Kaila is a Public Relations and Advertising major with a minor in Multimedia. She is a member of PRSSA and Advertising Federation, as well as the Campus Activities Board Public Relations committee at Point Park. She has danced for 13 years and was a teacher’s assistant for three years at her old dance studio. After graduating in 2019, she hopes to work with non-profit organizations and eventually end up working in the creative department of an advertising agency. She loves to travel and is excited to venture out of the country for the first time with Point Park’s International Media class this year to Iceland and Ireland.
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My First Time Abroad
At twenty years old, the farthest I’ve ever traveled was Alaska back in 2008. Devoting my time to dance, high school, extracurricular activities followed by starting college, travel unfortunately didn’t seem to fit in my schedule, until this summer. I couldn’t be more excited to travel to Iceland and Ireland with Point Park’s International Media class. Being Irish, I’m thrilled to be able to see where my ancestors came from and to learn more about it. As for Iceland, I can’t wait to see how beautiful it is and take it all in. Not only is this a once in a lifetime trip for me, it will also be such an amazing experience to travel abroad my first time with my classmates whom I’ve grown to know this past spring semester of college. I can’t wait to broaden my horizons and see these two beautiful places first hand while visiting media agencies and learning more about the Communications field on an international level. Here’s to my first time abroad! ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Iceland Day 1
Today we landed in Iceland around 6:30 am. The flight was long but well worth it. Excited to start exploring, we all headed toward baggage claim to collect our things. I stood waiting for my suitcase to come, but it never came. Two other girls also had missing luggage. In a slight panic, we all searched for our teacher and went up to the assistance table. Turns out my luggage never left Pittsburgh international airport. How you may ask? Great question. We were told our luggage was being expedited and it should arrive by morning. Fingers crossed!
So we left the airport and began our journey through Iceland. Let me just start out by saying that it is absolutely stunning. The mountains, water, the sky, just everything is gorgeous all on its own. I don’t think I could accurately put into words how beautiful it truly is. Getting to take it all in was an experience I’ll never forget. As we sat on the tour bus as the tour guide told us all about Iceland and its history, I grew more anxious to get off the bus and explore. After taking a few photo stops, we headed to our hotel to drop off our bags until check in. We had a few hour to ourselves to explore, and I took full advantage.
I set off to explore town with two of my friends. We walked into all the little tourist shops to see if prices in one store were lower then another. We went into some vintage clothing stores, channelling our inner Stephanie Tanner from Full House, one of my favorite TV shows.
We continued walking through the town and I could do nothing but admire its uniqueness. Reykjavik made me feel happy, energetic even. Its colorful buildings and friendly locals make it such a unique place and I absolutely love it. The artwork you see on buildings is INCREDIBLE, nothing like I’ve seen in Pittsburgh. The colors, objects and intricacy of them is simply amazing and I couldn’t help but find myself stopping to admire it every chance I got.
We stopped at a little dinner on our exploration. It was tiny, but so quaint. When you walked in you felt so at ease because the employees were so friendly and the space was so quiet. As we observed the menu, the three of us decided on nutella fills crepes with strawberries on top. Let me just say that they were the most delicious crepes I’ve ever tasted. They were loaded with nutella and powdered sugar at just the right temperature. I made sure to savor every last bite.
Once we were finished, we continued walking the streets of the colorful and lively town, admiring everything. We stopped in more shops, admiring the hand crafted jewelry and sweaters but buying nothing because of how expensive everything seemed to be. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the hotel for check in. Once I was all settled, I took a showed and promptly fell asleep for an hour power nap before dinner, which was a three course meal that was absolutely delicious. Now, as I sit here typing this, my eyelids grow heavy with exhaustion and my mind races with excitement thinking about what tomorrows adventures will bring.
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Iceland Day 2
Today started off bright and early with a delicious breakfast from the hotel followed by the Golden Circle Tour. It was simply amazing. Iceland is such a beautiful place and it hasn’t failed to take my breath away at any point. On our first stop, we had a gorgeous view of the city. Nothing I’ve seen before can compare to the natural beauty of Iceland. We also visited the National Park which was really cool. We learned all about the land and volcanoes as well as getting to explore the park which was vast, but of course beautiful. After this, we took a stop at a dairy farm and we were able to eat some delicious ice cream. I was able to see cows and even pet some Icelandic horses which made my entire day considering how much I love them. After this, we visited the geyser park. At first, I wasn’t too impressed. The first geyser I stopped at wouldn’t erupt, so I began to doubt if I’d be able to see any go off. As I walked with my friends to a different one, we were taken by surprise when it immediately erupted! It was so cool that we decided to walk to the other side and get a better view. We waited about 5 minutes or so and it once again erupted. As we all took pictures, Morgan began to yell because the water was coming right at us. We ran as fast as we could but it was no use, we ended up soaked, but it was totally worth it! The last stop on the tour was Gullfoss, the most beautiful and vast waterfall I’ve ever seen. It was crazy windy and a bit cold considering my clothes we wet from the geyser, but the view made it all worthwhile. I’ve never seen anything like it. I took so many photos, but none of them could really capture the sheer beauty of this waterfall. I highly suggest stopping here if anyone is ever travelling to Iceland because it is SO worth it. Just be sure to dress warm and wear a rain coat! After this, we headed back to the hotel before dinner at a hotel sky bar with a gorgeous view. Dinner concluded and we headed back to the hotel. When we arrived, I found my luggage waiting for me at the front desk and was so thankful! What a perfect ending to an amazing day.
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Iceland Day 3
Today was our final day here in Iceland. As this part of the trip ends, I still can’t believe that I was actually able to visit here. It all seems unreal. We had our first two media visits to Promote Iceland and the Grapevine newspaper and they were both great.
Promote Iceland was so incredible. Their whole approach and concept is so creative and I was highly impressed. I low the way they used humor in their advertising. I think it’s refreshing that they change their campaign every few years to keep it fresh and like that each time it focuses on a different topic such as tourism, the culture, natives and safety. I can’t say I’ve seen many campaigns in the US like this with such a unique approach as well as such a huge success rate with percentage increases of 100% and up.
The Grapevine was also a really cool visit. They are not a conventional type of newspaper. They focus on the culture rather that hard hitting news and I think that’s so important, especially when their target market is English speakers which is a very unique approach. The core people informed us that the don’t have a journalistic background, but the were able to create something quite successful regardless. Very different from back home in the US where people think you need numerous degrees in order to be successful. The newspaper is very quirky and humorous which was quite nice.
Both media agencies have the mindset that they are who they are and if people don’t like it then they don’t have to pay attention. They refuse to change for anyone and they aim to be as authentic as possible rather that trying to be something they aren’t. I think that companies back home should start having this type of authenticity, it would be refreshing to see a bit of a shift of media in this direction.
After the visits we had the rest of the day to explore. I ventured to the church and went up top to the tower and had the most amazing view of the city. The rest of the day consisted of walking around and shopping. It was a nice way to end my time here in this gorgeous place.
Thank you Iceland for an incredible experience. You can plan on seeing me again in the future!
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Dublin Day 1
Today we departed from Iceland to Ireland. We left our hotel at 3:30 am and were on out plane by 7 am. Leaving Iceland was very sad and I wish we could have spent more time there. It was a experience I’ll never forget. But as one chapter ends a new one begins. The newest chapter is Dublin.
I’m not sure what I expected Dublin to be like. It reminds me of New York City on a smaller scale. There are tons of people walking around and it felt claustrophobic. It’s much different than Reykjavik but I love it. There’s so many stores and restaurants everywhere you look its a bit overwhelming but so amazing. There’s a ton of construction going on which reminded me of Pittsburgh. Our tour of the Parliament building was cool and it was nice to be able to sit in and watch cases being presented first hand. Dinner was delicious. From the salad, stew and potatoes, chocolate cake and the hard apple cider, everything was so good and filling. We ate at Ireland’s oldest pub, The Brazen Pub. It was everything I expected an Irish pub to be, loud, busy and full of laughter and singing. The environment was so inviting and easy to feel comfortable in. I loved every second of t and can’t wait to explore the rest of Dublin in the next few days.
Dublin Day 2
We started the day off bright and early. Our wake up call was 7:30, leaving not nearly enough time for sleep (therefore tonight I shall be knocked out.) We had two media visits today : Dublin City University and Harmonia Magazine.
The visit to DCU was very neat. I learned a lot about how Ireland’s media and women’s roles have changed over the years. Women used to be viewed as on!y being worth enough to be in the home cooking and cleaning. Ireland used to host a “best housewife” contest which is so absurd to think about today. The media here used to be heavily censored. They would edit scenes that were sexual out of films and banned numerous books because of sexual instances. That censorship has been lifted for quite some time now, but just to think about how conservative the Irish were is mind boggling.
The campus itself is absolutely gorgeous. While Dublin is a large city, DCU’s campus makes you feel like you are far far away from any city life at all. Its surrounded by a gorgeous park and has a nice pavilion like are surrounded by flowers. As I walked around it I could picture myself being there all the time. Who knows, maybe I’ll transfer (probably not, but a girl can dream.)
Our second visit to Harmonia Magazine was very enjoyable. When I was younger I always dreamed of working at a big magazine company, so it was nice to hear about not only the creative side but also the business. One key thing I took away from this visit was that communication to not only your audience, but also your coworkers/team is KEY. I feel that as people who work in the communications field are great at getting our ideas and messages out to our audience, we lack in communicating to one another which shouldn’t be the case. In order to send out a strong clear message, we must constantly be communicating with our peers to put out the best work we can.
After our visits, we had the rest of the day to ourselves so much exploring and shopping was done. I finished the day at a pub with some friends and we stuffed ourselves full of delicious food. As night falls, I grow eager to see what tomorrow has in store.
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Dublin Day 3
Today was our last day of media visits in Dublin. We heard from both Heneghan PR and Photographers Press Association. Both presentations were unique and very enjoyable.
Personally, I was quite invested in the Heneghan presentation. We were able to meet the managing director, director of public affairs, account director and one of their interns from the states. Being a PR and Ad major, I felt this presentation was enlightening and super helpful. Being able to hear from so many different members of the company opened my eyes to how much truly goes into running a PR company. Its so much more than just having a person to consult. There are so many areas as well. Heneghan specializes in crisis communications which is something that is key in today’s world, especially with the ever growing presence of social media. A piece of advice they offered, which is also what they use as a type of guiding factor is the question, is it a crisis or a situation that could turn into a crisis. The members of the firm also gave fabulous advice on setting yourself apart when it comes to applying for a job. Things like being personable and making it apparent that you’re eager to learn. Another great tip that Mariah, their intern from the states, suggested writing a cover letter as a feature story to stand out from other applicants which I think is a brilliant idea. All the members of the firm were gracious, friendly and so willing to help and give advice any way they could. I feel so thankful that I was able to learn from them today.
As our media visits come to an end in Dublin, I am thoroughly excited that tomorrow we have a day all to ourselves to explore. Here’s to all the adventures were all going to have tomorrow!
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Last day in Dublin
Today was our last day in Dublin. The first perk of the day was being able to sleep in since there were no group activities planned. Yay!
After my roommate s and I woke up, we all sat down and planned out what our day was going to consist of. We decided that we would take the DART up north to a town called Howth just to get out of the city for a bit. After that we would go to the Guinness Factory.
So we set off to catch the DART. As we began walking there, it started to rain quite hard so we took shelter in a Starbucks nearby. After about 10 minutes, the rain subsided and ass continued to the DART. We got there and set out for Howth.
Howth is a quaint little town with a beautiful body of water surrounding it. It was warm and the weather could not have been more perfect. We ventured around taking pictures of all the gorgeous scenery. As we finished with our pictures, the rain came rolling in. We ran across the street to a market covered by tents to tame shelter. When we got there, the smell of the food made us hungry so we all grabbed food ad waited for the rain to stop. By the time I let up, we had finished our food and began looking in the two shops that were there. Gifts were bought and after, we started to venture around Howth some more. We found an old castle and visited it for a bit, taking in the gorgeous sight of it. After ale ding some time there, we headed back to the DART to head into Dublin.
Once we arrived back in the city, we hopped on the closest bus to head to Guinness Factory. We arrive within 15 minutes and stood in line for tickets for another 15.
We grabbed our tickets and headed up through each floor with each focusing on a different aspect of Guinness. Things like the ingredients, the process of making it, the advertising and the sky bar in which everyone with a ticket received a free pint of Guinness. I had my first ever Guinness today, and I have to say I’m not a huge fan. But I finished it all because when in Dublin you can’t waste a drop of beer! The Factory was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life and I would love to go back someday.
After this, we all headed back to our rooms to drop our stuff off and then headed out to a local pub for dinner. Our waitress was fairly terrible and admitted to us the she forgot we were there. While the food and live music was good, the service was awful.
After this,we headed back to the room to pack up our things to leave in the morning. I loved Dublin and getting to experience so many different things. I can’t wait to see what Belfast has in store!
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Belfast Day 1
Today we all packed up the bus and headed to the train station, leaving Dublin behind. We boarded the train and journeyed to Belfast for about 2 and a half hours. We got to see some more country like areas of Ireland along the way and it was quite beautiful. Once we arrived, we immediately got on our tour bus and headed around Belfast to explore. We saw the Titanic shipyard, one of Belfast’s castles and we were even able to sign the peace wall which was incredibly surreal and something I will never forget. We also got to visit the Parliament and City Hall buildings which were both simply breathtaking. We also got to look at the Titanic memorial at City Hall which was amazing. It’s crazy to think how many people lost their lives on that ship.
After the days excursions, we were able to check into our hotel. It’s pretty. Ice and the bathrooms remind me of a rocket ship so that’s pretty cool! We then headed to dinner at Belfast’s oldest pub and the food was delicious. After this, we all headed back to the hotel to get some rest for the next day. So far so good Belfast! Can’t wait to see the other adventures you have in store!
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Belfast Day 2
Today we headed to two media visits at the BBC and the Irish News. Both media sites were very cool and I enjoyed hearing from the members of them.
At BBC, we were actually given a tour of the building and were able to see the radio and tv studio. We even got to walk in the radio studio workspace while a show was going on which was incredible. Both areas were highly equipped with the newest technology. The people we met with were incredibly kind and I thoroughly enjoyed the visit.
Then we headed off to the Irish News. We heard from memebers of each different section of the paper and learned what their typical day consisted of. Everyone was so gracious and so informative, giving us tons of great information. Both media visits were very enjoyable!
After the visits I spent the rest of the day doing some shopping and working on a project for the class with my two other partners. We had to get people’s opinions on Donald Trump, and let me tell you, it was a lot harder than we thought it would be. Mostly no one wanted to talk to us about Trump and many said they didn’t follow American politics. Though it was tough, we were able to get 2-3 decent responses.
As today is our last day in Belfast, I look back and think about how amazing this trip has been so far and only grow more excited to see what the last few days hold.
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Galway Day 1
Today, we left the beautiful city of Belfast behind and travelled to Galway. It was a long bus ride, about 5 hours, and it wasn’t the best. Unfortunately, I became very car sick for most of it so it wasn’t as pleasant as I was hoping for.
When we ffinally arrived to our hotel I was relieved to finally be off that bus and get some fresh air. We checked into the hotel and then had our meeting to review the media visits from Belfast. After this, we went on a walking tour of Galway.
We were taken down to the main shopping area and then we were set free to roam. We visited many, many gift shops and ultimately decided to come back the next day when we had more time to look around. We settled on fish and chips for dinner at a local restaurant and it was delicious. After that, we headed back to the hotel and I promptly went to bed to try and get some rest for the last few days of the trip.
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Galway Day 2
We started off today with our final media visit to Galway Bay radio station. It was pretty incredible. I don’t know how anyone can work in radio. There’s so much going on all at once and it was so hectic. I have such a newfound respect and understanding for radio personalities. It was really informative and I thoroughly enjoyed the visit.
This ended around 1:30 and then we had the rest of the day for ourselves. I headed back to the hotel to change and headed out to do some shopping with two other girls. We were out for hours and bought way too much stuff but it was quite nice. The weather turned out to be beautiful so we were able to spend the whole day out and about exploring.
After shopping, we headed down to Galway Bay, took some photos and just soaked in Galway. It was so relaxing and nice to see a change of scenery. Following this, we headed to Dough Boys, a local pizza shop and had dinner. It was delicious and filling. After this, we all headed back to the hotel to pack up for our last excursion tomorrow.
Im beginning to realize that our trip is coming to an end, and while I’m glad to head home and see my family in the next few days, im also sad to leave. So here’s to the last day in Ireland tomorrow, here’s hoping it’s just as amazing as this whole journey has been.
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Galway Day 3
Today was our last day in Galway and it’s bittersweet. As excited as I am to go home, I will miss Europe and all the things I got to do here.
Our last day consisted of much adventuring. First, we stopped at a limestone park which was really gorgeous. We walked around and got to see an old tomb. After this we headed to the Cliffs of Moher. It was spectacular. The view was insane and I was able to get some really gorgeous pictures. The only problem I had was that we were so high up. I started to panic a bit but all in all it was absolutely wonderful. I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.
After this, we headed to our hotel to clean up for our dinner in a castle. The dinner itself was delicious and such a fun experience. The actors sang and put on skits and had everyone laughing. And we were in a castle which was a dream come true for me. The whole experience was simply amazing and it was a great way to end the trip. I feel so very blessed to have had the opportunity to travel and have such a life changing experience. It’s something I’ll never forget. Thank you Europe for a great first time abroad, I’ll be back soon!