I had flown into Dublin, Ireland to study abroad my junior year of college September 10, 2001. The next morning we had an orientation session, and then returned to our dorms around 4pm (10am EST). As we walked in, we were surprised to see a sign advertising a “Prayer service for Americans” a few hours later. Completely mystified, we found some other students,who filled us in. Immediately, we tried to contact the United States, but didn’t have much luck, and most of us gave up in favor of those who were from New York or DC.

We didn’t have a television, so the information was a little slow in arriving. The next day, an Italian friend of mine brought me a newspaper he had bought, but I didn’t see the footage until about 3 days later at a pub. Even seeing the tape at that late a date affected us greatly and was very difficult to watch. It was amazing to see the initial outflow of support in Dublin. The shock was felt world-wide, not just within the United States.