Yesterday was a long day but a very good day. After many hours on a plane I finally arrived in Dublin. I was greeted with cool weather and sunny skies, most unexpected. Everything went well at the airport except missing or not seeing the bus I needed to take, but everything worked out. I had forgotten that here in Ireland everyone drives on the other side of the road; I am still trying to adjust to this. Let’s just crossing the road is a challenge. I could never drive here as I do not know how to drive a stick plus the fact that the shifter is on the left side.
The family I am staying with is very nice. They are a family of five, Frank (Dad), Natalie (Mum), Jessica (Daughter), Rachel (Daughter), and Alfie (Son). Rachel was the first one that I meet. She showed me around the house and helped me get acclimated. Their house is within a mile or two of Bono's, as in the lead singer of U2. I meet Natalie shortly after that and Alfie when he finished up with school and Frank when he came home from work.
During the afternoon I experienced an Irish grocery store. First off you have to pay one Euro to get a trolley (shopping cart), you get your Euro back when you return the trolley. The store was a lot smaller than the ones in the states. It was interesting to see different familiar cereals, snacks, and what not’s, but in different packaging and with different names. Back home when you go to buy meat it is all prepackaged. Here in Ireland you go to the butcher and let them know what you want. They then take your meet and put it in a plastic bag, weight it, and slap a sticker on it. I also learned that everyone brings their own bags for groceries because they charge 15 cents per plastic bag used. Perhaps they should try this out back in the states.
Today I went out to Enniskerry (see picture below) via train and bus. It takes about 45 minutes to get there from the house. This was a very quaint picturesque village near the mountains. I went to Enniskerry to visit the Powerscourt National School, the school I will be teaching at starting Monday. It is a tiny school (see picture below) of 65 students and 3 teachers. The school building is the oldest building (built 1818) used as a school in all of Ireland. Classes are divided up into three classes. First class is junior and senior infants (similar to kindergarten) ,2nd class is 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades, followed by the 3rd class of 4th,5th, and 6th graders. I do not see how they do it, but they make it work. I will be working with the 4th through 6th grades.
I left Enniskerry for Dun Laoghaire to do a bit of shopping and sightseeing. I walked back home along the coastal road and was greeted by some rain. These rains produce a very beautiful rainbow that stretched across part of the bay.
I was in a bit of a hurry to get back because I was going to watch Alfie play hockey. I have never seen a field hockey game before and was excited. Alfie’s school was playing a team from England; the match resulted in a draw despite the boys from England being two or three years older. The family is very sport inclined. Alfie plays numerous sports, rugby, hockey, and hurling. Everyone in the house loves rugby; I even got to watch my first rugby game. I might even be able to see a live match this Sunday.
Tomorrow I have made plans to meet up with fellow Appalachian student Rachel Warriner and an Indiana University student named Kathleen to go tour downtown Dublin. It is late here as it is a quarter past eleven, night night.
