Today was such an amazing day. We started the day by studying James Joyce’s work on “Dubliners”. One of  the stories I enjoyed the most was “An Encounter” . I was able to identify with the narrator’s  adventurous spirit and his strong desire to explore the city, so after class my peers and I decided to head to  Grafton street to explore on our own. Fortunately, our experience was much pleasant that the ones the characters had. We encountered really friendly and talented people that make it easier for us to embrace the Irish culture.

Grafton Street is probably  one the most  beautiful and popular streets in Dublin, if not the most popular one. It’s filled with a comprehensive selection of clothing stores, coffee shops , and of course pubs. When we were walking in Grafton Street, my heart filled with joy. It was then , when I realized that I  was really in Dublin, Ireland. The architecture of this place was very European and classic. One of the things that  I found very interesting and  cool is the fact that almost every store had an Irish flag in display. I think that is such an amazing thing to see how this community has manage to create such a strong sense of national identity, and how positive the outcome of this has been. People take such a pride of their origins , and of their country and I think this has definitely has helped to shaped their character. This is someway similar to the theory presented by Cresswell on Environmental Determinism.