Hello! My name is Anna Dunaway and I am here to share my Ireland experience with you all. First off, I’ll tell you a little about myself. I am a senior here at ATU majoring in speech communications with a minor in journalism. I was lucky enough to have the chance to study abroad in Dublin, Ireland for spring break this year. I know, I know… Not your typical college spring break. But I had so much fun on this trip that no other vacation can even compare.

So now, I’ll give a little background on the trip. A friend of mine mentioned that she was studying abroad to Ireland and it sounded like a lot of fun. I’ve been to South America before but Europe was always somewhere that I desired to travel. Of course, I was intrigued. I liked the idea of having a class that would facilitate my learning about the country and it’s culture before I left, giving me another level of appreciation for the places I was seeing. So, a few weeks later, I found myself enrolled in the study abroad course and signed up for the trip. Our group was relatively small: only three students to be exact. This was awesome because, unlike other classes, we got a lot of discussion time and it allowed us to really learn. Like I said before, learning prior to the trip was really important to me. I wanted to know the things I was seeing and the significance behind them because things are so much more interesting and memorable that way.

As a student in the communications field, and just as a human in general, it is so important to recognize and learn about other cultures. And the best way to learn about another culture is to live it. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and to learn more about the world around me. As I continue to write about my experience, I hope to illustrate exactly how these goals were achieved. Stay tuned!