CEA CAPA WORLD

"Thoughts on Education Abroad" is a monthly column written by CEA CAPA Education Abroad's Deputy President for Strategic Engagement Dr. Michael Woolf. This month, Dr. Woolf talks about how disagreement and debate are at the heart of learning processes. He highlights the importance of being open to diversity of thought and how education abroad facilitates that.

Before you travel to the largest city and capital of Ireland, we're here to inform you of a few interesting facts about one of our great global cities—Dublin!

1. Landmarks

Dublin's beauty is undeniable. Whether it's natural or manmade, the structures in this global city are breathtaking and dates back to several hundred years ago. One of the most popular Dublin landmarks is the Dublin Castle. As the oldest castle in Dublin, it has served as a site for various government purposes. Opened in 1204, Dublin Castle has stood the test of time and several rounds of restoration.

Madeline Messina was an official CEA CAPA blogger for summer 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on our blog An Advertising major and a French and Francophone Studies minor at the University of Florida, she studied abroad in Dublin. 

In this week's post, Madeline discusses the deep-rooted history of music in Irish culture, and how it has changed throughout the years.

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Music has a close relationship with Dublin. It’s difficult to walk down a busy street in the city without hearing music. Whether it’s the buskers on Mary or Grafton street during the day or Irish trad pouring out of the pubs at night, the pulse of the music mirrors Dublin’s heartbeat.  It’s easy to see that Dubliners are very passionate about music. Plenty of the troubadours sat in the streets don’t have cups out to accept money, they do it for the love of it. Traditional musicians in pubs sit in booths playing their instruments over the tables while the sound reverberates through the crowd; they are on the same level as everyone else. It is very symbolic, in a way, because musicians aren’t idolized here, music is free to be enjoyed by the every-man.

Only a very small percentage of US students intern abroad. The experience alone can make you stand out from your peers in a pile of resumes once you graduate and will no doubt be a conversation starter in an interview. If you put the effort in and set goals for yourself before you begin, it can be even more than a conversation starter. You will have opportunities to learn some truly important life and career skills that you might not gain in a domestic internship.

Here are just 5 skills (out of many) you can gain from interning abroad.

Words by Leah Gillen, an Admissions Advisor at CEA CAPA Education Abroad.

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Ireland is a country full of diverse history and traditions. While studying abroad there, you might find yourself in the middle of some exciting festivals that celebrate everything from the history of the country, the sports it loves, to the people that live there. Check out our list of the top 5 celebrations to check out while you're abroad:

1. Bloomsday Fesitval

Every year Dublin holds a Bloomsday Festival—a celebration of the writings of James Joyce. Joyce is one of Irelands most celebrated authors, and the celebration takes place every year to commemorate his life. All over the city scenes from his novel Ulysses are acted out, with large crowds gathering to watch and listen. Many people dress up like Joyce or the characters in his books.

Jessica Kisluk was an official CEA CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on our blog. A Broadcasting and Mass Communication major at  SUNY Oswego, she studied abroad in Dublin.

In this week's post, Jessica learns about the culture in Ireland and experiences the new cultural insights and differences firsthand.

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The day of arrival was honestly one of the longest days of my life. I spent over 24 hours awake, as I did not sleep on the plane, and did not have a chance to take a short nap until after the long process. That night, I got a long 12 hours of sleep and I felt like a new person.

Tuesday included a lot of valuable information about classes, the university, and cultural norms. At our CEA CAPA orientation, Dr. Darren Kelly explained to the group that grading in Ireland is a little bit different. The highest score you can get is a 70, and a 40 is a passing grade. We were also told that if a professor says that certain things are required, it is probably the bare minimum to pass the class, and not what is required to get an ‘A’ grade. Classes are not selected months before as it is done in the United States—they are selected within the first two weeks of the semester, which may cause some people to be anxious. This was important information that would help the American students from confusion over the course of the semester.

Nathan Overlock was an official CEA CAPA blogger for spring 2017, sharing his story in weekly posts on our blog. A professional writing and information design major at Cedarville University, he studied abroad in Dublin.

In this week's post, Nathan gives us his advice on the best things to do in the Griffith College neighborhood- from food, to entertainment, and more!

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Something that, as strange as it sounds, never crossed my mind when I planned to study abroad was the fact that I’d be studying at a real college in a real neighborhood. I learned all I could about Dublin, and about CEA CAPA, but only took a passing glance at what the college I’d be studying at and where in the city it is. Lucky for me, I ended up in Portobello, one of the best Dublin neighborhoods to live in. What makes it so great? Despite being residential, Portobello is in the heart of Dublin, a short walk away from some of the best sights, food and shopping in the city. Like any new neighborhood, though, it takes some getting used to.

Every country has their own idioms that mean something totally different than what they first appear to. You might say to your friend, “Wow! That cost an arm and a leg.” If someone from another country heard you- well, let’s just hope they don’t take it literally or they may get worried! If you think about it, you can probably come up with quite a few other unique phrases you use in daily life.

This is a common phenomenon that you'll encounter no matter where you go. To help you out, we’ve rounded up 10 important English colloquial phrases to know in Dublin that will help you speak like the locals!

1. What's the craic? = What’s up?/ What’s the news?/ Hello!

This phrase has a lot of meanings that all mean pretty much the same thing- just wondering what’s going on! It’s a friendly way to greet someone and something you’ll hear often.

Now that you've accumulated all this international experience from studying and interning abroad, what do you do next? Here are 3 useful tips from CEA CAPA Dublin alumna Katie O'Meara on how to spruce up that resume and communicate your value to potential employers.

Words by Susanne Bach, former Resident Director of the CEA CAPA Education Abroad Dublin program.

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One of the biggest advantages for American students coming to study in Ireland is the fact that English is spoken, and you will be understood by everyone without much trouble.

However, the Irish have a very colourful use of their Hiberno-English (the official name for the Irish-English dialect), very much influenced by the Irish language, such as vocabulary, grammatical structure, and pronunciation. Most of this is used in spoken language and often makes for some funny misunderstandings with non-Irish people.

A great grammatical example would be that the Irish language lacks words that directly translate as "yes" or "no", and instead repeats the verb used in the question, negated if necessary, to answer. Hiberno-English uses "yes" and "no" less frequently than other English dialects as speakers can repeat the verb, positively or negatively. For example: “Are you coming home soon?” – “I am.”