Ireland, Ireland, I love this place except the weather!! It's so cold and wet it kind of reminds me of Boone but colder. This week, because of this cold wet weather ,I got really sick. I got some kind of respiratory infection and had to go to the doctor.
On Friday of last week Annabelle and I went into a third grade class and taught. I liked the change from first grade class. I did miss my children in first grade though. This class also was fascinated by my accent and my dad. The news about my dad has spread throughout the school and all the students are intrigued that he is a cowboy and rides horses. I showed the class a PowerPoint of pictures of one of my dad's packing trips that he goes on yearly. The students were amazed and loved the show!
This weekend I went to the Kilmainham Gaol to visit. I have a real love for history and this country is full of it. Kilmainham Gaol is where the people who helped with the 1916 "rising" were held until they were executed. The Easter 1916 "rising" was when Ireland rebelled for independence. Here at the jail we took a guided tour. We saw where the men were kept and where they were executed. The jail also has a museum inside. The museum had letters the men wrote to their families and loved ones before they were to be executed.
One man named Oliver Punklett wrote a letter to his love asking her hand in marriage. She came to the jail and they were married inside the jail. After they were married, they had ten minutes with each other before he was executed. The ten minutes they had with each other were in a jail cell with two guards.
Susan is my host mother and her father has given me copies of journals that were written by his father that recorded and discussed some of the events of The Rising. He has also given me copies of newspaper ads of this time. I am fascinated by all of this history that lives in this country!! I am learning more everyday about the history of Ireland. I love having talks with my host family after dinner about Irish history. I have learned so much about the fighting that used to go on in the North and why they were actually fighting.
I can’t believe how fast the time has flew by for me. This week I'm sure will be another exciting week!!
This is a picture of me in one of the nicer jail cells.
This was the letter that was written to the lady asking to her to marry him.
