Upon landing in Ireland, my Verizon network plan became useless and my phone was rendered an expensive paperweight. However, a solution was quickly dropped into my lap. As part of orientation week, UCD arranged for Irish phone provider ‘3’ to come to campus. For only 20 euro a month, 3 offers unlimited text, call and data (while in Ireland). I didn’t have to sign a contract or buy a new phone. One SIM card switch and I was good to go! Having an Irish phone number makes it much easier to keep in contact with both Irish students and other study abroad participants. Using my data to access google maps has also been a lifesaver.
As for staying in contact with friends and family back home, lots of internet based services make this easy. Facebook messenger, Google hangouts, Skype, Whatsapp are all good and free options to help you stay in touch. Be warned however-this may finally force you to become Facebook friends with your mom.
For the most part, the technology on campus is fairly standard. Free wi-fi is accessible just about everywhere and computers for student use can be found in the library and few other spots. UCD uses the same printing system as Northeastern so as long as you have your student card, you can print just about anywhere. One new-to-me usage of technology involved the method for handing for in an assignment. When turning in a lab report, I had to stick a unique barcode to the physical report, scan it and then hand it in. I thought this was really useful because it not only gives the professor a list of all the students who turned in the assignment, but it also emails the students receipts as proof the assignment was submitted in case it gets lost. Considering the lectures at UCD are quite large, this approach keeps everything organized.
