Travel and Safety Tips

Flying from Boston, my initial flight information told me that Aer Lingus was in terminal E so that is where my dad dropped me and my mother off so he could then park the car. Unfortunately, after he drove away I discovered that Aer Lingus had moved to terminal C and I had to lug my luggage through Logan airport in order to get to the correct terminal. I would recommend always double checking your flight information and confirming the email you receive from the booking agency. We had a redeye to Dublin and I couldn’t sleep at all. For my next trip I am going to invest in one of those neck pillows. To me, they look ridiculous but I am sure it is much more comfortable to try and sleep with. I am glad that my professor was there to guide me through Arrivals because I was exhausted and cranky at that point. Luckily, we were able to get some sleep afterwards because our coordinator knew not to schedule anything for the day we arrived. Give yourself plenty of time to adjust to the jet lag because it is something I really struggled with.
Before I head back to the States, I traveled by train through Spain and France and up to London over the course of a week. Trains are much less stress than flights to me, but it can be expensive depending on when you book. I also learned how careful you need to be of your surroundings when traveling. I didn’t have anything stolen, but I heard a few stories of pickpocketing. Our first weekend in Dublin while we were out at a pub, one girl’s purse was unzipped without her realizing it and her wallet was taken. Other people had similar things happen, but if you always are and appear to be aware, it is relatively safe to travel. The biggest travel tip I have is to be flexible. Going into this trip I had so many plans and ideas of what I wanted to do, but I didn’t get to most of it. Between classes and scheduled events it’s hard to find time and coordinate with other people. Also, sometimes the days where I didn’t have definitive plans I stumbled upon areas that were interesting to explore.