Halfway Point – Heading Home for the Weekend

 As I reached the halfway point of my work placement, I was given the weekend off so I could go home to Ireland for the weekend and catch up with everyone. The small break from work gave me a lot of time to look back and reflect on the first half of my placement.

At this point, I feel very comfortable in my new workplace, and I’m fully settled in. I have developed a good relationship with my colleagues and superiors, and I feel as though I am part of team. As my skills develop and I become more and more familiar with the different sections of the kitchen, I am learning how to properly take responsibility for my section and for the work I carry out and there is a lot of trust developing within the team. I’m making friends with other staff members here which is making the settling in process much much smoother.

Life in Edinburgh isn’t too dissimilar to life in Ireland. It's so much easier to get around over here, public transport is far more regular and reliable and there is always a way to get exactly where you need to go. The thing that I have been struggling most with is the language barrier though, it turns out that Scotland’s interpretation of the English language is a little different to ours. I’m finding it harder to understand the Scots than I am with any other nationality in work, but it does make for some funny opportunities to pick up some new slang, I’m learning a wee bit already……..

The more time I spend exploring the city here, the more I fall in love with it. I really cant speak highly enough of my experience here so far. Everything is accessible and there is always something new to see. New Town offers everything you need to live a modern city lifestyle, but just a short walk over the bridge and you arrive in Old Town, which honestly looks like something out of a Harry Potter movie. It feels like having two different cities at your fingertips and provides so many points of interest to ensure you never get bored.

Once I arrived back in Ireland for the weekend, I got the bus from Dublin airport back down to Waterford, I was very excited to see everyone. Naturally, the most inventive thing me and my friends could come up with was to go for a pint on the Saturday night. It was lovely to see everyone but being home made me think about how little things change when you wait for things instead of taking initiative yourself. It was a gentle reminder to myself to keep giving 100% in work and to look forward to the opportunities that this chosen career path will present me with in years to come, I can't wait to continue my journey in Edinburgh and use it as a stepping stone to start my globetrotting career.

Until next time,

James