The Dublin Diaries (Week 1, Getting to know my surroundings)

Hello everyone!

I am so excited to share how my summer experience has been progressing! On May 26th I spent the day traveling to Dublin where I was met by my program instructors as well as other UCD summer students. We were driven into the city where we explored and ate lunch as a group. I loved getting right into meeting people and sightseeing. The culture here is very welcoming! Irish people like to make everything a joke and spend their time with their loved ones laughing and making fun. I have found their culture and lack of language barrier have made this transition easy.

We were then driven to campus where I checked into my room (I have 13 flatmates)! We proceeded to a tour of the campus. University College Dublin is easily the most gorgeous college campus I have ever seen and it is huge! There are 7 mile nature trails for students to explore, an amazing science center where I will be completing my computer science research, as well as tons of student amenities including a froyo bar AND a cinema.

The next day we began with a simulation of Gaelic games. We (attempted to) play hurling and Gaelic football followed by lunch and then an incredible boat tour of Ireland’s eye. Ireland’s eye is a protected island where puffins nest and lay eggs, we also saw seals and many other species of birds. We concluded orientation the best day in the city center with a cultural lesson, culture shock tips, and some important information for getting around Dublin using public transportation.

My peers and I went exploring and shopping that afternoon! I then took the bus to see my granny! We had a great time, I slept over, and the next day we went shopping for groceries and took a walk in Marley park. This first week has flown by! This weekend will be spend preparing for my research as well as all organizational work I have to complete for my summer commitments

Today I am spending time reviewing articles on artificial intelligence, large language models, and digital forensics. I am so ecstatic to meet with my program lead on Tuesday after a brief orientation. I’m very excited to dive into this research and begin my literature review and research paper.