, I miss the steps and fell down! I just remember being up and then down really quick. The tour ended shortly after my audition to be a stunt double (hahaha kidding)

   Later, the group visited Google Ireland, where we got a full tour of the campus. I was so excited to visit this company because I loved the Google movie and wanted to see if that is what all of their campuses look like. I got to write my name on the Google letter "e" and got to see the view from the tallest building in Ireland, which is thirteen floors. The campus has seven cafeterias along with many places to snack and relax. Employees do not pay anything for these luxuries but the application and interview process is worth the price. A potential employee goes through 2 phone interview, 3-4 onsite interviews and a committee review before receiving an offer. I was most curious if people got fired only to find out that is really rare because the hiring process is so intense! So cool that I have seen Google!!