An Erasmus year in Dublin!

Hello everyone!

I am Lara, I am 23 years old and I am from Barcelona and I study Software Development.

I saw the conversation about Dublin and straight away, it brought back all my memories from when I was doing my internship (Prácticas del Erasmus Plus) in Dublin. I thought why not tell my experience to help those this year that are doing the same thing. Whether you are doing an internship or studying there, what I tell you will be useful for both.

The adaption process was quite simple, when I arrived, everything was already organised: my accommodation, my welcome pack from my internship and English classes arranged. The company took care of it all. However, I told my colleagues that finding accommodation is difficult for international students but thankfully, organising it through my company, I had no problem.

If you go to Ireland, one of the things you should definitely do is a road trip, to see all of its beautiful scenery. Architecturally, Ireland doesn't have lots of beautiful buildings apart from typical Gregorian houses, however, there are some beautiful sites around the island. I would recommend the road trip because otherwise, if you travel around by bus, you only get to see the tourist sites and you won't be able to take the scenic routes. Also, this way takes up a lot of time and money.

So, hire a car between a few of you, go to the Cliffs of Moher, Giant's Causeway, etc. but also get lost a little so you get to discover the true, rural Ireland. Also, if you have the chance, you should also try and see the Northern Lights during February in Donegal.

Another thing that I remember well is the pubs, some are truly Irish. I will tell you some of the ones that I loved the most:

• The Bernard Shaw (there is a bus on the inside of the pub and you can eat dinner or drink inside it).
• The Porter House (it has great live music here and they make their own beer on site which is delicious! There are often a lot of tourists but it's great).
• O'Reilly's Pub (sells cheap beer and it is built underneath the train tracks).
• The Dicey's (also sells cheap beer and it is popular amongst Spaniards in Dublin, especially on Wednesdays).
• Howl at the Moon (also has cheap beer, it's very big and pretty inside).

But if I have to say something that I remember the most about Dublin, is that it's the leader in start-ups and new technologies. I was lucky enough to experience this because of the company I worked for, and it opened doors for me into the business world. We were invited to events and conferences in Google, Facebook and more, which is fascinating if you're interested in the business world and you learn so much. I made a lot of progress working for this company and amazingly, found a job easily when I moved back to Spain. I didn't stay in Dublin because there is no place like home but the company did offer me a position after my internship.

I hope telling my experience has helped you all, good luck in the land of the Celts!