Welcome to the eighth edition of the Work and Travel Ireland e-zine!

In this issue we feature some news on what’s happening this side of the Atlantic. We also have our snippet from the program itself and the diary of one of our program participants telling us what she got up to while she was here.
The Work and Travel Ireland Crew are currently visiting some US Universities, so keep an eye on the website to see when they will be at your university.

Enjoy the read!

Cheers,
The Work & Travel Ireland Team

Name: April Uhlig.
Age: 24 yrs.
University: Azusa Pacific University.
Length of time here: I just finished my four month stay.

What job are you doing in Ireland?
I was a server at the Hard Rock Café in Temple Bar.

Where & Who are you living with here?
I was living in a nice flat right across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral with two girls I met from the housing website daft.ie. It was a great place to live, and I loved it for the first three months.

Whats your social scene like? Where do you go? What do you do etc?
The Hard Rock Café was a good place to work in terms of social atmosphere; everyone likes to go out together after work. We’d usually go to some places in Temple Bar that were open late like The Morgan Hotel bar and Pal Joey’s. I would also try to take advantage of my days off and head off to other parts of the country. I spent a few days in Kilkenny, County Wicklow, Killarney, Derry, and Galway, travelling around on my own and doing some sightseeing as well as meeting the locals there.

Your most memorable thing to date in Ireland?
Probably this Irish man I met in a great pub (I think it was O’Connors) in Killarney. His name was Paddy (of course!) and as soon as I saw him I knew he would make for an interesting night. He was just a crack-up, dressed in a tweed coat and Guinness baseball cap, telling crazy jokes and stories, imitating John Wayne, and making everyone around him laugh all night. The pub just added to the atmosphere, it was a traditional Irish pub with people playing Irish music in the corner and was a place for locals to have a great time. I loved travelling around the country when I wasn’t working.

Can you sum up your experience on the program in Ireland to date?
No matter how independent or outgoing you are, relocating across the world and trying to feel at home can be difficult. But now that it’s over, I realize despite the negative things that I encountered, it was such a great experience, and I have no regrets about it. I’d recommend this to anyone!

Advice you would give any students thinking about going on the WII program?
Write down at the beginning what you want to do and get out of your time here. Put it somewhere you see it every day, and do it! Also, check out your Lonely Planet Ireland book in detail at the beginning of your trip. There are tons of great festivals and things to do around the country throughout the year, so look for them in advance so you don’t miss them! While it’s easy to get in the daily grind of things, make sure to get out there and explore your city and not just hang out at home on your days off; there’s so much to do! Make the most out of each day.