The program I was accepted into started with a six-month course in Tralee, in Kerry county in west Ireland. Never in my life have I seen green as pure as it was in Kerry: clean and fresh, it seemed to me to be the most beautiful patch of God’s green earth on the Emerald Isle.

Life in Tralee was tranquil and calm; everywhere you walked you could sense warmth from the people there. Everyone greeted everyone else when they passed each other: it didn’t matter who you were or where you were from, you would get a nice smile and a warm tip of the head saying “mornin’” from whoever you came across on the street.

Food, I must say, was different: Irish people do seem to like potatoes a lot! As for the weather, after living in Tralee for a week I realized how lucky the Irish were to get all four seasons in a day! One minute it was raining, the other it was dry and sunny, next it was cold and windy!

After successfully completing that course I traveled to Dublin to begin another journey. I found Dublin much more dynamic than Tralee, with more shops, restaurants (with a wide halal food range) and fun things to do, although sometimes I did miss Tralee’s calmness. I started Foundation Year in The Royal College of Surgeons. It was a lovely year: there were moments and experiences that taught me a lot, my class was made up of people from many different nationalities, I made friends with people from North America, Japan, Malaysia and even South Africa. Having a multicultural environment taught me so much about different cultures, ideologies and mentalities, an important yet often neglected factor that forms successful future doctors. I am in First Med now and have a long way to go before I sadly leave Ireland, but if there is one thing I learned from being here studying Medicine, it is that a person needs at least one extremely strong motivation to keep them going when times get frustratingly dark. Other than that, support is always there in RCSI for those who seek it, and for that I am truly grateful.