Despite growing up in Dublin, I don't really think that I know it very well. It's usually the case that you can see more of a place as a tourist than the people who live there. I'm from the suburbs, which have their own charm, but never seem exciting to me.

I spent my final year of college living in the city centre and it was a totally different life. I was lucky to have a lot of classmates from foreign countries or even other parts of Ireland because they had little choice but to go out and explore. They all had far more courage than I did. But I also think that a year - or a school year, so about nine months -  isn't nearly enough time to get used to a place. It took me 3 years to feel like a pro in Sendai, which is roughly the same size as Dublin.

The last time I was back in Dublin, I stumbled upon these murals near Camden Street. I was only there because my mother and I were meeting my brother for lunch and suddenly we found ourselves in these amazing backstreets. I don't know how long the pictures have been there for but they made me feel kind of sad that I don't know this side of Dublin at all. I could show you this kind of place in Sendai, Tokyo and even Seoul so leaving home hasn't been all bad. I just learned a different kind of life. 

But now I really want to go to Dublin just as a tourist. Why are flights so expensive?!?!