Dublin:
Dublin is great. The people are great, and they definitely know how to cook potatoes! I also love how easy it is to get around here! The public transportation is magnificent and I am definitely going to miss it when I’m gone.
Class here is much nicer than the normal classroom setting. My classmates are great, and we are learning how to use a lot of cool software that is great for analyzing big data.
One really cool place we went is Kilkenny. It is very pretty and has extremely old buildings with very cool architectural styles. There are also pubs EVERYWHERE. It’s also nice that everyone speaks English.
Istanbul:
Man, Istanbul is the complete opposite of any culture that I’ve ever been around, but it is also the most beautiful place that I have ever been. We are on the Black Sea, and it is sunny and roughly 75 degrees Fahrenheit every single afternoon. The mosques here are insanely old, but they are literally the most gorgeous structures that I have ever seen. It is impossible for me to fathom how long ago all of these great mosques were built, which only adds to the beauty.
The locals here do not speak English, and it is VERY crowded. The good news is that my professor is from Turkey, so we get around fine. She takes us to very cool restaurants for every meal, showing us what to eat and how to eat it. Most of the food includes some type of kabob with rice. It is pretty cool how much the Turks rely on the same types of food daily, but I must say that I do not think that I could continue eating this type of food every day for a very long time.