Photo courtesy of Emma Watkins ‘23
During the spring semester, Watkins studied literature and the Irish language while in Dublin.
By Emma Watkins ’23
Contributing Writer
As an English major with a love for Irish literature, I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to study in Dublin. University College Dublin was really appealing to me because it has a strong English department. I was particularly excited by the chance to work with a professor whose research I’ve followed since attending her panel on Irish Gothic literature, “Daughters of Dracula,” last fall. Since being here, I have found that it’s not just the classes that make it worthwhile, but also that Ireland is a gorgeous country. I’ve enjoyed taking advantage of the historical sites and natural beauty on the weekends when I’m not doing schoolwork.
Besides the classes that will count toward my English major, I wanted to make sure to enroll in courses that would be hard to take anywhere else. I’m taking Irish for Beginners, and learning to speak Irish has been both challenging and exciting. I’m also taking a class in the Celtic Studies and Folklore department that focuses on Medieval poets and the oral history tradition in Ireland. A class that I unexpectedly enjoyed was within the archaeology department. It involved a couple of field trips to historical sites within roughly an hour and a half of Dublin, and I’m so glad I got to experience some of Ireland’s archaeological history with an expert in the field to help me process those sites as best as possible.
Trying to balance the “study” and the “abroad” parts of studying abroad has definitely been a challenge. There’s huge pressure to have nonstop weekends and make the most of time outside of classes, but I’ve found that I need to have just as much time to recharge and decompress on the weekends as I do at Mount Holyoke. Learning to take the time to take care of myself and set different benchmarks for what a “successful” semester abroad looks like has been really important — especially in terms of giving myself permission to slow down and really get to know the city that I’m in, instead of leaving it to go elsewhere at any given opportunity. That being said, going out to the western part of Ireland and seeing more of the country brought some of the best memories of my semester.
Once the semester is over, I’m looking forward to getting back to all the campus activities I’m part of at MHC. UCD is a lot larger than Mount Holyoke, so finding activities to join, especially just for a single semester, has been challenging. Since I’m not in many extracurriculars, I try to do at least one “outdoorsy” activity in my free time on the weekends, which generally involves a hike along the coast. I’ll definitely miss being able to take a 15-minute bus ride to see the ocean, but I’m excited to return to Mount Holyoke and begin senior year.