Fourth Photo Post

National Leprechaun Museum, Dublin

Week 6 Question

The reading laid out a very organized and deliberate process for branding a city.  As far as I am aware, Dublin has no such Branding Partnership.  I don't think that Dublin has branded itself as deliberately as the examples from the Placebrands reading have.  However, I do believe that the city as a whole is aware of how it is perceived by a foreign audience and makes an effort to seem desirable.  We've seen that in previous classes with  companies like Google and Intel opening offices here.  Dublin also has its tourism industry to rely on, which is a brand, and we see things every day, like giant leprechauns and pub crawls, that indicate the efforts taken by the city to entice tourists.

Drunk people are the same everywhere

I was originally planning on writing about my experience in Belfast this past weekend, but since that seems somewhat redundant now, I thought I would share a fun little thing that happened to me tonight.

I was walking across Merville around 9 o'clock with a friend when guess what we encountered?  A group of about 6 highly intoxicated young men.  One of them decided that he no longer needed the 2 square inches of sandwich he had in his hand, and so he threw it at me, and he had great aim.

I like to view this rather embarrassing encounter as an example of the similarities between Irish and American college life.  We have been talking a lot in our blogs about the things we found here that are different from home, but really a lot of what happens in my daily life here is pretty similar to what happens at home, and this is one thing that I would most definitely expect out of a similar group of Brandeis students.

One thing that is different about this interaction is what happened after.  As we continued walking a security guard over-heard us calling after them.  Not only did he ask us what had happened, but he also chased after the group.  This is something that Brandeis security guards would never do.  They hardly ever speak to students, and I've seem them completely ignore some really rude behavior.  UCD definitely has more personable and friendly security.

Third Photo Post

Grafton Street, Dublin

Week 5 Question

According to Sassen, global cities are sites of production for "specialized services needed by complex organizations for running a spatially dispersed network of factories, offices, and service outlets" as well as "financial innovations and the making of markets."  Based on this definition, I would say that Dublin is a global city.  As we've seen in previous classes and readings, Dublin is a very desirable location for "complex organizations" such as Google to set up offices in.  These large corporations choose Dublin because it is the type of production site described by Sassen; Dublin provides favorable tax laws and an educated work force while also allowing American companies specifically to feel more spatially connected to the broader Western economy.

Merville Family Dinners

When I was preparing to study in Ireland, I was really excited about meeting and getting to know Irish students.  Its funny but I never really thought about meeting any International students other than Americans.  Of course I knew there would be other international students, but I only really focused on meeting Irish students.  When I found out I was living with all international students and no Irish students, I was disappointed.

Living with international students has been interesting, to say the least.  After an understandable adjustment period we're much more comfortable with each other and I've realized how nice my living situation is.  My roommates have introduced me to tons of people I wouldn't have met otherwise, in fact I think I've met more German students than Irish ones.  

I've really enjoyed sharing meals with my roommates; they're all much better cooks than I am.  Our roommate from Paris has made us crepes and curry chicken, my German roommate Simon made his own pasta, and my other American roommate and I even  treated the others to grilled cheese and tomato soup.  

Our living situation is nice because we all came from somewhere else, and so even though we're completely different and from very different places, we still have this in common.  

Second Photo Post

Leprechaun Museum, Dublin

Week 4 Question

One aspect of the Rayport and Hayward reading I found especially interesting was the idea of openness and accessibility of cloud computing.  This exists on a global scale.  Collaboration between people living and working in countries all over the globe is easier than its ever been and basically instantaneous: applications and programs are not tied down to one machine, and are accessible from anything that can access the internet.  

While reading I thought back to our discussion last class about how new technology allows for companies to be in constant contact with their employees no matter what time of day.  As I see it, cloud computing can solidify this boundless accessibility.  It seems to me that with every new technological advance, the workplace gets bigger and the lines between one's professional and personal lives become less clear.  People no longer work just 9-5, their expected to be available to their employees and coworkers whenever they have access to the internet, which is basically 24/7.  

Oops, Looks Like You Forgot You're Pants

One major difference I've noticed here from my home university is the way people dress, especially girls.  I barely ever see girls wear jeans to class, and I see even fewer sweatshirts.  This is very strange for me as thats about all I wear ever.  Its funny because a lot of people told me before I came that Ireland was a casual country, especially when people go out at night.  I've found that to be very false.  I've never seen such short skirts in such large quantities.  And rarely do people seem to wear tights, its so cold!!!!  the difference in fashion isn't really that big a deal, although I always feel under-dressed, but I have been thinking about why so many people seem to think that it would be a more casual style over here.  I'm not really sure if there is a reason, but I wonder if it has to do in some small way with the way Ireland is viewed by the outside world.