Dylan Barras came to Dublin in 2017 and stayed with us for twelve weeks learning English and then working as an intern for an engineering company.
Here he tells us a little about his time in Dublin and why he will be back!
Hi there, tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Dylan Barras. I’m 24 and I’m from Charleroi in Belgium. It’s near the airport.
How long did you stay in Dublin for?
I came to Dublin for three months. I was here from October to December. I had two weeks of English classes at Oscars and then a ten-week internship with a small company.
Why did you decide to come to Dublin?
We have a programme in Belgium called the FOREM scholarship and so back in Belgium I was looking for a job after I graduated but I got the opportunity with FOREM to get some experience in my field and I had two choices – Malta or Dublin. So for me it was an obvious choice because Ireland looked like, and now I know is, a great country with good job opportunities. So that’s why I came to Dublin and I’m really glad of my choice. It was a really perfect experience actually.
What did you graduate in can I ask you?
I have a Bachelor\’s Degree in Geographical Science and a Master\’s Degree in Environmental Management.
Your English is very good. Was Oscars a good place to improve it?
I was really happy with the school. It was great to meet other students from other countries and that’s really where I made most of my friends in Dublin. The school itself was very good. I did three hours in the mornings and I studied Tuesday and Thursday afternoons as well.
The teachers were good. I had James in the mornings, and he was great, and then there were a few different teachers in the afternoons and they were also very good. The classes were small and we were able to speak freely so it was good for me to progress.
The subjects were interesting as well.
What company did you work with?
I worked with a small firm of consultant engineers a little outside the centre. They have about ten employees and they work on things like industrial buildings for the pharmaceutical industry as well as commercial and residential.
I was working on the environmental policy of the company for the ten weeks that I was there and it was actually very useful experience for me and definitely useful for future job opportunities.
So what did you like about Dublin?
Overall I really liked Dublin. The best thing was just the atmosphere. I really enjoyed the pubs and the parties, including the ones organised by Oscars at Howl at the Moon. Really it was a great city to live in for a few weeks.
Were there anythings about Dublin that you didn’t like?
Maybe the transportation side of things. The buses are maybe not as reliable as they should be. Not so much in the centre, that was fine, but in the suburbs sometimes you’d see a bus arrival time on the screen and then it wouldn’t turn up. I wish I had had a bike. But that’s it. Really, Dublin was great.