Day 15 (12/17-12/19)

Thursday (12/17)- Our schedule for the today was a little different because we were going to the church to practice our singing for the Nativity play. So I split the teaching with Sadie and we got through most of our English and math lessons. When lunch was finished we went up to the church to practice. I thought my class did really well. I stayed with the rest of the students after my class left early. It was fun to see the older students act out their parts. When school was done and I got back to the house I relaxed and watch the rest of my Alias DVD season I had brought with. At 7:30 Sadie came to pick me up and take me out. Originally I thought she was going to take me out to dinner, but instead she took me on a pub crawl! We went to a really famous pub in the Wicklow Mountains (Bill Clinton has been there) called Johnny Fox's. It is the highest pub in Ireland (although it was so black out I couldn't see anything). The pub is set up like an old western bar. It even has a little bit of sawdust on the floor! The next pub we went to was called the Blue Light. This pub was really neat because in the parking lot you over look all of Dublin city. I could see Killiney where I live, Dun Laughrey, and even the Howth peninsula. It looked cook with all the lights. The pub was about the size of my bedroom! It was really small! Each of these pubs had a real fire going and at this pub they were burning turf (grass like substance). I had a stuffy nose because of my cold, but apparently it has a very distinct slightly unpleasant smell. The last pub we went to was Brady's which made me really happy because I had been wanting to go there one last time. At Brady's they had a Scottish comedian who was pretty funny to watch. I really felt like an Ireland girl going on a pub crawl! Sadie brought me back to my house and then I went straight to bed!

Me, Alicia, and Cyrus at outside the Arlington Hotel
Sadie and I in front of the school

My Class!!

Friday (12/18)- My last day of student teaching! It is a happy sad feeling all mixed into one. One thing I found very fitting for my last day was that it snowed!! I was so excited to see the snow and when I got to the school the kids were just going nuts! During their morning all school assembly, Sadie presented me with a gift from the school. I got a school tote bag, a tea towel, and a t-shirt. All of the students in the school drew a picture of themselves and the school printed them onto things (they used the items as fundraiser materials). I also received a locally made Einniskerry calendar that shows the town really well. People in the community took photos of the town and it was made into a calendar. They were all very thoughtful gifts. For the first half of the morning the entire school went to the church to practice their Nativity play for Sunday. Today the singing director they have been working with was there to help. I thought they all did a great job and am bummed I will be missing it on Sunday. When we got back to our classroom we spent the rest of the day working on an art project. We were creating a manger scene by painting empty cereal and shoe boxes. We made Mary and Joseph out of toilet paper rolls, and Jesus was made out of clay! Before it was time for my class to go home I got a card from them which they all signed and we went outside to take a group picture. It was sad to see them leave! After they were gone I spent some time talking to Sadie and then went down to the 4th-6th grade classroom. They said goodbye to me as well and we had a big group class hug. After some final photos it was time for me to head home. At the house I had dinner and showered. I then took the DART into Dublin where I meet up with Alicia and Cyrus at the Arlington Hotel. The Arlington Hotel is famous for great Irish music and dancing. It was a fun atmosphere and a great way to celebrate our last day of teaching!

Saturday (12/19)- I slept in until 10am this morning, had breakfast, and went to catch the bus. I got into Dublin a little before noon and started walking along the Liffey River to Collins Barracks. Collins Barracks is a huge museum (used to be a military barracks for England) and has lots of exhibits. The exhibit I was specifically interested in was Ireland's war history. It showed all the wars Ireland has been in, as well as, its effects on the Irish people. I got to the museum at 12:20 and was waiting to meet Alicia and Cyrus at 12:30. I was just about to go look at stuff on my own when they finally made it at 12:50! I am glad they made it though because it is much more enjoyable to talk with someone about something you saw. After the museum we walked down O'Connell Street and did some shopping. It was super super busy! I thought the busy atmoshpere made things really excited and it put me in the Christmas spirit. It is 6pm here and I just got back. My plan tonight is it complete all of my packing and then maybe watch a movie or read. I am sooo excited to be coming home!

I also just wanted to say thanks to everyone for following my blog! I have enjoyed reflecting back on my days and typing them for you all to read! Cross your fingers for a smooth and safe journey back! Merry Christmas!!!

Day 14 (12/16)

Wednesday (12/16)- This morning at school was a very busy morning because we had to fit English and math in before the students went to choir practice. On Sunday the school is putting on a nativaty play at the church and will be singing songs. Two women from the choir service at the church have been coming in to teach the school the different songs. Today was a long practice because they ran through all of the songs. The students did exceptionaly well considering how long they had to pay attention and sing. They got to have a little bit longer break outside than normal. Later in the afternoon we sang a song about Polly's sick dolly. The student's sang and acted out the song. It was really cute. Then we discussed colds/germs and what we can do to stay healthy. We also finished working on our Christmas letters by putting the address on envelopes and going to mail them (or should I say post them!). I then went down to th 4-6th class where they were doing an art project. The students were sewing hand puppets. I was quite impressed with some of their puppets and creativity. Sewing is not my strongest point, but thankfully I was able to help all of the students who asked. When school was done I went with Saddie to run some errands before the Einniskerry Christmas Fair. The school and town puts on this little fair where they have different vendors and things for sale. We came back and walked around the fair for awhile. The students that were there were really surprised to see me outside of school! They were like Ms. Nielsen what are you doing here? I bought this really cute tote bag that the school made. All of the students in the school drew a small picture of themselves and then it was printed on to a cute tote bag (as well as a tea towel, and t-shirts). I also bought a Cadbury candy bar from Caleb in 6th class who was selling the bars as a fundraiser for his rugby's team trip to Northern Ireland this April. I came back home and had dinner with the whole family. After dinner I asked John if he could take my suitcase down from the attic. I can't believe it is already time for that!!

Day 13 (12/10-12/15)

Thursday (12/10)- Today Saddie took a "Principal Day", and so I taught the class with a woman named Resa. It was a great day and since I knew the kids and curriculum a little better I was able to teach the class. Unfortunately for Saddie an inspector from the Department of Education came to observe one of the teachers at the school. So Saddie ended up playing host to the inspector instead of getting all of her stuff done. I am writing about this because after school today we were going to go to the beach, Britta's Bay. I just felt guilty about her taking me because I knew she had a lot of stuff to do that she wasn't able to get done. But she insisted on taking me to the beach seeing as we don't have that in Minnesota. She brought along a pair of Wellies (rain boots)for me to use. The tide had pushed the sand up to form a little cliff, so we had to slide down to get to the walking part. Once again, I was able to ask her education questions, as well as, questions about Ireland and her life. She is a fantastic lady! It was a bit difficult climbing up the sand cliff when we were done walking. When we final got on top of it, we realized that we got off at the wrong spot! So we cut through someones field and eventually made it out to the main road. She dropped me off at my house and later that night I watched a movie with Anna.

Saddie (aka Mrs.Honner) and me at Britta's Bay

Friday (12/11)- Today at school everyone seemed to be excited for the weekend. The students were very hyper! I can't really remember anything to significant happening during the school day. I went home after school and tried to get things organized for the weekend. I could not get a hold of Alicia to see if her and her boyfriend wanted to go with me to Galway for the weekend. So I just signed up for things on my own. I got my hostel, tour for the Cliffs of Moher, and bus ticket to Galway all set up. The DART was late, but thankfully I was able to make it into Dublin at 7:05 to catch my 7:45 bus to Galway. The bus ride was 2 hr. 45min. long, but thankfully I slept most of the way. I had a really nice bus driver who pointed me in the right direction to find my hostel. I roomed that night with three other girls from France.

Saturday (12/12)-I woke up, showered, and had breakfast at the hostel. I then took a short walk down to the coach station where I met up with Alicia and her boyfriend Cyrus. We got on the Lally Bus Tour which would take us to the Cliffs of Moher. On the way to the cliffs we went through this bizarre land called the Burren. The Burren landscape consists on stony cement like slabs on the ground. There are small patches of grass, but mostly it is just rock. And it is not just a small amount of rock, it is all over the place. Our first stop was at the Aillwee Cave which I didn't know was part of the tour and was excited about. This cave goes down deep into the Burren and the hills. After the cave we went to the cliffs. The Cliffs of Moher are Ireland's number one attraction and they sure are a sight to see! We had a cloudy and windy day, but there was no rain and the sun was doing its best to shine through the clouds. The cliffs are 615 feet high! It is a natural beauty and I am very happy I got to see it! Even the visitor's center was cool because it was built into the ground like the Tellitubbies house or a Hobbit's home. On the way back to Galway we saw a cute castle (I forgot the name) on the Galway coast. After making it back to Galway, we all went to the grocery store to get food for dinner. We made pancakes that night at the hostel! Alicia and Cyrus wanted to stay in for the night, so we played cards and watched The X Factor (American Idol type show). I went on the computer for a while, showered, and went to bed.

Cliffs of Moher
The Burren landscape
Inside the Aillwee Cave

Sunday (12/13)- The three of us had breakfast at the hostel (made a jam sandwich for lunch too!) and then got on our bus that took us to the Aran Islands. The bus picked us up right outside of our hostel and us about an hour ride to our ferry. We were going to the largest of the three Aran Islands, Inishmore Island, and it took about 25 min. on the ferry to get there. Once we got off the boat we rented some bikes to bike around the island. I am so glad we rented bikes because it was a beautiful day and we were able to go see the things we wanted to see. We stopped at Kilmurvey Beach and watched the waves for awhile. Then we headed to the main attraction, Fort Dun Aonghasa. This fort was amazing not just for the stone work, but the spectacular views that we had. Unlike the Cliffs of Moher where we were blocked off the edge, we were able to go right next to the edge of a 315 foot cliff. The view was a little scary, but absolutely gorgeous! And like I mentioned I am so grateful it was a nice sunny day. We then went to go find this wormhole which is a place where the ocean water is suppose to spout really high. We had missed our turn for the wormhole, but the Information office lady told us to cut through this one person's land. We cut through the land which was really stony like the Burren, but we never did find the wormhole. It was okay though because we were able to see some more great views and had an awesome lunch along the cliffs. On our bike ride bike we biked on the other side of the island along the coast. It was a great ride with the sun coming down. The ferry ride back was most interesting because there was a rescue helicopter connected to the ferry! Apparently the coast gaurd was practicing or training and they had men coming down from the helicopter with stretchers and then going back up again. I have never seen anything like it! When we arrived back in Galway, we stopped at Subway for dinner and then got on the 7:45 bus back home to Dublin. By the time I actually made it back to my house it was 11:30pm. I was very tired and ready to go to bed!

The rescue helicopter and coast gaurd

Monday (12/14)- Even though I woke up in the morning with a stuffy nose, I was still really excited for school because this week I was going to teach the student's full time (except the Irish). I started the morning out by having the senior infants work on their workbook pages and then taught the junior infants the letter u. I used an my umbrella and had them make the u sound as we pushed the umbrella u..u..u..up! The students took out their own umbrellas and practiced the sound. Then they fill out their umbrella worksheets. For math the senior infants reviewed 3D shapes from last week and the junior infants worked on patterns. During religion, I read the story of Mary and Joseph's journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. I had the kids follow me as we took a walk around the classroom! Mrs. Honner warned me, but during the afternoon we had a fire drill (and yes it was a little chaotic!). The school's bell consisted of Mrs. Honner standing in the school yard ringing an old fashion bell! For the last part of the afternoon I talked to the kids about money. It was very weird for me to teach the student about Euro coins! I gave each a student a bunch of coins that they looked at and organized. When school was finished, I took a bus into town (They call Dublin, town) I went to the National Art Gallery and saw some neat paintings. Then I went to the National Library of Ireland where they had a William Yeats. All I knew of Yeats was that he was a famous poet (before coming here, I hadn't even known he was from Ireland). I learned a lot about him and that he was much more than just a poet. Yeats was a very influential Irish leader who gave many speeches and was involved in political movements. He also was one of the founders to start the famous Abbey Theater in Dublin. After the Nat'l Library, I went and finished some my Christmas and gift shopping.

Tuesday (12/15)- This morning was a windy walk to the train station. I was grateful to get inside the classroom when I got to school. To begin the morning I continued teaching the students the letter u. They all got a chance to practice on their chalkboards and then filled out their workbooks. We then went into our math lesson. I taught the senior infants more about money and being able to add two coins together. The junior infants worked on matching groups that have the same number of items. I read them a book I had bought that talked about Giants Causeway. For religion, we continued to talk a little more about Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem. Later in the afternoon I was able to teach a fun lesson about the postman and writing letters (oh and by the way, their address system is way different than ours!). The students made really cute Christmas cards and tomorrow we are going to mail them to their houses! One thing during the afternoon that scared the living daylights out of me was when two birds smacked into the window! It made the loudest crash noise! And of course, all of the kids ran out of their spots to go see what it was. Turns out a falcon (some bird of prey) and been chasing a little bird and they both ran into the window and were laying on the ground. The falcon must have been okay because when we looked outside later it was gone. Never a dull day here in Ireland! Ha ha. I walked the beach a little after school and then came back to the house to get some things done. I did laundry, wrote thank you cards, and took an online Sports First Aid Training Test (an online course I am taking to get a coaching certificate)

Wednesday (12/9)- For the first half of the morning at school I went and observed the 5th and 6th French class. They have a French teacher that comes in twice a week. Although the class turned into them asking me questions and me answering. He made them ask me in French and then they had to tell me how to say the answer back in French. We discussed a lot of things, such as, the history of Thanksgiving, my family Christmas, the Iraq war, my brother, and candy! That afternoon the students in my infants class got to make Christmas stockings that we hung up in the room. It was a pretty messy project, but they turned out great! After school I took the bus into Dublin and went shopping! I wish I had an end list credit card because the fashion here is so great! I got a few things for myself and Christmas presents to bring back for my friends. I had dinner when I got back and Nola had one of her friends over. The woman was really nice and fun to talk to. I am getting ready to go to Brady's Pub again tonight because it is the North Carolina student teacher's last night in Ireland. I am looking forward to tomorrow because Saddie told me she is going to take me to the beach!

Day Eleven (12/4-12/8)

Friday (12/4)- It was so weird waking up and not going to school. The plan was to take the DART to Connelly station to meet Erica, Heather, and Grace (N.Carolina student teachers). I must have thought I had more time than what I did to get to the DART station. I soon realized on my way that if I didn't run I would probably miss my train. Although I should just say, the reason I wanted to make this train was because I wanted to get to the station earlier than what we had said. Anyways, I was running to the station when this mother with two kids in the back seat asked if I would like a lift the rest of the way to the station. It was so nice and thoughtful of her. So when I say the Irish people are nice and helpful, I really mean it and this a prime example. I made it to the station and met up with the other girls. Then all of us took a real train (not a subway train like the DART) to Belfast. It took about 2hr. 15 min. to get there. Once we got off the train we searched for our youth hostel. It was pretty easy to find and we met our new roommates. We had four other girls from Colorado and studying education who stayed with us. Erica, Heather, Grace, and I wanted to do the Black Taxi tour before it got dark out. The Black Taxi tour is a recommended tour for people traveling to Belfast. They drive you through the city and give the religious and political background. You visit both the Protestant and Catholic sides of the city. Some of the things we saw on the tour were large murals on the side of buildings. As part of the peace process, large murals on both religious sides have been painted to mark something significant that has happened to them. We also saw the peace wall, and I find it funny that it is called a peace wall because it is a wall that separates the Protestants and Catholics from one another. It was drizzling and cloudy on our tour and it seemed to fit to mood of the town. This tour was a little depressing to me, but very informative and mind opening. I learned a lot and now can see why Northern Ireland is a completely different country than Ireland. After our taxi tour we walked around a little and then found a grocery store to buy food for dinner. Now I am telling you this is the fanciest grocery store I have ever been in! It looked like a ballroom or museum, but not a grocery store! We bought food for a pasta dinner and went back to the hostel to eat. When dinner was finished we freshened up and then went out to some pubs. We ended up at a The Sitting Room which is a really funny name for this place because their was lots of dancing. They played a variety of hits from oldies to new stuff. It was a really fun night!

Belfast City Hall

In front of our Black Taxi Cab

The peace wall that separates the Catholics and Protestants

No matter what angle you are at, the gun man is always looking at you with his gun. It is really creepy!

Saturday (12/5)- The Paddywagon Tour bus came to our hostel and picked us up at 8:45am. We set out for an hour drive to the rope bridge. The rope bridge was originally built for salmon fisherman because salmon use to get caught in the cliffs somehow and they were able to easily catch the fish. Apparently there is a salmon shortage and the fisherman stopped using the bridge in 2002. The bridge was really fun to walk across and I am grateful that it was a nice day. Actually I think I found everything so beautiful because the sun was finally shining! After the rope bridge we went to Giants Causeway. Giants Causeway has the coolest rock formations. It looks like stepping stones and that each stone was specifically placed. Our tour guide told us the funny Irish folktale legend that explains how the rocks came to be (when I come back you can ask me about it!). Science tells us that 60 million years ago their were volcanic eruptions and it was a part of a cooling and heating process. The other girls got cold and went into the the tea shop, but I stayed outside to walk around the cliffs. When we all got back on the bus we started to head back down to Derry. On the way down to Derry, we had a photo stop in front of Dun Luce Castle. The castle started collapsing in the 1600s. The remains are on a cliff over looking the sea. Derry is a northern city that has stone walls completely surrounding it (there are not many towns in Europe that can still say they live in a walled in city). I didn't see much of Derry and its walls because we went in a cafe to grab a late lunch. After Derry it was time to head back down to Dublin. It felt like we would never get home, but of course eventually we did. I got back around 10:30 to my house. I made myself dinner and watched an episode of Alias which I had brought with from the states. After that it was bed time :)

Walking across the rope bridge!

Heather, me, Erica, and Grace

Giants Causeway!

Sunday (12/6)- I slept in till 10am (the longest I have slept in) and it was amazing! I had breakfast and cleaned my room. Then I went to the DART station to catch a train to Howth to play a nine holes. Howth is on the North limits of Dublin's suburbs and is on a peninsula. I was going to be golfing at Deerpark which is located on a very high hill overlooking the sea. I almost had to laugh at the clubs I had rented because they were probably from the 1970s! On the first tee box I whiffed the ball twice before I actually hit it and ended up with a 10 on that hole. After that I told myself, "Okay, today Brittney we are not going to keep score and are just going to enjoy ourselves!" I really did enjoy myself too! I had a fantastic view of the sea and got to play right along side Howth's castle! Plus, I was golfing in Ireland in December! How sweet is that? By the end of the round my hair was a mess and I was completely covered in mud!! My black pumas are now sporting the dirt brown color. After golf, I had planned on walking the cliffs of Howth which supposedly have some great views. The lady in the clubhouse told me I would run out of daylight by the time I finished and she said it would be best to do it a different day. At that moment I was kicking myself for sleeping in and not getting an earlier start! So instead of walking the cliffs I went down to the pier and saw all of the sail boats. There was also a farmers market that I strolled along. That night I had dinner with my family and watched part of a movie with Anna. I also worked on some of my homework that was due at Saint Mary's.

My view from the first tee box

Howth Castle

Monday (12/7)- This Monday morning was a rush because I forgot to set my alarm. Last night I put it to the right time, but never pushed set. Fortunately I was able to hurry out the door and make it to the DART station in time to catch the train. The kids seemed to be really calm for a Monday and the whole day ran smoothly. During the day Saddie asked if I would like her to take me to the Sally Gap in the Wicklow Mountains (part of Wicklow National Park). It looked like a nice enough day and I was really excited about going. At the end of the day, I went with Saddie to drop the all of the students in the school off at the swimming pool (everyone has swim lessons on Mondays). And wouldn't you know it, as soon as we dropped the kids off at swimming it started to rain! While we were driving I wasn't able to see much because of the rain and fog. The higher we got on the hills, the more slushy the roads became. So we turned around and on the way back down the fog started to clear. It truly was beautiful seeing the land and hills. The actual lake in the middle of the gap is spectacular! I probably saw it at its worse because of the weather. So I can only imagine how pretty it all is on a nice day or in the summer time. Also on our way back we stopped at Gleencree Visitor Center. It originally was built for the Irish military and then in WWII housed German orphans. Now it is used as a peace and negotiating center. Different community leaders come here to work on their differences. Saddie brought me into the gift shop and bought us both a cup of coffee. It was great to be able to sit down and talk. Then we drove back down through Einniskerry and the whole town was lit up with Christmas lights! It had a huge Christmas tree lit up in the center of town too!

For my Winona readers- this is Sugar Loaf Hill!!

Part of the Sally's Gap

This is the Guinness Family's Summer Home

The Sally Gap

Tuesday (12/8)- This morning while I was waiting for the DART, the sky was a beautiful shade of purple and pink. My picture below can't even come close to capturing it. I was thinking to myself, "Wow, it is going to turn out to be a really nice day today!" Unfortunately, it rained all day, but I did get a beautiful morning. Today in school I helped students work on the letter j, math patterns, religion, and music. I also got to observe the 1st -3rd graders in P.E. and they were playing floor hockey. Before they started the teacher asked if anyone could tell her what they were playing with (a puck). There were only about 5 kids that raised their hands! I just giggled to myself because if it were Minnesota students almost everyone would have their hand raised! I was going to go to Dun Laughery and walk the pier and do some shopping, but the weather is not very nice for that today. So I have got lots of emailing (and facebooking!) done. Tonight I am going to Brady's Pub in Shankill to meet up with some of the other student teachers. Below are pictures of some of the kids in my class (it was play time)

Killiney Bay at the DART station

Day Ten (12/2 and 12/3)

Wednesday (12/2)- It was an exciting day in school today because the kids got to have a cooking class with some of the moms. They were all excited and could not wait until the end of the day. During the day, Mrs. Honner had me teach the senior infants about time and I had them work with their own mini clocks. They really liked it and thought they were pretty smart. I do find it difficult to teach on the spot because I normally have everything planned out. I guess it is making me a better teacher! When it was finally time for the cooking class, we walked across the street to Powerscourt Hall. I wish I had my camera because the kids had to put on these cute aprons that were just a little to big for them. They made the same dessert I made with the third class students. I believe the kids favorite part was smashing up the Crunchie candy bar and biscuit (like gram cracker). They had their ingredients in a bag, a wooden spoon, and went to town! When they finished all of the steps they wrapped their desserts in a tiny bag with a ribbon. To be quite honest, I was really impressed with how their final products turned out!

After school I took the DART to Ireland's National Craft Fair (something Nola recommended). There were so many booths and things to look at inside. It always amazes me how creative some people are. I wish I could think of or make some of the things I saw. I bought a few things for family and friends, as well as, a pair of earrings for myself. The bus ride home was a little bit of an adventure (it was dark and I wasn't sure where I was going), but I had help from lots of people and made it back safely. After I got home and ate dinner I watched a movie with Anna. We started to watch the Grudge 2 which is a pretty scary movie (she insisted that was the one she wanted to watch), but then ended up putting in Princess Diaries. I forgot how funny that movie is! I read some more of Lord Of The Rings and then went to bed.

Thursday (12/3)- So I started off the morning like I normally do, leaving the house and walking down to the DART station. I bought my ticket and arrived at my normal time. Only this time instead of the sign posting 5 min. till the next train I needed, it said 19min! I was freaking out because I didn't know if I would be late catching my bus. I called Saddie to let her know I might be late. Well as soon as the train arrived into Bray station, I sprinted off it and ran to the bus stop. I literally got their right as the driver was closing the doors and was able to make it to school on time. And that is what I call perfect timing!!

Yesterday, I was killing time waiting for Saddie and I had the students play Simon Says. Well wouldn't you know it, the first thing they asked me when I walked in was to play Simon Says. Luckily we had enough time to play, but I may now have gotten myself into trouble with that one! I taught time again to the senior infants and was happy that they had remembered what we learned the day before! At the end of the school day a water system person from the city had to talk with Saddie and so she asked me to do something with the kids that had to deal with Christmas. So we sang Rudolph and Jingle Bells(they all got bells out!). We also drew snowman, but they didn't just draw the ordinary Frosty the Snowman. They had to think of something different and make it their own. Lets just say I saw some funny snowman/girl pictures!

After school I had the house to myself for a little while and read. Then I went on the computer to checked my messages and found out that the North Carolina girls were going up to Northern Ireland for their tour tomorrow and they wanted me to go. So I had to ask Saddie off for school last min. (which I hate doing) and thank goodness she was fine with me leaving. I had dinner with the family (the grandma and cousin also ate with us). Now I am getting ready to go to a pub called Brady's in a town called Shankill with the North Carolina girls. I am hoping to find out all the detail about our trip!

Day Nine (11/28-12/1)

Saturday (11/28)- I woke up around 9 and cleaned my room a little. It looked like a beautiful morning with the sun out so I decided to go on a walk up Killiney Hill. I didn't exactly know where I was going but I found my way to the top! The view was gorgeous! I was a little bummed though because the sun's glare was so strong in the direction of Killiney and I couldn't get a picture of the town. When I got home I had lunch and then packed a bag for the night. Then I got on the DART and met Grace in Dublin. Grace is another student teacher from N.Carolina and has been here for 4 weeks. Together we went to look for a youth hostel in Temple Bar area. I hadn't been to Temple Bar yet and I really enjoyed the fun atmosphere it has. The first youth hostel we found was all filled up. But I did find students from Saint Mary's checking in there (such a small world!!). We did find an opening at a place called Abigail's. We cooked our pasta dinner in the hostel and met some other people from Portugal and England. Then we went out to a place called Fitzemons Pub. It was packed with people and had two guys playing live music. They were really good and played a variety of songs (Oldies-new stuff- and Irish stuff!) We went back to our hostel to find out we had two new male roommates for the night and unfortunately one of them was a really loud snorer!

On top of Killiney Hill! (the small white rectangle in the background is Bono, from U2, house!)
Inside the National Wax Museum with some famous Irish political leaders

The famous temple bar

Sunday (11/29)- Grace and I woke up at 6 am because we had to get our bus at 6:45am. We were taking a Paddywagon Tour to Blarney Castle. We had to walk to the bus meeting place in the wind and rain. Once we got on the bus we were able to sleep a little. I say a little because the leg space was quite small and kept you from getting to comfortable! We made a stop in Limerick to take photos of Limerick Castle. The River Shannon which runs in front of the castle was really high and you could tell that it had just recently flooded. It was going fast and had huge white caps on it. We saw some crazy dare devil kayackers on the river! The Blarney Castle group was transferred to a smaller bus for the last hour and a half to Blarney. When we arrived in Blarney we were given 2hr. 30min. to explore the castle and the town. Grace and I explore the castle grounds first and then went into the castle. The castle was not fully in tack because it had no roof and some of the walls were fallen down. In order to get to the different floors/level you had to walk through a really skinny spiral staircase (really skinny!) At the top of the castle the wind was really wiping and it was cold. When you looked down you felt like you were really high. In order to kiss the Blarney Stone you had to lay on your back and grip onto two bars. Then you had to slide down to get to the stone! I felt like my butt was going to slide right off! After a person has kissed the stone they are suppose to be blessed with the gift of eloquence! We shall see! Grace and I then went into a restaurant to grab lunch and warm up. The bus ride back had nice views of the countryside. We meet up with the bigger bus in Bunnratty and there we were able to take a picture of Bunnratty Castle. Apparently Bill Clinton stayed there a few times. I got back into Dublin around 8pm and made it back to my house around 8:50. After a quick dinner, a little time with my fam, and a shower it was time for bed. Grace and I in front of the Shannon River and Limerick Castle

Blarney Castle

The Witches Stone-Can you see the eye, nose, and mouth? You are suppose to make a wish at the stone and then leave something for her! (I left a leaf)

Kissing the Blarney Stone!

Monday (11/30)-Back to a normal day at school! The kids informed me that I like to say the word neat alot! Now every time I say it I am so aware of it! Saddie(Mrs.Honner) let me leave when the infants did at 1:15, but unfortunately I missed the bus. So I stopped in at a cafe called Poppies and treated myself to a hot chocolate. I read my Sports First Aid Training book which is part of the online class I am taking to get my coaching certificate. When I got back to my house I visited with Anna in the kitchen for awhile and helped her with her homework. I then went for a jog and made my way down to Killiney Bay. I wish I would have had my camera. The sky from the sunset was purple and a full moon was out. The sea looked pretty cold but there were quite a few surfers catching some waves. On the beach I also found some neat stones! When I got back Emma had a bunch of her friends over for her birthday. She is going to be 15 yrs. old on Dec.1. I got caught up on laundry, emailing, homework, etc. After dinner I read for awhile and went to bed.

Tuesday (12/1)- It was a rainy and foggy day all day. In school the kids had to stay inside for their breaks. This made them a little stir crazy to say the least! I love reading stories to the class, but I swear after every page they think of a story to tell! Ha ha. After school Saddie asked if she could take me to Lake Glendalough. I thought it was a really nice gesture of her and decided to go. The car ride was great because we had a chance to talk one on one and I was able to ask her loads of questions. The lakes were hard to see because of the fog and rain. We went inside the visitors center and she paid for us to see the museum. I found it interesting to learn about Irish monastic life (Lake Glendalough came to be because of Saint Kevin). We then drove through the Wicklow Gap which had beautiful waterfalls coming down the hills. I can only imagine how pretty it is in the summer time! On the way home we talked some more and I was able to learn more about her family. I was also excited because she mentioned taking me some other places another time!

Day Eight (11/9-11/27)

Alright so I got a little behind in my blogging, but I will try to catch you up!!

Thursday 11/9- After school on Thursday night I went into Dublin to meet up with my friend Rachel from Saint Mary's. Rachel is studying abroad in England, but had come to Dublin for the weekend to get some sights in. I couldn't find Rachel (it turns out her plane took off an hour later than planned), but I was able to get some shopping in on O'Connel street. Dublin looks really neat at night because they have all of the Christmas lights on.

Friday (11/20)- The infants get out at 1:15, but the rest of the school gets out at 2:15. Saddie let me leave at 1:15 so I could have more time with my family. I took the bus all the way into Dublin and was able to see more of the countryside during my ride. I did not have the world's most helpful bus driver, but I eventually was able to find my way to my parents hotel at the Harcourt Inn.

It was great to see my family! It was also my mom's birthday!! Our hotel was right by St.Stephens Green, a nice park area that we were able to walk through. Then we got on Dublin's Hop On-Hop Off bus tour. This bus allows you to get off where ever you want and then get back on when you are ready. While you are on the bus they have headphones so you can listen to the history of the town. We stopped and looked at Trinity College. We also walked along Grafton Street which is a street with great stores and just for pedestrians (it is also lite up with Christmas lights). We had our first meal together at the restaurant at the hotel.

Saturday 11/21- We woke up in the morning and did the Hop On-Hop Off bus again. Our first stop was the Guinness Storehouse. It was interesting learning how Guinness was made and the tradition behind it. The Gravity Bar, is a bar at the end of you tour where you get your free Guinness and a good look at the city. It is the highest building in Dublin. We then got on they bus and went to the Modern Art Museum. There was some really cool and really funky art work. We then got a tour at Kilmainham Gaol (Jail). We had a super tour guide, he knew his history and you could tell he liked what he did. I liked the tour because not only did we learn about the jail but we were able to learn about Ireland's history too! We took the bus to O'Connel Street, walked around a little, and then had dinner at good ol' Subway. Oh, and if you want chips, make sure to say crisps!

Sunday 11/22- We went to Avis to get our rental car and from there the adventure really started. My dad did a great job driving on the left hand side, not to mention the narrow roads and many round abouts! But we did have some stressful moments too ;) We drove to Dun Laoghaire, a port town near my families house, to find our first Bed and Breakfast. Unfortunately, there were some complications and we had to wait around 1hr. 30min! Apparently they had our arrive date wrong and we had to find somewhere else to stay. We then went to my house in Killiney and I was able to introduce my family to my host family! Then we went to Einniskerry and I was able to show them my school!! We drove around Einniskerry's countryside until it got dark and then actually stayed the night in the B&B right next door to my school! We had dinner across the street at a place called Emilia's.

Monday 11/23- In the morning we had our first B&B breakfast experience. We were able to meet the other guests in the house and were served an excellent breakfast by Josie the owner. We then went to Powerscourt Gardens in Einniskerry. It is Ireland's best garden! The weather was not very nice, and so we basically had the entire grounds to ourselves. We tried to drive to Powerscourt Gardents, but the cost to see it was high and so we decided to head to Wicklow. We made a quick stop in Wicklow and then went to Lake Glendalough. Lake Glendalough is in the Wicklow mountains with two small beautiful lakes. This is where scenes from P.S. I Love You and Bravehart were filmed. The sun goes down around 4:30 and so our days touring are ended a little sooner than we would like. But we drove back to Dun Laogahaire and stayed at the Kingston Hotel. We at dinner at the hotel and watch some live music put on by some elderly Irishmen. They were great!!

Tuesday 11/24- When we woke up we had breakfast at the hotel and had a great view of the Irish sea. Then we walked Dun Laogahaire's piers and were able to see the awesome ports and yacht clubs. I had school off because their was a country wide strick. My family tried driving up to Malahide Castle, but when we got their we were told that it was closed because of the strike. The people there suggested another private castle. When we got to that castle we were told that it wasn't actually private and was also closed because of the strike. So we kept heading further north and ended up in a river town called Drugerda. We got out walked and window shopped. We then drove back down towards Dublin to a city called Howth. Howth is on the northern limits of Dublin's suburbs and is on a peninsula. My family checked in at Deerpark Hotel and then we went down to a restaurant called The Oar House. This city is based on it's fishing community and so we had a great seafood dinner. It was then time for me to say goodbye to my family. I was dropped off at the DART station and headed home.

Wednesday 11/25- I felt like I had been on a long vacation with my family and felt like I had been out of the classroom! The kids were squirly from having the day before off because of strick. It turned out that one of the other teachers was sick and Mrs.Honner was going to have to teach our infant class and the 4-6graders. So instead I taught the infants while she taught the other class. It was great being the teacher :) After I got back to my house I went out for a run and was able to see more of the neighborhood. Nola and John (my host parents) had left town with their friends and so Nola's mother came to our house to make dinner. She is a very kind woman and fun to listen to.

Thursday 11/26- Thanksgiving Day!! I went to school that day and was able to teach the kids a little bit about our Thanksgiving tradition. One of the other teachers was really cute because during lunch time she googled restaurants that had a traditional Thanksgiving meal (she even found a place with the NFL games on!) Mrs. Honner gave me a ride to the DART station and it was enjoyable chatting with her and finding out about her life outside of the classroom. It was a long DART and bus ride to my parents hotel at the airport. When I got to the hotel my family was away droping off the rental car. I was able to just hand and read my book (Lord Of The Rings). We had our Thanksgiving meal at the hotel's restaurant. I had a burger! Ha ha, probably will be the most unique Thanksgiving I will every have!

Friday 11/27- In school today the whole school started to get ready for their Nativity Program. Two people from the community came in to work with the school. It was so much fun listening to all of the children singing (my kids were hilarious!) At the end of the day Mrs. Honner's daughter came and it was nice getting to know her. She is in her first year of college, going to become a teacher too! After school I took the DART all the way to Malahide. It was about 1 hr. 15min. train ride. I got off and sped walked to Malahide Castle. I got their just in time for the last tour. I really enjoyed the tour and castle (it looks just like a fairytale castle!). On my tour with my was a couple with the baby from Ohio. I walked back with them to the DART station. I was glad they were with because when you are walking back through the castle grounds you have to go through a section of trees and it is really creepy in the dark. I got home and made myself dinner. I also made plans to get together with another student teacher from South Carolina. Tomorrow my plans are to go walk Killiney Hill and then meet up with her in Dublin. On Sunday, we are going to do a day trip to Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney stone!

Day Seven (11/18)

It was a drizzly walk to the DART station, but nothing like my first day. While I was waiting for my train I watched a brave, but crazy man go swimming in his speedo in the Irish Sea! It made me colder just watching him! If you ever decide to go to Ireland, I recomend packing lots of layers because it is always chilly!

I got to school a few minutes earlier and I was able to see their assembly. Everyday for about 7-10min. the entire school (65 students) meet in a classroom and sing songs about God and pray.

In my classroom I was able to read and go through flashcards with individual students. I worked with the senior infants in math and we used cubes to figure out the different ways to get the number 9.

I also read a big picture book called the Pig In The Pond. This is a story they have been working with a few days now and so they know it pretty well. Today we focused on the letter P and each student was given a construction paper cut out letter P. Everytime the students heard the letter P they had to lift their P high into the air! The students are creating their own Pig In The Pond story and finished drawing page 3 of their book today. Some student's pigs actually look like a pig, but other students draw a yellow blob and call it their pig!

After my class got out of school, I joined the third class in Powerscourt Hall (a building the school sometimes uses) and watched them learn how to make christmas chocolate pudding cakes. A few moms volunteer to teach a cooking lesson for all of the grades. The pudding cakes they told me are a Christmas Irish dessert, but they normally have fruits inside instead of just chocolate. Oh and the third class only has 8 students, but 2 were gone!

The rain kept me away from my walk once again this afternoon after school (pretty soon I'll get the guts to tough it out in the rain). My plan was to go the the Silver Tassy, a pub near by, with the other student teachers but all of them canceled on me. So I ate dinner here with my family and am going to watch Shreik 3 with Anna.

Tomorrow I will be going into Dublin after school is done to meet up with my friend Rachel from Saint Mary's! She is studying abroad in England this semester, but is coming to Dublin for the weekend.

Day Six (11/17)

Well this morning was a little smoother getting to school. There was no rain, and I knew how to get on the train this time! Today I invested in a weekly bus and rail ticket which should hopefully save me some money and time.

Today at school I was working with a woman named Resa. Mrs. Honner takes a day off once a week to do administrative and principal duties. The kids were a little more out of control with Resa than they are with Mrs. Honner :) When Resa took one group of students, I would work with the other group. I helped kids sort small plastic bears by size, colors, and numbers. I also read with students and we practiced the letter D again.

Towards the end of the day I was able to read Herky's Summer Camp Adventure. This is a book I brought over from the states. It is a book that was written and illustrated by high school students in Winona. Their book was published and given to all of the elementary schools. The story talks about people from different cultures and countries and I thought it would be fun to share with the kids. They did a good job listening and when we were done I had them draw their favorite character or part of the story. I am hoping to send these pictures to my third grade class I had been student teaching before the trip.

My class, the junior and senior infants, get out of school about 30 min. before the other students. So after they were let out I was introduced to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd classes. I told them about myself and MN. Some of the questions I got were: Is your little brother annoying? Do you have museums? Was anyone famous born in MN? Have you meet President Obama? What are long johns (I told them about how cold it can sometimes get)?
Then I also read them Herky's Summer Camp Adventure...and answered more questions!

One of the special education teachers who comes on Tuesdays and Thursdays gave me a "lift" home because she lives in Killiney too. The plan was to go for a walk after school, but it is raining and is really cold today. So instead I think I will shower and start reading my book! Alicia borrowed me, Harry Potter: The Tales Of Beedle The Bard.

Day Five (11/16)

My first day of school!! I had an early wake up call this morning when my alarm went off at 7am. I ate breakfast and left the house at 7:45. It was about a 15 minute walk to the DART station. Although, it was pouring rain and I got splashed by the passing cars. Unfortunately for me, the sidewalks were so small I could not get out of the way! It was a very wet train ride!

The DART tracks run along the coast, and while I was waiting for my train at the Killiney station, I was able to watch the waves roll in. I learned that the doors on the DART do not open automatically like our subway system. Instead you must push a green button to open them. Thank goodness their were people to help me!

I arrived in Bray around 8:20am and had to wait for the 8:45 bus into Einniskerry. When I arrived at my school, I was greeted by the school's secretary and my teacher, Saddie Honner(also the school's principal). We were in the office only for a little while before we went to our classroom. The school is very small and consistsof three tiny separate buildings/rooms. One of the buildings holds the 4-6 yr. olds, the other 7-9 yr. olds, and the last 10-12 yr. olds.

Our classroom is made of almost all windows, so lots of sunlight is able to shine through. The students were great and had many funny stories to tell me! They really liked that I brought pencils for all of them. Today I mostly just observed and helped the children when they were working.

Mrs. Honner's class has junior infants (4/5 yr. olds) and senior infants (5/6 yr. olds). She runs her classroom by first giving the senior infants a task to complete and then she teaches the junior infants. When she is finished, she has them switch roles. I saw the students work on writing (they practiced the letter D-like a drum!), math, and Irish. They sang Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes in Irish! It was so neat, but I was so lost! I could only do the hand motions!

Other things I found interesting: they split their lunch and recess times into two 15min. breaks instead of having one big break. They also pray before eating their food. In Ireland, they don't use the term grade (ex. My brother is in sixth grade). Instead they say class and year. It would start with junior and senior infants which is pre-school and kindergarten. Then 1st,2nd,3rd,4th,5th,6th year would be first grade to sixth grade. Then they move onto the middle/high school and it would be 1st,2nd,3rd,4th,5th,6th year instead of seventh to twelfth grade.

Later in the afternoon, Nola drove me around some of the cities on the coast and showed me some great places to walk. She also showed me where Bono from U2 lives! I spent some time with the girls and listened to them sing and play the piano. We ate dinner and then Anna and I started to watch Shirek 3.

Day Four (11/15)

Outside my school! Powerscourt National School!

Castle lawn

Part of Dublin Castle

This morning I went to church with my family. Nola in the girls are part of a group at church called the Girls Bergade. It is basically a girls youth group from ages 5-17 where the girls learn about Jesus and play fun games. This morning they enrolled the newest members and preformed some songs for the congregation. When the service was done they had coffee and cookies for everyone after.

Nola's sister, Diane, offered to drive Alicia and I to Einniskerry where my school is. I wanted to know where it was so I wouldn't be late on my first day looking for the school. The town is small, but exactly how you would picture an Ireland town! It has many cute shops like the bakery, butcher shop, pharmacy, etc. And it is surrounded by gorgeous green hills!

My school, Powerscourt National School, is quite small. However, we looked in the windows and I am really excited to be at that school. I think it will be such a great experience, something I will have never done before. I am pumped for my first day tomorrow!

That afternoon, Alicia and I explored the city. We climbed fences, walked in fields, and on the golf course! We actually wondered upon it by accident and almost got hit by a ball! We also went and saw Powerscourt Estate. This is a beautiful stone building with a great cafe, garden, and store.

We got the bus, then got on the DART (train) to go home. I accidentally had us get off at the wrong stopped and we ended up having about 1hour 30min. walk home! Thank goodness Alicia had a map because by the time we got home it was dark out! Opps! The sun starts setting around 4:30pm just like MN.

For dinner tonight I had turkey drumsticks, mashed potatoes, and veggies. When we were done I was able to give my family the gifts I had brought :) After the gifts, we watched the X Factor.

Day Two and Three (11/13-11/14)

Top of the mornin to ya! I have made it safe and sound to Ireland. I a six hour plane ride from JFK airport in NY to Dublin International Airport. The flight went smoothly and I was able to catch some zzz's. While descending down we were able to get a spectacular birdseye view of the Ireland's coast and countryside!

After we landed I took a bus called the Aircoach to a hotel where my host mom Nola picked me up. It was weird having the sitting in the passenger's seat on the left hand side and watching her drive on the left hand side. From the hotel it took about ten minutes to get to her house in a town called Killiney. They have a nice home right on the corner of a pretty busy street. I am grateful to have my own room. It is small with a pink interior.

Only her 11yr. old daughter, Anna, was home when we arrived. We picked her up and the three of us went into town to run errands. There we did some clothes shopping, went to the bank, 2 Euro store (like our Dollar Store), grocery store, and had a cup of coffee. It was a day that almost everyone has spent with their own mother. We went back home to have dinner and there I was able to meet the rest of the family. My host dad is John and my other two host sister's are Emma, 14 years old, and Laura, 17 years old. For dinner we had lasagna, baked potatoes, and veggies. It was a good, but very filling meal.

The next morning I woke up at 9:00am (MN time 3am) and left the house by 10am. I met up with another student teacher named Alicia. She is from Iowa and staying with Nola's sister. We hopped on the bus (sat on the 2nd level!) and rode into Dublin. In Dublin we walked around for awhile and I was able to start learning my landmarks. We stopped in the vistors office and I was able to pick up some maps and brochures.

Then we went on to go visit a famous library called Chester Beatty Library. It was really neat because we were able to see books published from the 1500s! One of the books I saw was an atlas and it was so interesting to see what people thought the world looked like back then. No USA :( After the library we met up with two other student teachers from North Carolina (Heather and Erica). The four of us then went to buy passes to tour Dublin Castle. I found this castle really interesting because some of its rooms are still used for goverment meetings!

After the castle Alicia and I went to resturaunt called Lemons. This place was famous for its crepes and waffles. I had the American Dream Waffle :) Once we finished dinner we took the bus back home. That night Alica and her host parents, Diane and Steve, actually came over to my house to watch the X Factor. A very popular show, just like American Idol. Apparently it is a show you do not miss! ha ha

Tomorrow I am looking forward to going to church with my family and then hopefully going to Einniskerry with Alicia to find where my school is!