International Student Teaching Spring 2009

Wow! Ireland is even better than I imagined it to be! I arrived just a couple days ago on my very first flight. The plane ride was absolutely glorious. I loved the seeing the clouds below me. I felt like I was floating over Antarctica because all that could be seen was vast, billowing, white mountains. Absolutely beautiful!

I arrived in Ireland early Thursday morning. I experienced the transportation system of Dublin, the buses. I have come to realize that they are never on time. In fact I never saw the Patton Flyer drive by the first time at the airport, so I had to catch it later on to make it to my next destination. However, I made it to mum Eileen, my host mother's mother, who graciously picked me up at the bus station and drove me to my new home.

I was able to unpack some of my things and get settled. Mum Eileen made me some tea and we just chatted and relaxed for most of the morning. She drove me down to the local convenient store called Tescos. I explored the store and noticed that many of the same brands were here as they are in the United States, just with different packaging. Some popular brands include Kelloggs and Nestle.

One little thing I did notice about the grocery store that I thought was interesting was the bagging system. You must pay for every plastic bag you use, which encourages the citizens to have cloth bags to help the environment. Such a wonderful idea! You also have to pay one Euro to use a buggy. The Euro is returned if you return the buggy. So interesting.

Anyways...I spent the rest of the day meeting with my new family. We had dinner together and just chatted about all the great things for me to do and see while in the country. Nola, my host mother, drove me around the area to show me where to walk to catch the bus and the Dart train. She has been very helpful through this whole experience thus far. And the three girls are just lovely! I am really going to enjoy my stay with the Lamberts.

After finally getting settled in with the family I decided to make a trip the following day out to my school, just to get an idea of the train and bus routes I would be taking everyday. I met up with Nick, who is also going to the same school: Powerscourt National School. We walked to the nearest Dart station and bought a pass to and from Bray. At the Bray station we got off and jumped on a bus out to Enniskerry. The bus dropped us off right in front of the school.

The school itself is very quaint and small. There are 65 students spread across three classrooms. I will be working in the junior and senior infant classroom, which is similar to kindergarten. I am looking forward to seeing how the classrooms operate with so many grade levels in each room.

After visiting in Enniskerry, Nick and I decided to meet up with another international student teacher from Indiana. She has been in Ireland for almost two weeks, so she was able to show us around town in Dalkey and Dun Laoghaire. We met in a local bookstore and walked around the shopping area searching for a mobile service station to get phones for our trip.

It was fun walking the along the cobblestone streets window shopping. The town is very close to the harbor, so after shopping for a bit, we walked along the harbor. Kathleen, the other student teacher, and I went for a walk down the pier to get a better view of the surrounding area. While out along the pier, the most beautiful rainbow appeared. It was probably the most vividly colored rainbow I have ever seen. Of course, I just had to take about a million pictures to capture this moment.

As we walked back to Dun Laoghaire to catch the bus, we arranged some plans for the weekend in Dublin. I must say that this trip is going to be extremely exciting. There is so much to do and see in the area. I came with very few plans as far as sightseeing and traveling, and am now having a hard time trying to cram everything in during my short stay. I can't wait for my next adventure!

These next pictures are for my students back at Blue Ridge Elementary. I was in the train station at Bray and found this lonely pigeon! I'll call him Nipper, in honor of our story, Wringer. I miss you all!

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.

Well, I’ve been in Ireland nearly a week now. So, instead of giving you a bunch of boring paragraphs, I thought I’d give the “run down,” so to speak.

Wednesday, March 25: My flight at RDU was supposed to leave right on time. Actually, it only left 10 minutes late because of taxing on the runway. But I tell you, it was the first time I’d been on a plane where the pilot was all excited because we were actually ready to go at the right time.

We arrived in Newark around sevenish, I suppose. I ate dinner at a diner in the airport and then went to sit and wait for my flight to board at 9:00. I discovered I had an audiobook of Pride and Prejudice on my ipod I had forgotten about and so it helped me pass the time away. I was wearing my ASU sweatshirt. And wouldn’t you know, one of the flight attendants had a son who attends ASU! She was super nice the whole way and even let me put my bookbag in the flight attendants’ closet because there was no space in the overhead (I was in a bulkhead seat so I couldn’t put it at my feet). As soon as we had taken off, I made myself comfortable and promptly fell asleep.

My host home

Thursday, March 26: I slept the whole night (woke up only once when dinner (which I opted not to eat) was being served, and woke when they brought out breakfast. It wasn’t much, but I had coffee to keep me awake. I spent the last hour of the flight watching Casablanca on the personal (awesome, btw). I didn’t finish it, but hey, I’ve seen it 3.4 million times.

I landed without a hitch in Dublin and got through customs quickly. I got lucky because the customs room filled as soon as I had gotten in line–I would have been there forever! I got my bags, again easy, and went to ask some info about the bus I was to take to meet my host sisters.

As it turned out, there was a bus coming at 10:00 am (which we hadn’t known about) and I took it straight into Shankill, where my family lives. Because I was there an hour earlier than we had planned, I had to drag two suitcases into a pub (yes, there was one open at 10:30 in the morning!) and call my family. What a sight I must have been to the barman and the older customer (yes, again, Ireland) on the stool!

I called Karen and she and Aly came straight away to meet me. It was only a short walk back to our house. They showed me to my room and I started unpacking. I skyped my mom and took a short nap and spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know the girls and Kathy (James was still out of town at a conference).

Friday, March 27: Hearing from James that All Saints didn't want me to come until Monday, I slept in to overcome the jetlag and spent the rest of the day hanging out at the house resting. I watched a little TV and didn’t do much, until everyone got home around four. We went shopping for dinner and bought…pizza. You know I was happy!

The family I’m staying with is simply lovely! We’ve gotten on very well and they are so helpful. They help me run errands, point me in the right direction, and invite me where ever they are going. I love them and feel so fortunate staying here. I love their daughters, Karen and Aly (16 and 13) and we’ve gotten along so well. I feel like their older sister! :-)

Saturday, March 28: I went into Dublin with James and Kathy via the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit…basically, the subway above ground) around 10:00 in the morning. The city is fantastic. I can’t really compare it to any city in the US, but it’s the perfect blend of the modern and the old. The Georgian architecture is beautiful!

At the Dublin Visitor center, I met up with the other American students in the area. We spent the day exploring the city and taking pictures of everything from St. Patrick’s Cathedral to Liffey. It was brilliant. We ate dinner that night at a pub and watched the first half of the Ireland v. Bulgaria qualifying game for the World Cup, before taking the DART back home. That night, I watched The Boy in Stripped Pyjamas with the family. Talk about a beautifully depressing movie. Needless to say, I’m reading the book now.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Nick, Kathleen (from Indiana), and I in Dublin

Sunday, March 29: I slept in a bit late and didn’t get to go to church as I had hoped. Instead, I lunched with my family and then headed out to where Rachel, the other girl from ASU, is living–Killiney. We spent the day hiking Killiney hill (passing Bono’s house as we did so!) and then walked into Dalkey. I have to think we walked a good several miles. I was exhausted, but it was amazing! The views here are absoluetly gorgeous!

Hiking

What a view!

Monday, March 30: Monday was my first day at All Saint’s National School (oh yeah, I am here to student teach, am I not!?). The school is TINY! There are about 50 students in total, ranging in ages from 4-12. It’s not a one room school house, but it’s almost. In the mornings I work with 4-7 year olds, 8-10 year olds in the early afternoon, and 11-12 year olds in the late afternoon. Next week (after Easter) my schedule will change a bit.

This is sooooooooo different from high school. There is one little girl I absolutely love already, and I can’t wait to keep working with the rest of them. I may prefer secondary, but it’s such an amazing experience in every other way, that it’s ok. Afterschool I couldn’t figure out how to work the key to our house (lame, I know), so I walked around Shankill and explored for 20 minutes or so until I came back home to find Karen there. Again, it was a bit of a lazy day hanging out with the family, but I like it that way.

Tuesday, March 31: Today was much the same as Monday. Nancy, the little girl I love, gave me a sweet card she had made. I really like all of the other teachers at the school. There’s also another student teacher from Spain who is great! She doesn’t speak English very well, but she’s super nice.

Afterschool, I got in the house by myself (James had to teach me how to use the key again! haha!) and watched 24 with Karen before planning for my first lesson the next day. Dinner: Full Irish Breakfast...mmmmm :)

Wednesday, April 1: I taught the American Revolution to 5th and 6th class (11-12 year olds). I was worried because I had NO idea how it’s going to go, mostly because I have little experience teaching that age, but I’m excited. It was wonderful because I was able to teach what I love, but still make it relevant to these kids (it spurned an Irish Revolution in 1798).

I must admit, there was a bit of "bribing" involved because my lesson involved M&Ms (to demonstrate the tax system) and a film clip from The Patriot (to demonstrate colonial era fighting). The lesson went really well. Ms. Massey, the principal and 5/6th class teacher told me I did very well, and it meant a great deal to me to hear Brian say at the end of the day: 'Brilliant Lesson, Ms. Jones!'

The country may be cold, but the people warm my heart!

During my first weekend in Ireland, I planned a trip to Dublin along with some of the other ASU students and a student from Indiana who is student teaching here as well. We set out fairly early on this journey, because Dublin contains so much history and many attractions. We took the DART (the train) into town. Now, when I say that we planned a trip to Dublin I should have just said we went to Dublin without the planning. We arrived into the city, stepped out onto the main road, turned in one direction, and walked. There is one thing I have noticed about the Irish, and that is they do an extreme amount of walking! And I thought we had it bad in Boone!

But anyway...we continued walking the streets of Dublin, pulling out a map here and there, and finally found our way into the Information Center to pick up some brochures and whatnot for our trips later on. Here we more formally detailed our trip through Dublin. Our first stop: St. Patrick's Cathedral.

St. Patrick's Cathedral was a phenomenal stone structure that jutted into the skies above. The weather was quite lovely, and so we spent our time out in the Cathedral gardens admiring the building and the beautiful spring flowers surrounding the building. I found a small sign at the edge of one of the garden paths that located the site for the well that St. Patrick used during baptism. I noted the service times, and would love to make a trip back to participate in a church service.

We continued moving through the city and found ourselves standing across the street from yet another large cathedral. This cathedral was Christs Church Cathedral. Like St. Patrick's, it was built of stone. It had a beautiful archway that stretched across the road. At the church site, there were ancient ruins of a small parish that once stood on the grounds. This cathedral was another beautiful site.

We stopped at a small cafe to grab a bite to eat. The special included a bowl of vegetable soup and a ham and cheese sandwich. One thing that I noticed about Irish sandwich's is that the bread is always buttered. So I had a ham and cheese sandwich on buttered bread. It's quite tasty!

The adventure through Dublin continued with a stop at the Dublin Castle. We walked the grounds of the castle and noted the differences in architecture. Some parts of the castle were built out of the traditional stone but other parts were created with red bricks. The castle was not what I had expected, but it was still fun to explore! The garden in the back of the castle was outlined with an interesting stone design. It was unlike any of the other gardens I had seen around the area. It almost looked like some kind of maze.

After spending some time at the more popular tourist sites, we ventured out to Grafton Street, which is a well-known shopping strip in Dublin. We looked in the shops and I took notice of the market style. There were so many people flooding the streets. I found a small flower shop on the market strip and took some photographs. There were some of the most interesting flowers at the flower stand that I had never seen before.

From there we traveled into a small park at the edge of Grafton Street. There was a beautiful little pond, filled with different bird varieties including ducks, swans, pigeons, and seagulls. It was an interesting mixture. It was such a lovely afternoon that the park was covered with people.

We decided to make one last stop during our first visit to Dublin, and so be made our way back through town to Trinity College. Although we did not venture into the library to look at the Book of Kells, we spent a considerable amount of time walking through the campus, taking in the sights and architecture.

Overall, my trip to Dublin was quite the adventure! I am planning to return to the city in the future to explore some places that I didn't have time to get to during the first trip. I have included a few extra pictures of some of the things I saw while in the city.

This past Saturday I went into the city with two fellow Appalachian student's (Rachel and Rebecca) and a student from Indiana University (Kathleen). The first stop on our expedition was St. Patrick's Cathedral. This is the largest cathedral in all of Ireland. I took some pictures of the outside structure and accompanying tower. Not to far from there is Christ Church Cathedral.

Both churches have crypts in them. On this particular day we did not venture inside a couple of places, we were just there to do some recon. On our way to lunch we took a look at the Dublin Castle. The castle was very interesting because it was comprised of multiple forms of architecture. Sadly they were not running tours that day but I will be going back.

After a quick bite to eat (veggie soup w/ ham and cheese sandwich) we moved onto Grafton Street. This is one of the major places in Dublin to shop. You know how I'm big on shopping! Grafton Street runs into St. Stephen's Green: this is where I got a picture of the statue dude wearing sun glasses. Our walk continued on toward the Bank of Ireland and Trinity College. The college is lovely, unlike any college back home in the states. I will be heading back to the college to take a look at The Book of Kells.

The rest of the day was spent going down O'Connell Street (where The Spire is located) and just being tourists. After a long day of walking we decided that we would hit up a pub for food and drink. The pub was called Cassidy's Pub, apparently former President Bill Clinton once ate there. My order consisted of fish 'n' chips. It was nice to sit down, relax, and watch some football.

Sunday was very busy as I had daylight savings time to contend with. Frank (host Dad) and I went up into the Wicklow Mountains for a "walk". I did not know that a "walk" would be a hike straight up a mountain, but it was well worth it. The area we were in was only about twenty minutes from the suburbs of Dublin, and as you can see in my pictures nothing could spoil the view. Once we reached the summit of the mountain we could see for miles. It was a clear day. I have been told that on a really good day you can see across the Irish Sea into Wales.

My day did not end there. After returning from the mountains, I had to cleanup and get out the door for a rugby match. Sports are very much a part of the culture here in Ireland. The sports they do play are much different from the sports back home. Hurling, Gaelic Football, Rugby, Hockey (Field Hockey), Soccer, and Golf are the most popular, with Hurling and Gaelic football being the national sports. The rugby match I saw was a part of the Magner's League between to provinces here on the island, Leinster (Dublin area) and Ulster (Northern Ireland). It was a good match until Leinster ran away with the game in the second half; they scored four tries in that half. Rugby is a lot of fun to watch as anyone could break free at any moment.

I started working at Powerscourt National School on Monday. It is a lovely school with only 65 students across eight different class levels (junior and senior infants, classes 1-6). Students start off their day with an assembly. During assembly role is taken and they sing a hymn before dismissing to their individual classrooms. I will get a video of the students singing because I thought it was cool.

I have spent the past two days getting to know the students. Yesterday I told them about myself and let them ask me questions. It was nice to know that no matter where you go, kids still ask the most off the wall questions. Questions like, how many bones have you broken, how's Ashely Tisdale doing (I don't really know who that is), favorite food, color, and the best one being, is your brother the devil cause he broke you arm and your nose. I found a picture book about North Carolina today and plan on showing them some of the places I have been.

Wednesday we went to the Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray. A photographer had taken pictures in and around Enniskerry (where the school is located). Many of the students helped her with the research needed for such an undertaking. Yesterday we went to a village called Lullymore. It was an hour and a half bus ride. On the bus ride I showed all the kids what an American dollar looked liked, and, as well, gave them some American gum.

They are curious about what the US is like. Apparently we are the weird ones driving on the wrong side of the road. We visited a heritage center near the village (sort of like a nature center back home). The students enjoyed their time there as much as I did. It was a lovely day full of sunshine and warm weather. The center is located near the largest bog in Ireland--the Bog of Allen. I had no idea how a bog was formed or much of the flora and fauna of Ireland, not to mention how peat is formed. The only unenjoyable part of the trip was the bus ride back, lets just say there was no A/C.

After arriving back at school Rachel and I decided to go up to the Powerscourt Estate and Gardens. For those of you that have seen the newer version of The Count of Monte Cristo, this is where Edmond Dantès lived in the movie. The gardens were the highlight of this trip. The inside of the house has been rebuilt and remodeled due to a fire in 1974. The gardens had many sights to see. There was a tower, Japanese gardens, Italian gardens, and a pet cemetery.

My first week of school consisted of observations and school tours, or field trips. I spent some time getting a feel for the school and my classroom, helping in any way I possibly could. And the rest of week was filled with school tours to a variety of locations. I will go into more detail shortly.

Powerscourt National School is a small school consisting of close to 65 students. These students are placed into three different classrooms. The first classroom is for the junior and senior infants. Students in this group are between the ages of 4 and 5, so it is basically comparable to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten in the US. The second classroom is for first year through third year students, which is comparable to first grade through third grade in the US. The final classroom is the senior class, which is comprised of fourth year students through sixth year students, or fourth grade through sixth grade. This is just one of the major differences in how this particular school is set up compared to a school in North Carolina. One of my greatest interests while teaching at Powerscourt is finding out how the teachers cater to the needs of their students from all of these different levels within one classroom. How does the curriculum allow for the students to be placed in a classroom with mixed grade levels?

Each morning the students meet in the largest classroom for assembly. It is here that the role is taken and important school announcements are made. It is also a time for a religious teaching and prayer to occur. Every school in Ireland is supported by a church, whether it be a Catholic Church or the Church of Ireland, like Powerscourt. The students begin each day with a prayer, have a lesson on religion during the day, and end each day with another prayer. This is obviously unlike anything I have seen while teaching in North Carolina because of the emphasis on separation of church and state. Important values and morals are taught with religion, and this is an important focus for the schools in Ireland.

For my first week, I was placed in the junior and senior infant class. My main responsibilities included helping my cooperating teacher read with selected individuals or assist with one group of students while she worked with the other group. I was completely amazed at the level of control the teacher had over a group of eighteen four and five year olds. In the classrooms in North Carolina every kindergarten teacher has an assistant, but this is not the case at this school.

The responsibilities of a primary school teacher are far greater in Ireland than in the United States. There are no speciality teachers in art, physical education, music, and language, and so the primary educators must take on these responsibilities as well. I observed my cooperating teacher incorporate all these components throughout my first week at school. The one that stuck out the most was the focus on language. The children begin learning Irish as early as the junior and senior infant class. They learn basic vocabulary and practice using the terms constantly. Everything in the classroom is labeled in both English and Irish. I have been most impressed with how the children have responded to the language development.

Besides spending some time in the classroom this week, I also had the opportunity to travel with two of the classes on a number of school tours, or field trips. I actually went on three different tours. The first tour was with the senior class to the Mermaid Theatre. The students participated in an art project with a local artist and were recognized for their participation. And so we made the journey into the town of Bray to visit the exhibit. The students were thrilled to have their names put in the back of the artist's book and to see photographs of their own community. The students behaved extremely well, which made the trip even more enjoyable. The highlight of this particular trip for the students included a visit to the local town park. I have never seen children get so excited over playground equipment. At the school, there is no playground, just a blacktop area in the back, so it truly was a novelty experience to have slides and monkey bars to climb. They had an absolute blast!

The second tour was with the same group of students, the senior class. Together we traveled an hour and a half to Lullymore Heritage Park. The school tour focused on science, mainly environmental science. Our tour guide took us through the heritage park, which was an extended nature walk. He talked about Irish birds, trees, flowers, soils, and bugs. He also talked about the huge bog at the end of the park, which was being used as a source of energy. The students had a blast getting their hands dirty. They got to search for bugs and other critters, run around the bog, and do science experiments. Once again, this was another successful trip.

My last school trip was with the junior and senior infant class to the farm. When we first arrived at the farm our guide took us to the large barn to show the children sheep. He opened the pen and allowed the children to hold some of the baby lambs. They were precious! We were then directed to the cow pens. The stalls smelled terribly, and the children had a hard time walking through. I was amazed at the size of the animals because they were enormous! The students couldn't get over the fact that the cows walked around in their own feces. When a cow would relieve itself they would all shout, "Look, it's pooing!" One child even stated that he was "allergic to poo." They had a wonderful time and were very well behaved.

My time at Powerscourt has been wonderful thus far. I have already learned so much about the school and actually how similar it is to the schools in the United States. I am excited about getting the opportunity to continue observing and teaching at this school.

One afternoon after we got out of school, Nick and I took a hike up the hill to visit the Powerscourt Estate, which is one of Enniskerry's main attractions. The house itself was once a significant castle for the Anglo-Normans, but was quickly transformed into a mansion for the royal. However, it was the gardens that attracted me to the estate. I heard prior to visiting Ireland that I would not want to miss out on the famous Powerscourt Gardens. And so we ventured behind the house to find the most beautiful garden and view of the surrounding mountains. Here are some of the pictures I took while exploring the vast gardens. It took us about an hour to make our way through the gardens, so these pictures are just a glimpse of the beauty that I saw on that warm spring day.

The view on the way to the Powerscourt Estate.

The Powerscourt Estate House and the Pepperpot Tower in the gardens.

Inside the Pepperpot Tower. It looks like a fairy-tale! Beautiful!

The Japanese Gardens.

Triton Lake and the Winged Horses. The fountain in the center of the lake is based on the famous fountain in Piazza Barberini in Rome.

From the Italian Gardens.

The spring flowers were absolutely incredible! It was breathtaking!

Our final stop: the Pet Cemetery. The family pets of Powerscourt ranging from dogs of every breed, ponies, and cows!

I, along with the other international student teachers, set up a Paddy Wagon tour to Northern Ireland. Paddy Wagon is a notable tour company that takes groups to the major attractions in Ireland. Our trip to Giants Causeway and Derry included the "services of an expert Paddywagon Northern Ireland guide" and a ride in "a luxury Mercedes Paddywagon van." Check out the van!!!

We began our adventures nice and early...3:45am! In order to get into Dublin to catch our Paddywagon we had to get a ride at 4:05am into town. Completely exhausted from the previous week's adventures, this was no easy task. And...we encountered a bit of a problem with public transportation into Dublin. We misunderstood that the AirCoach bus, which travels 24hours, only lets passengers off at the airport and not the other stops, and the bus driver rudely reminded us of our fault. So...Nick called his host mother, who graciously picked us up and took us into town in the early morning. We managed to find the Paddywagon office in Dublin after a few missed turns, only to wait another 45 minutes or so for the tour to begin. We could all tell that it was going to be a long day!

A bus picked us up at 6:00am, our destination-- Belfast in Northern Ireland. Being such a long ride, nearly two and a half hours, I dozed off. When I woke up, I found myself in a new city, which resembled Dublin in many ways. The bus dropped us off and waiting in front of us was the Paddywagon! How could you miss a bright green van with a large leprechaun on the side! We jumped on the wagon and off we went through Belfast to the countryside.

Our tour guide, Captain Conrad, was quite the character. He spouted off little anecdotes about Irish culture and history as we bumped along the roads towards the Northern coast. As we left the city, all of a sudden it turned into vast green fields covered in little white specks (sheep!). What was most remarkable about these fields was the fact that they were still outlined by miles, or should I say kilometers, of fences made of broken stones. Ireland is all about outlining property with tall and heavy stone walls. When you walk down the sidewalk, you walk next to a series of giant walls where you can barely see over the tops to the homes. And it is interesting to see this carried through into the countryside, but I'm guessing it's a little more appropriate here for the sheep. But anyways...

We approached the coast, and had it been a clear day we could have seen across the waters to Scotland. But as our luck would have it, we came on a dreary day. In fact it was the worst day weather wise I had seen while in Ireland: cold, windy, and rainy...a great day for exploring outdoors (not!). Our first stop was along the coast at the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge. For a small fee you can cross the bridge, but it had closed due to the windy conditions of the day. And when you look at the picture you can absolutely tell why they would shut the bridge down on windy days! Originally this bridge had been used by local fishermen so that they could gain access to a different part of the waters. Now it is a major tourist attraction, and with good reason. The view is phenomenal!

The rain decided to pick up as we traveled back to the Paddywagon, and the wind was far from gentle. It was worse than Boone!! But we all made it back in one piece, just a little damp. As we continued down the coast, our guide pointed out the Dunluce Castle, some of the most beautiful and famous castle ruins in the North. We made a quick photo-stop, and then made our way to Giants Causeway.

Giants Causeway is one of the World's Wonders! It was absolutely fascinating to see the stones so rightly shaped and placed in this harbor. It really did look as if someone had constructed the stones in an attempt to make a building of sorts. The stones are basalt columns created by lava flow many many years ago. They were able to get their shape due to the accelerated cooling of the ocean water. That's the scientific reasoning behind the creation.

There is an Irish tale of the formation as well. Finn MacCool, an Irish knight, challenged a Scottish giant by throwing a bit of earth over to Scotland. The giant promptly responded by throwing some back, creating a pathway across; a causeway. The challenges continued with threats of crossing the Channel. MacCool worked tirelessly preparing his land for the giant. The giant decided to finally go after MacCool and take care of the situation, but the witty MacCool disguised himself as a baby in his own house. The giant came, and MacCool's wife offered some food, which were actually stones. The giant not knowing any better ate the stones, broke his teeth, and decided that whoever ate such stone must be pretty tough. He then saw the "baby" in the corner of the room sleeping.

When the giant saw the size of such baby he became threatened and frightened, thinking that whoever fathered such a large baby must be a large and powerful man. MacCool, playing the part grabbed the giant's finger and bit as hard as he could. Seeing the power of the baby, the giant thought the father must be that much more powerful. Fearful, the giant fled back to Scotland destroying the causeway as he ran. And that is the supposed tale of Giants Causeway. Here are some pictures of Giants Causeway.

We made one final stop with the Paddywagon tour in Derry, or Londonderry. Derry is most well-known for its defensive walls that protect the city, which are still intact. We walked the walls of Derry, stopping to look at the cannons that lined them, and an old cathedral in the center of town. It was a bustling town, mainly filled with shopping. It's fascinating to think that these walls were once used for protection in battle.

Finally, we finished the tour and enjoyed a relaxing three hour ride back to Dublin. We stopped at a pub on our way to the DART to celebrate our survival in the wind and rain. Overall, I had a very pleasant experience on this trip. I learned a lot, and acquired some pence and pounds while in the North because it is a separate entity from the Republic of Ireland and is controlled by the English. I had a wonderful time, and would definitely consider taking another Paddywagon tour in Ireland!

Friday I went on a field trip with the junior and senior infants to a local farm. This farm in particular raised only sheep and cattle. The kids were able to hold and pet many baby lambs. We missed seeing a sheep give birth by just twenty minutes. The owners of the farm had the first ever jet black lamb this past week. The kids were having a fabulous time even when we moved on to see the very, very smelly cows. I enjoyed the trip despite the smell.

I was able to teach PE to my students on Friday after the field trip. They were all very excited to see what games I could teach them. Many of the boys in the class want me to teach them American football; this idea was not going over well with the girls. I stuck with some simple tag games for the day's activity. I was a bit surprised that they knew what "stuck in the mud" was. They followed directions and rules well which helped them have a good time.

Saturday I got up bright and early (3 AM) to go on a tour of the Carrick-A-Rede Bridge, The Giant's Causeway, and Derry or Londonderry with Rachel, Rebecca, and Kathleen. First off the bus we need to take into town only went to the airport, but thankfully my host Mom was nice enough to give us a lift into town. Our bus from Dublin left for Belfast at 5:45. So we arrive in Belfast, hopped onto our tour bus and headed off for our first stop which was the Carrick-A-Rede Bridge along the north coast.

The weather at the time was not great; it was raining and windy. Due to these conditions the bridge was closed, and we could not see nearby Scotland. We still walked out to the bridge to see it and take some pictures. The next stop on our tour was The Giant's Causeway. All of the rocks in this formation are mostly hexagonal. It had stopped raining by this time but remained overcast.

On our way to Derry we stopped by one of the most photographed castles on the island, Dunluce Castle. This castle is literally right on the the ocean. The weather improved as we got closer to Derry. Once in Derry/Londonderry (goes by two names, something to do with Protestants and Catholics) we toured the ancient city walls and the nearby scenery. The sun was in full force. If only it could have been like that all day. On the return trip to Belfast we drove through the Sperrin mountains.

With all the sunshine it was easy to see why Ireland is called the Emerald Isle; everything is green. The island looks much like the rolling hills and plains of Montana, but green. The tour was over when we arrived back in Belfast. We hopped on a bus and headed back to Dublin. Back in Dublin we got a bite to eat and head back to our respective houses. I crashed immediately after arriving back at the house.

Monday I flew to Cardiff, Wales. I had not figured out what I wanted to see while there and decided to just fly by the seat of my pants. I did, however, do research into hotels. I did not want my first hostel experience to be a bad one.

After a short but bumpy plane ride from Dublin I arrived in Cardiff, Wales. I checked into The River House Hostel, which is located directly on the River Taff and across the Millennium Stadium. It is a very nice hostel and has been voted in the top 10 hostels in Europe.

I went into town looking for some coffee and some traditional Welsh food. I ate at little restaurant called Garland's, which is located in one of the city's many arcades. The dish I had was called Cawl and was pretty tasty. After my late lunch I headed off for Cardiff Castle. There are parts of the castle that date all the way back to the Roman Empire. I chose to do an audio tour of the castle and explore on my own. About halfway through my tour it started to pour rain, and I finished my tour as quickly as possible. I walked around town for a little while until I decide that it was time for some dinner.

I got up early Tuesday morning and made my way to the nearest train station. It only took an hour to get from downtown Cardiff to the mountains where Aberdare is located. Aberdare is a quaint village located in the valley. There were all sorts of shops and restaurants in town. Sadly there was no information or visitor center in the town. I went to the library to see if there was any information there, but there was not. The people at the library were not helpful. I took some pictures of the town square and a few of the surrounding area. Once I had seen enough I hopped back on the train for Cardiff. Hopefully, I will be able to come back here once I have conducted some research about my family history.

There was plenty of lovely weather to be had today. I made my way down to the renown Cardiff Bay. The Wales Millenium Centre, the Cardiff Barrage, and the National Assembly are located. The bay is where the River Taff and Ely empty. I walked around the bay so that I could see the bay and the Severn Estuary. The barrage acts like a dam, it keeps water from the estuary and the bay separate. All of the water in the bay is fresh water while the estuary is salt water. The barrage also serves as the only entrance into the bay. It was a lovely day to be outside and soak up the sunshine.

I headed back to Ireland Wednesday morning. Tuesday made my trip worth it. This was a good visit; it was nice to see where my family came from.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am headed to Lough Derg (Lake Derg) Friday with my host family. There is a regatta going on over the Easter weekend and it should be lots of fun. My nautical skills are pretty horrid but with a good weekend forecast and somebody telling me what to do, I should be able to keep myself from going swimming.

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Can I just say that I love two week Easter holidays? Friday was a short day. It was a really fun day where we just got to play with the kids and celebrate Easter with them. A couple of the students gave me cards, which melted me heart! We sent the students off at school at 12:15 and then all of the staff went out to lunch. Saturday, I went on a tour with the other American students to the North of Ireland. As you may know, Northern Ireland is not apart of the Republic of Ireland but is still part of Great Britain. Therefore, I was literally in a different country.

The tour started with supposedly catching a bus called the “Aircoach” at around 3:55 in the morning–not even kidding. So we get to the bus…it ONLY goes to the airport. It wouldn’t let us get off in Dublin…losers. Luckily, Nick’s most gracious and wonderful host mom picked us up and took us into Dublin at 4:00 in the morning. We sat at the Paddywagon hostel until around 6:00 am when we caught a bus to take us into Belfast. This is a long drive and as much as I really wanted to watch the scenery, I was too tired and slept much of the way there. We arrived in Belfast around 8:30 and from the bus station, we caught the Paddywagon bus which headed even farther North. The weather that morning was miserable. It was freezing cold, extremely windy, and raining sideways.

Our first stop was in the tippy top corner of the country at a rope bridge. The bridge was closed because of the rain, but we hiked up to the area, which was lovely despite the weather.
Next, we left the bridge to a place called The Giant’s Causeway. This is just cool. It is a natural rock formation that looks like a bridge that was built by the hands of a giant…hence the name.

It actually comes from a legend about a man named Finn McCool. In short, he was a giant of a man who wanted to fight a rival in Scotland whom he had actually never seen. His rival wouldn’t come so he built this “causeway” for him to travel over. When he finally did, Finn encountered a man 10 times his own size, so his wife hatched a plan where she dressed Finn up as a baby. When his Scottish rival came to the house, Finn’s wife told him that Finn was out and would be back to fight him later. When he saw their “son” in the corner he shuddered at the thought that if that was the size of their son, there was no telling how tall Finn was, so he left and destroyed the bridge behind him, leaving only a bit in Ireland and a bit in Scotland.

The weather wasn’t quite as bad there, and the rock formations were just incredible. It was clear to me that it wasn’t Finn McCool who placed those stones there, but God who formed them perfectly. Next we made a photo stop at Dunluce castle which is precariously perched on the edge of a cliff, but it was quite “photogenic.”

Finally, we drove into Derry, a city that has seen many struggles throughout its history and the site of the Bloody Sunday incident in the 1970s. There is a large division of Republicans (those who want Northern Ireland to be apart of the Republic) and loyalists (those who are loyal to England) in the city. Derry is still called by its English name, Londonderry, by its loyalists citizens. Unfortunately, we got to the city more than an hour after we were supposed to and we didn’t have much time at all to explore it as I would have liked :( . I thought this was a bit of shame just because it is such an important city to Irish history. Instead, we walked the wall of the city. Hopefully I will have a chance to visit again, if not this trip, then sometime in the future.

After leaving Derry, we returned to Belfast, where we only had just enough time to grab a coffee before hitting the trail back to Dublin. Again, I really wish I could have seen more of the city--it has such a rich and troubled history--and am considering taking another tour to go back one weekend before I go home. We arrived back in Dublin about 8:30 and went to a pub to get some dinner before going home. It was a long, long day, but it was overall, a completely wonderful trip.

And that's just the first weekend!

My school

Rocky beaches

And you think Boone is windy...

Rope Bridge

The Giant's Causeway

Derry

The Paddywagon!

Being that Easter is big in Ireland, school was out for two weeks. So, we I gladly made some extravagant plans to fill up the majority of the break. One of these lofty plans included a trip to Norway to visit my friend Adrian, who had lived with my family while studying for a year in the United States. I figured that I was so close to Norway that the flights would have to be cheap enough for me to make a trip, and they were! I contacted Adrian, made arrangements, and spent an entire week in Norway with his family.

I arrived on Good Friday, just before Easter. Adrian, his girlfriend Lisa, and his grandparents met me at a bus stop in Oslo, the capital city of Norway. It was wonderful seeing familiar faces and friends. We scooped up my luggage and made our way to the apartment where we would be staying for the night. Adrian and his family had planned an adventure for me in Oslo the next day. I was shown my room in the apartment, and there sitting on the bed was an easter egg filled with Norwegian chocolates! I was thrilled, because if you didn't know, Norwegian chocolate is probably the most delicious chocolate ever!! After spending some time catching up with one another, we called it a night early so that we could enjoy the day in the capital city.

That next day, I was greeted with a delicious breakfast before setting out on a tour of Oslo. The meal consisted of bread and rolls, butter, a strawberry spread, and a display of meats and cheeses. Norway is known for their variety in cheeses. I had never seen a brown cheese until I met Adrian. It is quite tasty when topped with a piece of ham or salami. But when we finished up, we walked up the street to catch a bus back into the main city.

Oslo is not a very large city, and it has a different feel than Dublin or even Raleigh for that matter. The buildings were taller in Oslo than in Dublin, but there were fewer people roaming the streets. We stepped out onto the main road in Oslo that eventually leads to the King and Queen's Castle. The street was filled with a variety of shops, many of them selling Norway's trademark souvenirs. A giant troll sat outside one of the shops. Trolls are quite popular in Norway. They are supposed to be mythical creatures that resemble giants or ogres. Adrian was not exactly sure how the whole troll thing came to be in Norway, but they can be found almost anywhere in the country.

We continued strolling the main streets in Oslo. Adrian's grandparents pointed out different buildings for Adrian to describe to me. I have not mentioned that Adrian's grandparents do not speak English. So Adrian served as a translator between us. That was probably the greatest challenge coming into a country that does not speak English. Thankfully I had Adrian to translate everything for me, but it became very difficult when I wanted to communicate on my own with other people. But anyways, Adrian's grandmother pointed out a statue of the founder of Oslo, Christiano. Many of the people of Norway want to rename the city after the founder, but the debate continues as Oslo remains the capital name.

I also walked past the Parliament Building, where a small protest was taking place. There is a large Islamic population centered in Oslo, and the majority comes from Sri Lanka. They were protesting to the government for more aid. Oslo has a diverse culture that is unlike most of the country, as Adrian had explained to me. I will admit that I was surprised to see so many different cultures in Oslo, to the point where Adrian and his family looked to be the minority. I thought this was fascinating.

We passed by the University building in Oslo and finally made it to the Castle of the King and Queen of Norway. I don't know if i would have used "castle" to describe this building initially because I am used to the standard Irish castle, but it is a castle nonetheless. A small group of guards watched over the building. The guard reminded me of the United States Guard in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington. All the soldiers moved at the same time and did exactly the same things. They even had a changing of the guard, which I got to see right before we left the castle grounds. It was very neat.

We took a walk out to the fjord in Oslo, which looked like a large harbor. When we got there the people started to file in. This was where the town hall was located. And along the far side of the fjord was a large military fortress. We first walked along the pier area, doing a bit of exploring in the shops. We then went over to the fortress to do some exploring and to get a better view of the fjord and the city. It was a beautiful day to explore the city.

Afterwards, we continued walking through the city until we reached the new Opera House. This is a major attraction because of the interesting architecture used in designing this building. I think the Opera House was my favorite building in Oslo. It was immaculate! We climbed up the side of the building to the roof. The sun was almost blinding up at the top from the reflection off the building. We then went inside the structure and found more interesting architecture. The ramp to get up into the opera house was built in a spiral design. All the walls had a new and different design to showcase. It was very modern and extremely beautiful.

As our adventure in Oslo came to a close, a new adventure in Dokka was just beginning. Adrian lives in the mountains a good distance from the capital city. This was more of the Norway I was expecting to see. We followed a long fjord on some winding and fairly narrow roads out to Dokka. It was beautiful. The fjord was flanked with some of the most majestic snow covered mountains, and the fjord itself was frozen over. I knew that it was going to be an exciting trip!

I arrived at Adrian's home where I was welcomed graciously by every single family member that lived nearby. A good portion of Adrian's family lives on the same road. In fact, his grandparents live just across the street. Hanging on the flagpole underneath the Norwegian flag was an American flag in honor of my visit! I can not describe the beauty of Dokka and the surrounding area in words, and my pictures truly can not do it justice. It was simply peaceful and beautiful.

I spent my days enjoying the company of Adrian's family. I basically met every individual in his family. We chatted about the culture and history of Norway. I was shown the traditional dress of Norway that is typically worn on May 17th, their National Day. I was fed traditional meals. I even learned a few small phrases to use while in the country. I tried a few new things and lived like a true Norwegian during my stay.

One of my favorite trips was out to Lillehammer, where the 1994 Winter Olympics took place. I rode up a gondola to the top of the ski mountain, so that I could get a better view of the mountains. It was spectacular. I watched people ski down the giant slopes, amazed at their bravery and strength to manipulate their way to the bottom. I enjoyed the crisp spring air, and even got a little sun! It was incredible!

Adrian's Uncle wanted to show me a little more of the history of Norway by taking me to a colonial park. We walked through the small village taking a look at an example of an old farm, an old church, and an old shopping center. Some of the buildings even dated back to the 1400's. I, of course, was most intrigued by the traditional school house, which was a one room log cabin. Very neat!

But my absolute favorite experience was skiing for the first time! Adrian's grandparents arranged for a small trip into the mountains. When Adrian told me we were going into the mountains I was a bit shocked...I thought I was already there! But we drove up higher into the slopes to where the peaks were capped with heavy snow. The cabin house was even buried in the snow!! We went out to some cross country skiing trails not far from the house and I clipped into skis for the very first time. Adrian and his grandmother showed me how to glide through the snow and how to stop. I had a blast, and the scenery was quite fantastic. I will admit that I did manage to fall one time. I got a little too brave and ended up plummeting into the snow with tangled skis. It was an incredible experience, and I will definitely try it again in the future.

Adrian's youngest brother, Tobias, traveled with us for much of the week. He was very interested in helping me to learn the language. He would tell me little phrases to try and repeat. But on the last day, Tobias had the opportunity to showcase his after-school job at the farm. In the afternoons he travels to a neighbors farm to help feed the animals. Adrian's mother, Hilde, provided me with some extra clothes so that I would not wreak of livestock as I traveled back to Ireland. Inside the barn were cows, goats, and sheep. I was initially drawn to the baby goats. So we went inside the pen. They scooped up the littlest of the goats and passed him off to me. It was love at first bite! He was just adorable, and Tobias brought me a bottle to feed the little guy. After spending some time with the goats, and having my clothes nibbled at long enough, we moved on to the sheep. There was not too much to do with them, as all the females were obviously pregnant. I mean, it looked like they could pop at any moment! The farmer was expecting new lambs within three or four days. I'm pretty happy to have missed out on that fun experience...not going to lie! But, I did learn how to milk a cow. It's not really as hard as I thought it would be. Once I figured out the method to the madness, it was very easy. I couldn't believe how much fun I had at the farm. I'm so glad that Tobias wanted to share that with me.

As part of my experience, I really wanted to take some time to look at the Norwegian churches. Adrian's neighbor is the organist for his church, so he was able to get us inside the church and play the new organ pipes for us. The church was beautiful. It was built out of sturdy timber, almost like a log house. But it was the inside that attracted me the most. The entire church was hand carved and painted. The pulpit, the altar, and the ceiling all carved wood, was painted with the most beautiful designs. It was glorious. What was also interesting about this particular church was the history of how it was placed. The church had been moved several times to suit the needs of those traveling to the church. When the church was moved, it was the tradition to leave behind the old bells. I learned so much about the history of the church through Adrian's Uncle.

Overall, I really enjoyed my visit to Norway. I kept in mind the reason for my study abroad, which is education. On my last day, Adrian took me by the Elementary School to visit his Aunt who is a first grade teacher. I introduced myself to the class, and they each took turns introducing themselves. I got to teach them the English ABC's because the Norwegian alphabet has a few extra letters and they are spoken slightly differently. They also showcased their skills in English by counting to ten in English. I was most impressed! I showed them on a map where I have come from, both North Carolina and Ireland, so they could track my journey. I loved the school visit!!

Traveling abroad even further to a country where I don't speak the language was probably the most worthwhile experience I have had thus far. I learned so much about myself and about the traditions of yet another culture. I will take back so much from my experiences in Norway!

I started out my Easter Holiday by traveling with my host family for three days in London! Ok, can I just say, I love England. We flew in during the afternoon and bought our Tube ticket(Underground, Subway) and did toured the normal touristy sites, those that I have grown to know and love so very much.

I saw Buckingham Palace. The next day I knew I wanted to do something historical. So, we went to the Tower of London. It is a fortress dating from the Norman period of English history with the White Tower, a castle built by William the Conqueror. The part I was intrigued with was the Tudor history of the Tower. Studying the history there was pure enjoyment for me. Thinking about events that took place in the tower brought me close to tears. Viewing the exhibit of Henry VIII's armour in the White Tower was a highlight of the trip.

That night, we went to see "Wicked" on the West End. I love this play and am now fortunate enough to have seen it in London and on Broadway. I miss London now just writing about it.

I got back to Ireland on Wednesday night, knowing I had all of one day to rest before I left again on another Paddy Wagon Tour to the south-west of Ireland. Rachel and I toured Dublin and were able to listen to my first live Irish music in a pub...very cool.

Friday morning, me being me, I lost my sense of direction and almost couldn't find the Paddy Wagon Palace. I was worried how going on this trip alone was going to affect me, but everything turn out great. On the bus, I sat next to a brother and sister from South Africa, and the three of us gathered a group of six people that stuck together throughout the trip: 3 from S. Africa, 1 girl from Australia, 1 girl from L.A., and me. It was so amazing.

We stayed at a hostel in Galway Friday night which was a lot nicer than I had expected. Unfortunately, because it was Good Friday, most of Galway was shut down, but it was a beautiful city! Everything in the south is beautiful! I couldn't get over the contrast between the incredible greenness of everything plus the blueness of the sky (the weather was AMAZING!) plus the feeling that I had gone back into the 19th century.

This area was so much different from Dublin. Our tour guide/bus driver was a guy named Gabriel. He was hilarious. We all made friends with him, and when we got to the Dingle Peninsula, he gave four of us the opportunity to stay at a B&B because the hostel was full. Some amazing attractions I saw from this trip: The Cliffs of Moher, Ancient Monastery at Clonmacnoise, The Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas (also known as the Galway Cathedral), the Guinness Storehouse, Blarney Castle.

Yes, that's right folks, I kissed the Blarney Stone and received the gift of gab (eloquence, Winston Churchill kissed the Blarney Stone, so maybe there's something to it) which should be helpful to me in job interviews! Ha!

The trip was awesome. I met some great people and saw some great things. So much was crammed into just three days that I'm still blown away by it all.

Whew! And that was only one week! I got home late Sunday night with the decision that my second week of Easter was going to be devoted to seeing as much of Dublin as I possibly could. I felt I have seen the surface of some things, but there is no way I have even been close to scratching the surface of all that I want to see and do.

Week Two of Easter--
One of the first things I did was go to see the Book of Kells (an ancient illuminated manuscript)--worth a trip to Ireland by itself! I went to the National Library, the Writer's Museum (all Dublin authors), and the Museum of Archeology. I took a bus tour taking me around the city and showing me all of the main sights. This is probably the most touristy thing EVER but it was worth it. I learned a great deal and went on a day where it was shockingly sunny and fairly warm (for Ireland that is, probably about 52 degrees at the highest) and I sat on the open top of the bus so I could see everything.

I met Kathleen's new fiancee and went out to dinner with them. And of course, I went shopping. There are some really cool stores in Dublin and I'm finding some neat things. I'm also very surprised at myself as I am starting to be able to find my way around the city without whipping my map out at the slightest wind change. This is mostly because I've been forced to. I've been going into the city alone so I can't depend on someone else to read the map for me. It's nice.

Nothing is open late here. Most coffee shops and sandwich bars are closed by 5:00 or 6:00. When I was coming home from town I just wanted to grab a latte to take with me on the DART, and the six coffee shops I passed on the way there were closed up.

Thursday of this week was super awesome. I took a bus tour out to Newgrange, about 45 minutes north of Dublin. This is the site of an ancient burial tomb, known as a passage tomb. It is a Stone Age tomb, older than Stonehedge by 500 years and the pyramids of Egypt by 1000 years. There were about 25 of us in a tight little chamber door where the tour guide explained all of the technicalities of the tomb: how it was designed perfectly alligned with the sun on the Winter Solstice and how every year at dawn on that day, the passage of the tomb fills with light and illuminates the ancient carved spirals on the walls.

This tour also took me to the site of the Battle of the Boyne, one of the most important battles in Irish history; the Hill of Tara, site of of the ancient capital of Ireland; and through the town of Slane. When I got back into Dublin that night, I wandered around for awhile searching for a sandwich bar and then I went to St. Patrick's Cathedral. I went to a gothic organ concert and readings from Dracula. This was awesome. The setting, a Medieval Cathedral, was perfect. It was creepy, haunting, and chilling all at the same time. I loved it.

Today, I went to church for the first time in Ireland. I went with my family to a Church of Ireland. It is amazing to me how different it was from an evangelical church like the one I go to back home. More structured and very worshipful.

I have only 17 days left. How sad! This has been a really great trip and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'm back to school tomorrow and teaching to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th class (8-10 year olds).......that should be interesting, I'll let you know how it goes.

Me in London

Irish Musicians in a Pub

Beautiful Ireland

New Friends

At Newgrange

Last weekend at Lough Derg I saw a sailing competition and met loads of nice people. Everyone I meet was kind and polite towards me, something I have noticed about most Irish people. I was told that everyone in this group was nice by design. What I mean is if you are in their group and not a nice person, they would not treat you kindly (basically ignore you) until you left, thus creating a group of the friendliest people I have ever met. The name of the Guy's boat is the Barbarbossa. We set sail on this boat from Dromineer to Mountshannon. The views around the lake were some of the best I have seen so far on my trip. Residing on the Barbarbossa was Frank, Jessica, Rachel, Stewart (friend of the family), and I. Natalie and Alfie were at a sailing competition down in Baltimore. We enjoyed a hearty dinner prepared by Frank. It consisted of sea kale, pheasant casserole with a side of lead shot, and apple pie.

Saturday (4/11) was when the boat racing began. The type of boat used in this race was called a Shannon (big enough for three people). I hopped onto a rescue boat so that I would be able to see the race. I was enlisted to help lay down markers for the race and to help anyone who had capsized (no one capsized). There were three races total, one long race in the morning followed by two shorter races in the afternoon. After the final race of the day everyone meet for a wine social on board the Phoenix (second oldest boat in Ireland). After this we headed over to a dinner party and then finally to a pub (big surprise).

Sunday (4/12)I headed back to Dublin to get ready for a tour on Monday. Stewart was nice enough to drive me the the bus stop in Nenagh (pronounced Nina). It was better than what I expected and I enjoyed every second of it.

Tuesday I went to one of the Aran Islands called Inis Mór. It only took a short bus and ferry ride to reach the island. The island is relatively small, about 8 miles long and 2 miles wide. What is even more impressive is that there are 3,000 miles worth of stone walls. I have never seen so much piled up stone in my life. The first stop on my tour of the island was a place called Dun Aonghusa (Angus). This fort was over 2,500 years old and sits on top of a 300 foot cliff. As you will be able to see from the pictures, it was a swell day to be outside.

As we were driving around the island, we got stuck in rush hour traffic. Cows do not move out of the way! I was able to see the ruins of seven different church's, all with low doors. There was also a lovely beach on the island. I was told that during the summer the water hits 60 degrees, still cold. Look closely at some of the pictures cause you will see some seals, located in Seal Bay.

Wednesday I ventured out towards the Cliffs of Moher. I had the option of either going on a nature hike in the Burren or going on a tour in Aillwee Cave. I chose the later due to the poor visibility. It has not rained much at all today; it has just been gloomy and foggy all day long.

The cave tour was interesting. They actually let you take pictures with flash so I am still recovering from multiple in the face flashes. This cave was formed by an underwater river that dried up ages ago. After the cave tour we grabbed something to eat in a village called Doolin. Then we head on up to the Cliffs of Moher.The Cliffs of Moher was spectacular. It is a 200 M (about 650 FT) drop from the top down to the Atlantic Ocean below. I took many pictures during this part of the tour. They turned out fine; however, I wish the weather could have been nicer. I had an hour to explore around the trails at the cliffs edge.

On our way back to Galway we stopped by an ancient tomb belonging to ancient horse people. It was an interesting tomb; All graves face towards the sunrise. We also stopped at Dunguaire Castle for a quick photo.

Thursday I went on a tour in the Connemara. It was a great day to be outside; the weather made this trip more enjoyable. Once we arrived in the Connemara region I was greeted by huge, steep mountains. We stopped and looked at a village that was deserted due to the great famine. There was also a neat waterfall called the Guinness waterfall, called this because of its color. There was plenty of wonderful scenery in the Connemara. This entire area was once covered in trees that were all cut down many years ago. Apparently Ireland used to be covered with forests.

The tour also stopped at the only fjord in Ireland called Killary. This was quite the site to see. The mountains seemed to just dive into it. You could see in the distance the mouth of the fjord where it meets the Atlantic. There was also a fairy tree at this particular stop. The story goes that if you make a wish and tie a piece of cloth to it that your wish would come true.

The last stop on the tour was Kylemore Abbey. This abbey was nestled deep in the mountains, miles away from civilization. High up on the mountain behind the house was a statue of a religious figure. There was also a church, mausoleum, and a walled gardens on the grounds.

Saturday I decided to hike to the Powerscourt Waterfall. The waterfall is about 6 KM from Enniskerry (about a 3 Mile walk). It was a nice day to go for a stroll. The waterfall was very impressive; it is the highest waterfall in the country. All I did on Sunday was go on a walk to the nearby Killiney and Dalkey Hill.

I started back at Powerscourt National School today. I have been moved to the junior and senior infant class. Today was special because they were filming a movie in the village. The film is called Leap Year. It's supposed to be a romantic comedy. When I was on Inish Mor they were painting one of the villages for this movie. We had to keep the kids quite when we were outside because the filming.

I'm here for a student teaching experience. I know, I'd almost forgotten with all of the hubbub of traveling and such. But, there was no forgetting when I went straight back into the classroom this Monday!

This time around, I taught the Middle class (2nd, 3rd, and 4th class), which is approximately the same as 3rd-5th grades in the States. I have come to the decision that this is my favorite of the three classes. The Junior class is fun and they are super cute, but they are too young for me...but more on that in a bit. Senior class....well....more on them in a minute, too. (See what I'm doing there, creating suspense so you'll keep reading. Yes, I'm being deliberate about that!)

Anyway, back to Middle class. They are my faveorites for two main reasons: 1) They are by far the sweetest of the classes. They always greet me in the mornings like there is no one else they would rather see in the day, and they give me hugs and love on me. From this class, I have received cards and pictures. They are precious.

2) They are old enough that I can have a real conversation with them, but they are young enough not to have become super cocky. They know they aren't the oldest in the school yet, and so they are by far more humble because of it. Most of them also still have that desire to be in school, which is always nice for a teacher.

Before Easter II taught a lesson to this group on the American Revolution. It was similar to a lesson that I had taught previously to the Senior class. (See my blog, "Brilliant Lesson, Ms. Jones!") I replaced The Patriot with Schoolhouse Rock's "The Shot Heard Round the World"--a more appropriate clip for the younger ones. I also had to revise the lesson so that the content was appropriate for the age.

I do miss being able to ask the same types of critical thinking questions that I can ask the 5th and 6th class. Most of the Middle class students are not at the same level of analytical thinking as the older students. Since my style is largely focused on question-based discussion, I found that Ineeded to make this aspect more appropriate to them. However, my lesson went well. I had them draw political cartoons at the end of the lesson. These were very good.

On Wednesday, I did what I had been dreading since I got here: I taught Junior class. I have never felt that I was cut out to be a teacher of five year olds. I just don't know how to encourage learning with this group like I do with older students. I decided to talk with them about the United States.

I read a book called "America: A Patriotic Primer" that uses the ABC's to talk about different aspects, history, and values in the U.S. I had them predict what the next letter was going to be, and several of them really enjoyed this exercise. Then, in the end, I had them color a picture of the United States flag and write "America" at the top to practice penmanship.

Then today, I taught my last lesson for the week: an art lesson. My first three lessons had been great because they were history lessons and draw on my knowledge strengths. I was back in Middle class, and being a history-oriented person, I'm sure you can imagine that I wasn't going to let an art lesson get away without putting some history into it.

I decided that I was going to teach about Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel ceiling. I talked about Michelangelo and who he was as an artist. Then, I showed them pictures of the Sistine Chapel. I told them about his scaffolding and how he had to paint either standing up and looking towards the ceiling or lying on his back. I had them tape a sheet of paper underneath their desks and lie on the floor. Then they painted like they were Michelangelo. The students really seemed to like the lesson.

Ok, back to what I was saying about Senior class. Being a pre-teen is difficult. In Ireland the 6th/7th graders are at the top of the school in age. They fully enjoy being the oldest in the school. Since the school is very small, about 56 students, the staff has decided to tive these students responsibility in helping out the younger kids. These students are funny and entertaining, and really sweet. They are smart too, doing math that is far more advanced than one would expect.

I can't believe that tomorrow is Friday, just a week before my last day, I fly out on the 6th. This trip has just flown by! I am going to miss Ireland and the school very much, a part of me is ready to be home. I'm in the process of filling out job applications and answering questions like "What teaching strategies would you choose to teach _____?" I cannot wait to have my own classroom.

Things to be look for in the next week: I'm teaching...yikes!!!!....science to the Juniors next week and the history of piracy two days to the Seniors.

Until next ime, may the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon our fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Junior Class working hard

Junior Infants coloring

1st class working hard

The past week of school went by awfully fast. It is hard to believe that I will be leaving here a week from tomorrow. After being switched to the junior and senior infant class I was able to get about 20 minutes a day for PE and about 45 minutes on Wednesday. I had to keep the games very simply due to the amount of space I was working in. We played Crows and Cranes one day and spent time working on throwing and catching. On this past Wednesday we went to the nearby park to have PE. I had the kids play Flip Flop, Hospital Tag, and Stuck in the Mud. They seemed to enjoy the days activities.
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Yesterday Rachel and I decided to go on a hike around Howth (rhymes with both). Howth is a peninsula located nearby in Dublin Bay. It was a nice little town with many shops and visitors. We went and saw the Howth Castle and then hiked the Cliff Walk. We walked around most of the peninsula but grew tired and headed back into town. It was nice seeing what Howth really looked like instead of what I see everyday on my way to school.

View Larger Map

This is my last full week in Ireland. I am looking into what I want to do this final weekend. Right now I am planning on going to the Blarney Castle (apparently the American thing to do), Glendalough, Book of Kells, and the GAA museum/Croke Park.

Upon my return from Norway, I arranged a trip down south to Cork with another student teacher, Kathleen, who is from Indiana. My host family must have thought I was absolutely insane, because I arrived back from Norway at 1030pm, and left the next morning by 1000am to make my way towards Cork. I wanted to get as much in as possible during the Easter break. But anyways, we decided to coordinate this trip on our own rather than taking an organized tour of the city. And so we got our train tickets and booked a hostel for a couple of days.

We arrived in Dublin by bus and made our way through town to Heuston Station, the largest train station in the area. We climbed aboard the Irish Rail towards Cork and prepared ourselves for the three hour journey. The train ride was actually quite lovely. There were few stops, and most of the ride was through the countryside. We took that time to pull out travel guides to plan the events of our trip. This was more of a spontaneous trip than the other trips I have gone on. It was refreshing not to have everything so rigidly mapped out. Before we knew it, we had arrived at our station in Cork.

Our first task was to locate our lovely hostel: Shelia's. It was about a ten minute walk from the station. Unfortunately for us, it was also located up a tremendous hill. It was one of those inclines where you can almost reach and touch the road. However, the hostel itself was much nicer than I had expected. The kitchen area and dining room were spacious. The bathrooms were quite clean. And the rooms...well...they were small and cramped, but nice enough for a two-night stay. We dropped off our suitcases and decided to enjoy the remainder of our afternoon in town, doing a bit of exploring to get our bearings.

As we checked into the hostel, we were given a map of Cork with some of the major attractions highlighted. This map had to have been outdated because none of the roads or landmarks could be found as placed on the map. We eventually gave up trying to manipulate the map until it worked for us, and decided to just walk through town. If we saw a shop of interest, we would simply go in and explore. Oh the joys of not having an itinerary! But we began to notice that all the shops started to close their doors around 430pm-500pm. Cork was turning into a ghost town. I found this surprising because it is a fairly popular city in Ireland, known for it's shopping centers. We decided to find a place to eat and call it a night early because the following day was to be packed with adventures.

Back at the hostel, we walked into the room to find new roommates. There were three individuals, all from Australia. They had been traveling for nearly six months around the globe. We chatted about our travels and experiences for a bit before falling asleep.

Kathleen and I woke fairly early in order to catch a bus to the Blarney Castle. Our main goal of the trip was to kiss the famous Blarney Stone at the castle and receive the gift of eloquence. Almost every individual I have ever talked to about traveling in Ireland has encouraged me to kiss the stone. The castle was fantastic! Although it is in ruins, you are still able to climb around inside and get a good sense of the castle design and purpose. At the very top you can find the Blarney Stone. There are many explanations as to the origins of the stone, although most seem to contradict one another. Basically, today, it's just a major tourist attraction due to the thrill of hanging upside down as you kiss the stone. It was quite an experience being held upside down at the very top of a castle as I kissed a giant rock wall. I will never forget the excitement I felt while receiving the gift of eloquence.

We arrived back in Cork after our adventures in Blarney. We had seen an advertisement for a butter museum, not far from the center of town. Kerry Gold Butter is an established brand of butter in Ireland, and we thought it would be interesting to see how it was made. I took some pictures.

After leaving the butter museum, we walked back into town to check out the English Market. The English Market is a small market used to sell meat products and other goods. The stench of meat and fish wreaked from the facility as we made our way through. But I was absolutely fascinated by it. Hanging from the walls were large carcasses of hogs, cows, and fish. And the butchers were working furiously to prepare orders. It was an extremely busy complex. I did not take any pictures of this. I think the mental image was more than enough.

The next morning we woke up extremely early, ready to get back to our homes and rest from the travels. Not getting proper rest after my trip to Norway had officially caught up with me, and I was thoroughly exhausted. So we caught the train back to Dublin by 8:30 am. Easter break was absolutely incredible. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do some exploring, but am ready to get back onto a regular schedule.

It was so nice to settle back in at school. On the agenda for my time at school: science experiments! Powerscourt submits a science portfolio for which they have won multiple awards in the past. I had expressed interest in helping out with science instruction during my time at the school, and so I was transferred down to the senior class of 4th, 5th, and 6th grades where I would have the opportunity to do more complex experiments.

I taught six science experiments and demonstrations to the class. The students had to each write up the experiments and results to present in the school science portfolio. The lessons I taught were directed at a wide variety of scientific concepts like pressure, force, density, measurement, and more.

One of these experiments dealt with the density of various liquids: water, oil, and honey. We started with a glass filled midway with water. The students then made their predictions about what would happen when I poured some oil into the glass; whether the oil would mix with the water, fall below the water, or stay above the water. Most of the students, already knowing the properties of oil and water, guessed correctly that the oil would remain separate and above the water. I then poured honey into the water. The students had predicted that it would remain separated from the other two liquids already in the jar and then fall down to the bottom.

The next part of the experiment involved placing a few drops of food coloring into the jar to see what would happen. There were all sorts of predictions as to what would happen. The drops fell through the oil, slowly, and then hit the water, turning it pink. The honey at the bottom did not appear to be impacted. This was a great learning experience about density in three liquids.

I decided to take the experiment a step further by adding three different objects to the jar to see where they would fall in the layers of liquids. The first object, a coin, fell directly to the bottom as predicted by the entire class. The second object, a raisin, also fell directly to the bottom. And the last object, blu-tack, fell directly to the bottom. As a class we were sure the blu-tack would stay afloat in the oil because it was light, but this was not the case. I will leave the other science experiments up to the imagination, so as not to ruin all my tricks. The students really seemed to enjoy the day filled with science activities.

Later in the week a lady by the name of Christine came to visit the school to conduct a science activity with each class of students. My task for the day was to follow her around, take pictures of the students at work, and enjoy the science lessons. We started in the junior and senior infant class working with weighing and creating a balance machine. They worked together in pairs with a ruler and a pencil to first create a seesaw. Afterwards, they were handed small tubs filled with barley and wax of varying amounts.

Their goal was to determine which tub was the heaviest and which was the lightest. With a little help, the groups started testing the tubs and were able to place them in order from lightest to heaviest. Their next task was to find a way to lift the heaviest tub with the lightest tub. Some students stacked two of the lighter tubs on one side and the heaviest on the other side. Then, one group determined that if you move the pencil underneath the ruler closer to the heaviest tub it could be lifted by the lightest tub.

The final part of the lesson was to apply this idea to a real life situation. On the floor, Christine placed a large stone and a plank of wood. She challenged them to find a way to lift her up using only themselves as individuals on the other end of the seesaw. Each student had to place the plank of wood on the stone and move the stone where they thought it should go. Christine stepped on one side and the child stepped up onto the other side. Every student took a turn to figure this out. It was great! The students got so excited about lifting an adult up off the ground. They giggled with joy and encouraged one another throughout the process. It was a fantastic lesson to start the day with.

In the senior class we learned about Robert Hooke and his experiments in measuring weight and strength of objects using hooks and a spring. The class was divided into small groups. Each group was given two hooks and spring to place within the hooks. They were also given rulers and a variety of objects to test. The students' task was to measure the pull on the spring of the different objects, record these measurements, and find the calculated weight of each object.

Two of the objects had unknown weights, and the students had to use their knowledge of the known weights and formulas to determine the weight of the two unknowns. The students first calculated their measurements and weights using a spring in between the two hooks. They also performed the same tests with an elastic band in between the two hooks. This gave them two sets of results to come up with the closest measurement of the two objects with unknown weights. This experiment was much more advanced and required mathematical calculations. However, it was entirely inquiry based.

The students designed the experiments themselves and tested everything themselves. It was very neat seeing the students get so competitive and involved in determining the weights of the two unknowns. You could tell they were enjoying themselves.

In the middle class, the students also conducted an experiment using Robert Hooke's hooks. Their goal was to determine the strength of a "sweet" or piece of candy. They set their experiments up similarly to the senior class, except they placed the round sweet in between the two hooks instead of a spring. They then took random objects they could find to hang on the end of the hook. They continued to add objects until the sweet finally broke. Many of the groups took their shoes off and added their tennis shoes to the end of the hook. They thought this was hysterical.

Once the sweets broke, Christine passed out scales for the students to measure the weight of each individual object they had tied to the end of the hook. One individual kept a tally of the weights and then the group added up all the weights to get a total. The best part of this lesson for the students was being rewarded with a sweet at the end! Again, this lesson was completely inquiry based, and the students thoroughly enjoyed learning through discovery.

The entire next week I worked one on one with individuals from the senior class to write up all the science experiments and activities they had done throughout the year. We collected pictures taken in each activity and put them together in a science portfolio to submit to a science organization for review. In the past, the school has won multiple awards for their superior work in science. Let's hope they win the award again this year for their hard work!

My time at Powerscourt National School has been extremely rewarding. I have learned a number of new science activities to take with me to my future classroom. I have seen some great inquiry based lessons where the students are in complete control of their own learning. I would say that their school is fairly similar to what we have in the United States. The students are required to meet a number of curriculum standards within each grade level and within each subject. The students are expected to push their own learning due to the structure of the classroom, so they are independent learners and investigators, guided by the teacher. It is quite amazing to observe students work so critically through their work.

I am sad to leave the school. I really enjoyed my time working with the students in each grade level. The staff was absolutely wonderful and extremely helpful and encouraging. I have enjoyed every second of student teaching, and can't wait to come home to share my experiences with my family, friends, students, and within my future classroom.

So here I am, Sunday May 4, 2009; a mere 3 days before I board a plane to make the looooong truck back home. I can't believe it. Really. It's been crazy.

Since I've last written I've done a bit more travelling and a bit more teaching. I've actually taught some pretty interesting lessons, if I do say so meself (that was an intentional "me," just fyi). First, I finished up the American Revolution with the Middles by having them perform a play about it that I found online. I divided them into 4 groups and each group did an act of it. Then I showed them the Schoolhouse Rock clip again, and they all seemed to understand it much more this time. They really seemed to enjoy it!

After that, they asked me all sorts of questions about the United States--anything was open. I talked about the Amish, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Civil War, Presidential assassinations, really, everything was free game. They were so curious and so interested, and I felt so proud of the United States and proud to be able to talk about it with them. When we were finished, the Middle Class teacher (who was also asking me questions) told me that she was very grateful that I was here to talk to them about it. "American history is not something they will ever get in school," she said. It was awesome, and probably the best time I had in the classroom whilst I've been here.

Then with junior class I did a science lesson on magnets. There's not much to say except that I think kids that age think that magnets are magic. They were so amazed. "Look Ms. Jones, I think this leaf is magnetic!" said one boy who had a paper clip stuck to one side of the leaf and the magnet was connecting to that." Basically, I gave them a worksheet I made that had little pictures on them and they had to use the magnets to see what was magnetic and what wasn't. Simple, not much planning, and they loved it. Works for me.

Then, right up my alley, I got to teach a "unit" (i.e. two 45 minute lessons) on....wait for it.....PIRATES! Ok, so that was awesome...not gunna lie!. They are going to start reading "Treasure Island" next week, and I mentioned to the teacher that I took a course on piratical history in college and loved it. So, she asked me to teach a history lesson on pirates.

I made it a myth v. fact kind of lesson. And, the best part, is that it required no background research because I knew the content. All I did was make a Power Point that had 9 true/false questions on it followed by writing down what they thought the true answer was.

Then I went through each topic, saying whether it was true or false and then showing a slide that may have had a quote from a pirate (such as one describing the taste of turtle). After that I had them read round-robin pirates' articles, look at pictures or paintings, and even read a recipe for hardtack. The kids loved it. Even the ones that normally give problems paid attention and really got into it. I ended up talking so much and sharing so many neat little anecdotes that my throat was sore by the end--which actually, now that I think on it, may have been a precursor to the cold I'm not experiencing...no worries, it's NOT swine flu.

The second lesson was really more of an archeology lesson where I talked about the importance of archeology by having them read an article from National Geographic about a pirate ship (the Whydah) which was the first pirate ship authenticated in the world, found off the coast of Cape Cod. Then we talked about the article and I showed them a clip from the National Geographic site about it (to give them a visual) and just had a nice discussion about pirates and archeology. It was really neat. And again, they got into it.

On my last day there, the whole school got together to say good-bye to me and all of the kids had made projects and cards to give to me before I left. It was so awesome. I really grew to love these kids, even though they aren't exactly my age group. Some of them were just so sweet and so special that I am going to miss them so much. I gave them my home address and told them to practice their penmanship by writing me letters.

Now on travel:

Last weekend, obviously was very hard for me (see my post, "One Year"). I went into Dublin alone on Saturday to do some things I'd been meaning to do and just soak up the city. It was kind of nasty and rainy that morning, so I went straight to a museum called "Dublinia" about Viking/medieval Dublin. Then I went to City Hall where they had an exhibit set up about Dublin's history. Very cool. By the time I left City Hall, it was bright and sunny, so I decided to spend some time outside. I made my way to Grafton Street via Temple Bar (i.e. the long way) and went into a couple shops here and there, then I went to St. Stephens Green, a park, and just sat for a while and wrote in my journal. It was nice.

I decided then and there that I really love Dublin. It's such a great city, and I hope this will not be my last time here. Last Sunday, I took another PaddyWagon tour to the ancient Glendalough monastery and the town of Kilkenny. It was super nice and really lovely. While I was in Kilkenny, a random guy, who was quite nice looking, stopped me and started talking to me. I kept to the small talk and then kept walking...and felt like an idiot later--guess I passed up my chance for Irish love--HAHA! Friday, I went into town with the other American students and we celebrated our last day of school with dinner at a nice pub where they were playing Irish music and then to Hard Rock. Yesterday, Kathleen and Rachel and I went to the Dublin Zoo. That was fun, I love zoos. :)

This past week was my last week in Ireland. Tomorrow I am headed back the US. On Thursday Rachel and I were mobbed by all 4th through 6th class students. After being mobbed we had to sprint across the town square because the bus had arrived. That is one way to make an exit.

Friday, Rachel and I headed up toward the GAA museum and Croke Park, but unfortunately it was closed due to the big rugby match the next day. So we decided to go back to Christ Church and actually go inside of it. It was a an interesting church, one wall was leaning very badly and the church had a crypt.

We also decided to go see the Book of Kells; this was a very interesting sight but there were absolutely no pictures allowed. Later on we met Kathleen and went to see Oscar Wilde's house, as well as, a statue of him in Merrion Park. We then met up with Rebecca and headed to the Temple Bar area for some dinner. We ate at a pub called Gogarty's.

The next day we all met up over at my host families house to watch the big rugby match. The match was a semifinal between Munster and Leinster for the Heineken Cup. The game was played at Croke Park in front of a crowd of more than 82,000, which set a world record for a club match. Leinster won 25-6.

I did not do much on Sunday but today Rachel and I went to Glendalough. The tour was a lot of fun except for the chatty tour guide. She talked the entire time we were on the bus. The weather was not great today but it was still worth it. When we got back to the bus from seeing Glendalough our tour guide greeted us with a nice, welcomed drink.

I have enjoyed every minute being here in Ireland, but I am ready to come back home, it will be nice to be back in the US. My host family has been friendly, kind, and very hospitable, something I will not forget. I hope all of you have enjoyed traveling along beside me.

I have gone on a number of small trips throughout the country these past couple weeks and have failed to mention them in my other blogs, so I thought I would take some time to describe my adventures across the country and within Dublin.

Cliffs of Moher
I took a Paddywagon tour out to the west coast of Ireland in County Clare for a day to visit the beautiful Cliffs of Moher and Burren. From the cliffs is one of the most spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean I have ever seen. The highest point of the cliffs reaches up to 215 meters or around 700 feet. It started out as a cloudy day, so I was a bit concerned that I would not get the best view. However, just as our bus arrived the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and the view was extraordinary. Our tour guide gave us about an hour to explore the cliffs and to get pictures from two of the view points. At the top of one of the cliffs is a small stone tower, called O'Brien's Tower. It is an observation tower, and from that particular point you can see the Aran Islands in the Galway Bay. It was absolutely breathtaking!

The Burren
On the same tour as the Cliffs of Moher, I had the opportunity to explore The Burren. It is also located in County Clare, not far from the Cliffs of Moher. We simply passed through a small town called Doolin in order to get from the cliffs to the Burren. The Burren is a karst-landscape, which is created by the deteriorating limestone along the Atlantic Coast. From the pictures you can see that it is made up of gray rocks that cover the plains and hills along the coast. There doesn't seem to be much vegetation, but if you look closely between the cracks of the rocks you will see tiny plants and shrubs and wildflowers. I don't know which area I liked best: the Cliffs of Moher or the Burren. Both were absolutely incredible.

Howth
One Sunday afternoon, Nick and I traveled out to a town called Howth. Howth can be seen from Dun Laoghaire, which is not far from where I live. It appears to be an island when looking out across to it from Dun Laoghaire, but it can be reached by the DART, or train system. And so, we took the DART out to Howth, which took approximately an hour due to all the train stops along the way. Neither one of us had any plans once we got there. I had heard about a cliff walk that was supposed to be neat, and Nick had heard about the Howth Castle. We did both. However, first we stopped off at a local restaurant to grab a bite to eat. Seafood is a big deal in Howth because it has a large harbor and port. We enjoyed the traditional fish and chips meal before setting off to find the castle.

As we approached the castle, I will admit I was a bit disappointed. I think this may have been due to the number of castles I had already seen. The Blarney Castle still remains the king of castles in my point of view. Although when I look back at my pictures now I think the Howth Castle is quite beautiful!

We walked around a bit, looking at the site from all angles and then decided to head out towards the coast for the cliff walk. What we didn't realize was how long this hike actually was. We had hiked for nearly and hour and a half along these beautiful cliffs, and yet there was no end in sight. Finally, we approached a small lighthouse on the edge of the coastline and from that point we could see across to Dun Laoghaire. We were only halfway around the Howth coastline. We found a trail sign, which suggested that the remainder of the hike would take another hour and forty-five minutes. And so we found a way to bypass this situation by cutting through the town itself to get back to the DART station. After another hour of walking, we were worn out! I believe we both fell asleep on the train ride back due to exhaustion.

Croke Park
Croke Park is the famous rugby stadium in Dublin. I had heard about the rugby museum and tour of the stadium through a friend, and so Nick and I decided to explore that side of Dublin to check out the stadium. Rugby is a big deal in Ireland and it is extremely entertaining. I have enjoyed watching a few matches on television, but never got the opportunity to travel out to Croke Park to see a big match myself.

The stadium was huge! Sadly, when we arrived, we were informed that there would be no tours for that day due to a large match on the following day. We were devastated! But we did watch that match on television the next day. There are four major provinces in Ireland, and they each have their own teams. Leinster is the province in which Dublin is located. Munster is over in the western part of Ireland. The Munster team has had a huge reputation of being the best team in the country, until they were defeated by the Leinster team in an upset of the season in Croke Park. It was an intense match! I think I'm finally beginning to understand the sport and it's rules. I much prefer it to our football in the United States.

Christ Church
I finally went into Christ Church to do some exploring. Nick had heard that the church showcased a crypt, and so we decided to go and investigate. The church was absolutely beautiful inside. It was constructed in the 1180s, but there have been many restorations in order to keep the church in viewing condition. One side of the church is leaning to it's side, which can be seen when looking at the arches from the center aisle. One feature of the church that I thought was particularly interesting was The Peace Chapel of Saint Laud. Each day there is a two minute prayer for world peace. People from all over the world come to pray and light candles for world peace. I think this is incredible.

We also went down into the crypt, which, I will admit, was a bit creepy. People buried into the walls just creeps me out a bit. But it was still fascinating. At one end of the crypt was the church treasury. In the treasury were gifts of gold and silver from different kings over the years. The chalices were extraordinary pieces of work in solid gold. Unfortunately, I was unable to take any pictures once inside the crypt.

Book of Kells
Nick and I took a trip back to Trinity College to get a tour of the famous Book of Kells, and it was definitely worth it. The tour took us through the process of creating the pages, the colors, and the text. I had no idea that the pages were made from calf skin. I also watched a video on the binding process of the books, which was very neat. The vivid colors in the pictures were created using a variety of raw materials. I was most impressed with how the paints were created and how the scribes and artists found such materials to make the colors.

I watched another video demonstrating the scripting process, which looked agonizing. It took so much time and skill to write just one simple letter. And then we were able to go an view a couple pages of the book itself. That was truly fascinating, although it was a bit hard to see with the number of people and the way the light was projected onto the pages. It was beautiful nonetheless. But what I found most beautiful was The Long Room. It is the main chamber of the Old Library. It houses nearly 200,000 of the library's oldest books. The shelves rose up two stories to the very top. If you wanted a book you would have to climb an old wooden ladder to reach them. I was amazed. Once again, no pictures allowed!

Dublin Zoo

I took a trip with the girls, Rebecca and Kathleen, out for a relaxed trip to the Dublin Zoo. It basically contains all the animals you would typically find at a zoo in the United States, so it was nothing unusual. We had to compete with all the little kids and their parents to see some of the animals, but other than that it was a really good trip!

Glendalough
My last major trip in Ireland! My host family had recommended that I make a trip out to Glendalough, which is out in the Wicklow Mountains, not too terribly far from where I live. Unfortunately I waited until the weather decided to take a turn for the worst. It was a cloudy day, and rain was to be expected throughout the entire day. But Nick and I made the best of the situation and enjoyed the trip all the same. Glendalough is a glacial valley that houses two beautiful lakes and an early Medieval monastic settlement. Still standing as part of this early settlement is a round tower, a cathedral, and a stone roofed church. The lakes were beautiful once the wind held up. Our tour guide also gave us a taste of Ireland's Jameson Whiskey. The tour was definitely successful despite the poor weather conditions.

Oh wow. In just a few short hours, I am going to be getting on a plane and flying south...and west....very, very far west. I've come so far in 6 weeks that I hardly know how to begin. Or end. I guess I'll start with my last whirlwind trip and my last day in one of my new favorite cities.

I decided on Saturday that I wanted to go to Belfast, and go I did. I booked a train from Connolly Station in Dublin to take me the just over 2 hour trip to Northern Ireland's capital. On my previous trip North, when I went to the Giant's Causeway and Derry, I had spent a grand total of about 30 minutes in Belfast, and most of that was inside the bus station, but I knew right then that I wanted to go back and explore more of the city.

The first thing I noticed was that Belfast is so obviously not Dublin. What I mean by this is that the city itself just feels different. Dublin is a globalized city that is growing quickly. It is diverse(ish) and metropolitan and bustling. Belfast contains elements of those as well, but there is a curtain hanging over the city of the intense history and troubles that the city has faced. And even today, these troubles are completely gone. The Protestant and Catholic sides of the city have these fences called "Peace Fences" which are closed and locked tight on nights and on weekends in order to ensure peace between the two sectors, which are literally right next to each other. I could not help but get drawn into the city. It was so rich and deep, I just wanted to take it all in.

I took a bus tour that drove around the city and gave its history, and then went on "The Belfast Wheel," which is basically a miniature of the London Eye, and got a birds eye view of the city, along with about 13 minutes of commentary. I was in a carriage alone, so it was another chance to just soak in what I saw. However, as much as I was loving Belfast, Kathy (my host mom) suggested that I would really like this living history museum about a 15 minute train ride out of Belfast, so I decided to make time for that. It turned out, that this was a very good thing.

The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum has quite literally transplanted a 19th century Northern Irish town and set it up. There is the "town" section and a "rural" section (which felt like I had stepped back into time in the Irish countryside). And, because it was the May Day Bank Holiday, they had May Day celebrations all throughout the "town." If you know me, you know I was right at home.

I spent a few hours there before making my way back to Belfast (ok quick side story: I didn't really know where this museum was, so I went to the tourist office to ask how to get there; the lady told me the name of the stop I needed to get off of at the train, so I bought a ticket and made my way there. Everything is fine and dandy, right? NO. I got off of the train at the Cultra stop and I thought I had gotten off at an abandoned station. There were no attendants, no buildings, no nothing but track. I was out in the middle of nowhere with no idea where I was supposed to be going and out of the country twice over--as Northern Ireland is in the United Kingdom.

Luckily just up the street was an Inn and Spa, the only building around for what seemed like miles and they were able to point me in the right direction, but I definitely had a minor meltdown for a minute there. Back in Belfast, I walked around the city, just to see. It was incredible. The history...I can't even really put it into words, but it blew me away. After a quick dinner, I made my way back to the train station to come back to the Republic of Ireland...and just a different world.

I've been reading a book about the history of Ireland and I just read about the 1916 Easter Rising and the struggles with men like Eamon de Valera and Michael Collins with the English, and then the beginnings of the Troubles in the North, and everything just becomes so much clearer. Did you know that for a long time, Northern Ireland was the "most Irish" part of the country, and that's why the Stuart kings started setting up English Plantations in the North and began to Anglicize it, making it the divided country it is today. Suddenly, all of that is so much clearer to me.

Today, I went to Dublin for the last time of my trip. There were a couple of things I wanted to do that I hadn't had the chance to yet, so I thought I'd better. First, was going to the crypt at St. Michan's Church. It's out in kind of a run down area of the city and so far out I hadn't wanted to walk out before, but I have recently discovered the Luas, a trolley like system within the city, which had a stop like right in front of the church, so I went. Um ok, it was awesome.

There are some natural methane gasses and limestone in the crypt which have preserved the bodies almost perfectly in the coffins. There are four in particular that range from a couple hundred to 800 years old that you can see are just incredible. The 800 year old body is a man who could have possibly been a Crusader, because he was buried with his legs crossed. According to myth, it is good luck to shake his hand. Now obviously, they wouldn't let us shake his hand, but a slight graze of the finger is considered the same....so....I touched the hand of an 800 year old Crusader. Awesome. Not even kidding. Then I went to the Decorative Arts and History Museum, which was just one Luas station next to St. Michan's. That was really cool too, just my kind of thing. They had a really interesting exhibit on the 1916 Rising, which was perfect timing for me.

And now here I am, 11:24 at night and I fly out at 10:55 in the morning. This has been a great trip. I don't feel changed; I'm not the kind of person who is going to change her entire life over one trip, but I am taking away something from it. For one, I'll be the only World History teacher in North Carolina to teach Irish history along with everything else. For another, I've learned to travel alone and not panic.

I appreciate my Jeep much more too--I have taken 7 different forms of public transportation since I've been here. And surprisingly enough, I appreciate American history much more. I appreciate what we stand for and how far we've come in so short a time. I appreciate what the American Revolution really accomplished. There are two Irish "rebels" buried at St. Michan's who lived at the same time of the American Revolution. Our guide was telling us how they failed, were captured, hanged, drawn, and quartered (a gruesome process that I am going to spare you the details of if you don't know them). Had they succeeded and lived, they would have been known not as rebels but revolutionaries--as Founding Fathers.

Had our own Founding Fathers failed, they may have held the same fates as these two men rather than becoming writers of the Consititution, Presidents, Secretaries of the Treasury, Senators, ect. But most of all, I'm going to take away a richness of culture that is so entrenched in its people that it exhudes from them. That's why I love the people here so much. That's why I've grown to love Ireland more than I thought I would. That's why I'll be back.