How I fell in love with traveling to Europe

When I was a sophomore in college I saw a flyer hanging on the walls of the English building. It advertised three full weeks in Dublin, Ireland. I tore it off the wall and stuffed it in my backpack. I went to Ireland the following summer and have been going back every year since. 

Those three weeks painted a real picture of what Dublin was like, and I became enchanted with everything that was and is Irish culture. With the course I took that first time, I was able to visit a local television studio, TV3, have a personal tour of the General Post Office (GPO), and attend classes at Dublin City University (DCU). Above all else, I was free to explore all that Ireland was, and hop on RyanAir--an incredibly cheap flight--and travel to any one of the neighboring countries. 

I flew back to America after my first trip knowing that I was going to return to study abroad for a semester at the same university. I immediately began working on finding a company to sponsor me and enroll for the following semester at DCU. As I worked on this task, I discovered that I could also apply for Irish citizenship. All that one needs to become an Irish citizen--which includes European Union citizenship--was a parent or grandparent who was born on Irish soil. I had two grandparents born in Ireland I was ecstatic. 

When I studied abroad, I unnecessarily purchased a work permit, waited over 7 hours to obtain a GNIB card (the equivalent to a green card in the US) figured out how to obtain a PPS number, found a job,  and learned how to live within a new culture comfortably. 

There are so many things I wish I could have known before heading over to the old sod those first couple times. So, I'm going to do my best to help people confidently make the move or take a visit to Ireland!

My first trip to Ireland, 2013.