CAPA WORLD

Jessica Kisluk is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Broadcasting and Mass Communication major at  SUNY Oswego, she is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In this week's post, Jessica visits Croke Park as part of CAPA Dublin's My Global City event and attends the women's world championship game for Gaelic football.

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This past week has been full of adventures in my new city. My friends and I have explored a lot of the downtown area and found out we loved Penneys, which is a huge discount clothing store, with some houseware and makeup items as well. We also ate at Nando’s for the first time, which is popular for their Portuguese-styled chicken dishes and so many delicious hot sauces to choose from. There are also many Tesco grocery stores around the city, but the big Tesco at one of the shopping centers in the city was super helpful in finding items and food that we could not find at our local Tesco express.

Holding a replica of the Gaelic football cup.

We took also took a hop on, hop off tour bus that helped us to get a better orientation of the city, as well as learn a lot about it. The bus took us through the largest public park in Europe, Phoenix Park. The park includes a zoo, sports fields, the United States ambassador to Ireland’s residence, as well as the President of Ireland’s residence. We learned so much on this tour, but my favorite place so far has been Croke Park.

Casey Rhode is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Interdisciplinary Studies major at Arizona State University, she is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In this week's post, Casey shares her first thoughts about Dublin and the places she's visited so far in this global city.

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I’m looking down and I see green, tons and tons of green…until I land and walk into the city where it’s buildings upon buildings, all shapes, sizes, and colors. In my first week in the city of Dublin I have been fully immersed and I’m loving every moment of it.

I have been blessed with three amazing roommates, one even from Arizona State University like me! We all get along and have similar ideas of how we want to keep the apartment and where to travel throughout the semester. We’ve set a goal of 3-4 places besides Ireland to travel to, so we’ll see if we can accomplish that while also attending classes and internships.

Jessica Kisluk is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Broadcasting and Mass Communication major at  SUNY Oswego, she is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

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.

Received my Landing Pack with information for the week.

Tuesday included a lot of valuable information about classes, the university, and cultural norms. At our 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.

Casey Rhode is an official CAPA vlogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Interdisciplinary Studies major at Arizona State University, she is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In her first post, Casey tells us about her family connection to Ireland and shares several packing lists for a fall semester abroad in Dublin.

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Studying abroad is something I’ve always wanted to do, and going to Ireland was at the top of my list. My dad is part-Irish, so the one thing that intrigued me about going to Ireland was learning about those ancestors. My grandpa has done extensive family research and he even told me about a castle that was for one of our ancestors. My entire family is extremely supportive of this adventure, and I couldn’t be more thankful. My mom’s side is all from Colombia and since I’ve been there already, they’re happy I’m getting to see my dad’s side.

With my family on top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

My mom struggled with me being away at college since it was across the country. I know she will have a hard time dropping me off at the airport with me now going across the world. My dad and my mom are both there if I need them, so I know that while I'll be so far, they’re a Skype call away. My sister is also extremely supportive. She’s my best friend and is very jealous that she can’t do study abroad for her musical theater degree. It’ll be hard not being able to talk to her every day because of the time difference and our schedules, but we know we’ll figure it out.

Jessica Kisluk is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Broadcasting and Mass Communication major at  SUNY Oswego, she is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In her first post, Jessica shares how she took her finances and health concerns into consideration as she prepared for her semester abroad in Dublin.

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It’s crazy to think that at one point I was scrolling through the CAPA blog page, looking at the different places to study and at the experiences people had, and now it is actually happening. The decision to study abroad was not easy, as it is my senior year and I gave up a lot in order to come here—but I believe it will be well worth it.

Testing out the Mint app for budgeting this semester.

One of the major things that I had to think about was finances. If I did go to Dublin, how would I finance it? I decided that I would take out a loan, because this was a once in a lifetime chance and I knew if I went, I could also visit other places in Europe easily. I did look for plenty of scholarships, but after the fact of the decision. If you are looking to study abroad, definitely check with your school to see if they have any scholarships to offer. I have been using Mint as a budgeting app, but I plan to try out a few different ones to see which works best for me. The CAPA online portal also helps a lot to prepare you for arrival or any other miscellaneous questions you may have, from cultural norms to phone service.

Brandon is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2018, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Political Science major at Clark University, he is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In his last post, Brandon reflects on his semester abroad and shares 3 major ways he has changed, as well as vital advice for future study abroad students.

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Hello, I hope your week is going well! This is my last post as an official CAPA blogger, and it is bittersweet. On one hand, this means that my time studying abroad is over and I get to return home to see friends and family, but on the other, I have had the most amazing experiences of my life while in Dublin and Ireland now feels like my home-away-from-home. I should add that I will not be returning home immediately, however. I am currently on a family vacation around Europe, and I will be spending some part of the summer working on a vineyard in Spain.

This is me outside Temple Bar.

I would like to spend my final post reflecting on my study abroad experience. Looking back on who I was before going abroad and who I am now, I can see several significant, positive changes. First, I am far more confident in myself. Being abroad separates you from your traditional support networks, be they friend or family-based, and it forces you to find strength within yourself. Second, I am more comfortable being friendly with strangers.

Brandon is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2018, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Political Science major at Clark University, he is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In this week's post, Brandon counts 10 practical ways to fit in better as you study and intern abroad in Dublin.

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As this is my last blog in Ireland, I have decided to make this post about how to better fit in as an American in Dublin. Although letting you in on some trade secrets of a 4-month study abroad student may seem like cheating, I would have liked to have known some of these things before I arrived. Also, it just seemed like a fun way to close out my time here. However, don’t worry, I have one last post after this, but it will be written as a reflection on my time here.

The stereotypical Irish weather.

1. What to Pack

Do not put any stock in online articles telling you how to dress in Ireland. I know that I read a few that told me that only American tourists wear jeans. This is nonsense. Everyone wears jeans everywhere. In addition, some articles are going to tell you to pack tons of heavy sweaters. Once again, this is nonsense and will only take up space in your luggage. Pack a good jacket and some sweaters if you’re a sweater person and you’ll be fine.

Brandon is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2018, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Political Science major at Clark University, he is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In this week's post, Brandon talks about his internship experience at Dublin nonprofit FoodCloud and how he adapted to the Irish work style and culture.

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For one of my last posts here in Ireland, I thought that I would write about my internship experience. I briefly went over it in my first pre-departure post but having worked at FoodCloud now for almost four months, I have much more to say about the experience and the organization itself. I would also like to lead with my opinion that everyone who comes to CAPA Dublin should take advantage of the internship program because it added a facet to my study abroad experience that I would not have found doing anything else.

These are the FoodCloud vans that pick up and deliver food.

FoodCloud is a non-profit organization based in Ireland that connects food retailers with surplus food that is not technically bad or spoiled with charitable causes. Many supermarkets and other food retailers will toss perfectly good food away simply because it's past its “best by” date (which are typically arbitrary and don’t actually relate to whether the product is safe to consume) or will no longer live up to exceedingly high consumer expectations. The founders of FoodCloud, Iseult Ward and Aoibheann O’Brien, saw a need to both eliminate the environmental impact and charitable potential of the issue of food waste, and created the company. FoodCloud created an app that food retailers can download and use.

Brandon is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2018, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Political Science major at Clark University, he is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In this week's post, Brandon lists the 10 best things about Dublin that will make you fall in love with the city.

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This week in Dublin was particularly beautiful in terms of weather, and it put me in the mood to write on what I would consider to be the best parts of the city. I hope you enjoy this Top 10 List and that it makes you fall in love just a little bit with what I have made my home for the past few months.

1. Sunny Days

On a sunny, warm day in Dublin, the entire city seems to emerge from the woodwork. The sun draws everyone outside, and it is magical. To see the sides of the canals crowded with groups of people having a picnic lunch and St. Stephen’s Green being packed with Dubliners playing soccer and chatting brings a smile to my face every time.

Brandon is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2018, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Political Science major at Clark University, he is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In this week's post, Brandon chats with Hayley Ni Bhriain from CAPA Dublin on his semester and internship abroad in Dublin, as well as his impressions of Ireland and its friendly people.

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This week's post is an opportunity for the tables to be turned and have a local ask me about my time so far in this charming city of Dublin. Hayley Ni Bhriain, Senior Program Coordinator at CAPA Dublin, has kindly agreed to interview and chat with me about my thoughts and impressions of the city, country, and my study abroad program.

HAYLEY NI BHRIAIN: Why did you choose to study abroad in Ireland? Why did you choose CAPA specifically?
BRANDON MOONEY: I chose to study abroad in Ireland because I had some family from here, so I was really interested in that part of my family history. I had also spoken to some students at my home university who had been to Ireland on this program and they spoke about how friendly and welcoming the people and environment was. They also said that Ireland was a European country but was also distinct and by itself. I chose the CAPA program because it was the only one available for Ireland, but I spoke to a lot of CAPA representatives before I chose the program and they were very on top of things and receptive to my needs, so I felt secure in my choice.