My Exchange at Trinity College Dublin
I had the great pleasure of studying at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. I was so excited when I finally got to Dublin after the long process of applying and organising everything through exchange 360. All my hard work paid off though!
I arrived in late August and the weather was uncharacteristically lovely. It was a very welcoming start to my stay. I am fortunate enough to have stayed in my Godfather’s spare apartment during my exchange which was only a 20 minute ride away on the Luas to Trinity. I not only had the luxury of my own space but was lucky to have him and his family right next to me if I ever needed anything or just have a family vibe.
The exchange student orientation at Trinity was somewhat underwhelming since after their welcome they didn’t make us introduce ourselves or anything like that so some people went home. I meet some of my closest friends that day since I actually stayed and introduced myself, which was a bit daunting but I am so glad I did it. I study engineering and they thankfully gave us a much more sociable introduction where I made even more friends. My advice is to definitely put yourself out there and attend your orientations (even if they’re at 9am)!
The students at Trinity are like no other. They are so welcoming and friendly. I was almost immediately asked out for coffee, lunch and pints. My peers were quick to help with any of my confusion of sorting out my timetable issues or just using Blackboard. The lecturers are a bit different to the ones at UOA. I found it quite frustrating that many of them wouldn’t address the class or sometimes were completely ill prepared. However, we all struggled through and supported each other. It was a very good bounding experience in the engineering department.
Dublin as a city is fantastic. It is very walkable and has lots of places to explore. Drinking culture is massive here. I became quick friends with some Australians and we quickly adapted to the drinking habits of the Irish. Once we finished our studies in the library in the afternoon we would go down to Doyle’s or Chaplin’s, the local TCD pub, and have a pint or two of Guinness.
Trinity definitely fosters and encourages sports as well as clubs. I would highly recommend joining the international club since they arrange many trips and you get to meet people in a similar situation to you. Once you’ve found your people I would definitely recommend you go on road trips and take advantage of the cheap train fares. I had very few weekends where I wasn’t exploring a new part of Ireland.
I loved practically every minute of my exchange but if I were to pick something challenging I’d say it was the winter weather. I grew up in Dunedin and thought I’d be fine. I was not. Bring gloves, hats and a scarf. The other somewhat lacking thing about Ireland is the food is burgers and unsalted chips. Learn how to cook your favourite meals before coming here otherwise, you’ll quickly get sick of it.
I cannot thank Trinity, exchange 360, UOA, my godfather and his family more. I have grown so much as a person doing this trip. It was the adventure of a lifetime. I have made friends for life. So much so that after I leave Dublin we’re all meeting up in Munich and Austria. Go exploring, take chances and have so much fun!
Tags: 2022, Engineering, Report