Last Day in Dublin

The group at the Brazen Head Pub
(oldest pub in Ireland)

Grafton Street

Side street in Dublin

It's hard to believe today was my last day in Dublin. The time has gone fast.

We had a full day planned, as today I needed to show Rob the remaining six schools. We started early so we would be sure to get to all of them. We met at 8am and walked around the corner to catch Bus 49. It was another terribly windy, rainy day. We rode Bus 49 to Delany's, where we got off to walk the rest of the way to Scoil Carmel. We were early, arriving about a half hour before the students (school starts at 9:20). We saw Bethany in the teachers room slicing banana bread that she had baked for her Thanksgiving lesson. She had a real challenge in trying to cook when she had to convert the recipe to metric. Then we went and found Lizzy in her classroom. Her co-op still hadn't arrived at 9:10. Things are a bit more laid back in Ireland. I dropped off some chocolate for the principal who was so kind to give me a ride last week in the horrible wind and rain, and then we walked back to pick up Bus 49. This bus is notoriously late, but we were so lucky that it arrived minutes after we got to the remote stop in the suburbs. That was a huge break.

We headed back towards the city to see Kendra at Terenure College. Since they have early dismissal every Wednesday, we needed to get there early in the day. She was in the middle of teaching a lesson to the 13-14 year olds so we waited until class was over to connect with her. Our visits this week do not involve any formal observations, since I only have two days to show Rob all of the schools. So, we stop by each school, connect with the student teachers, and I introduce Rob to secretarys, prinicpals and cooperating teachers, if they are available.

Our next stop was St. Colmcilles. It meant a 10 minute wait in the rain for Bus 15 which would take us back near Scoil Carmel. Had the weather been better, we might have tried to walk between the two. The wind today made that task impossible. We got off the bus at SuperQuinn and walked behind the supermarket to find Luke. He was finishing a lesson as we arrived. He was on his 7th cup of tea for the day (it was 11am) as he was recovering from two days of not having a voice. It is very difficult to teach physical education when you are unable to speak. He seems to be getting better.

We walked from St. Colmcilles Junior to St. Colmcilles Secondary, a ten minute walk. Adam was teaching, but we found John in the teachers room. After a quick visit we continued on.

We waited about 15 minutes to pick up Bus 15 again to head into the city. Our next stop was Presentation girls school where we found Nichole. Her students were doing a timed math test, so we chatted in the hallway. If you are counting, that was school number five.

I'm not sure what bus we picked up next, but I think it was the 15 again. Any of the 15 lines would work. It was a short ride and about a 15 minute walk to St. Louis Community, a girls secondary school. The secretary called the teachers room and Tara came down to meet us. Another quick visit. We caught Bus 15A back into the city. 

Whew...six schools...all before 1pm. There was no time for tea today. We hustled around the city, got on various busses six different times, and made it back again. I think Rob has his bearings and should be ok when on his own next week. 

I showed them the Trinity College bookstore and then we split up to run some errands. I ended up stopping at the Larder for a late lunch and then went back to the flat. I had some serious packing to do. Before I could make a dent in the packing process, Lydia called. John needed to give me something and had forgotten last night. She asked if I could meet her at the pedestrian bridge near O'Connell. I had planned on going out again around 5, so this just moved that time earlier by an hour. I found Lydia, we said our good byes again, and I walked the long way to Grafton Street. It was starting to get dark and the city was very busy with rush hour traffic and lots of people. Sunday was light up night in the city and I hadn't made it out much after dark this week, so I wanted to take some pictures of Grafton Street, and a few other places on my list.

I ran into Lauren on Grafton. Her friend Jen arrived today so she was giving her a tour. It always surprises me when I run into the students in the city. After all, it's a BIG city. Lauren's host family texted me late this afternoon inviting me to dinner at 7. I kindly declined, as I had much to do on my last night in Dublin. Riding the bus back to the suburbs for an hour plus each way was not on my list. It was kind for the invite, but not on my last night.

I stood at the end of Grafton, in front of St. Stephens Green and just took it all in. It's my last night in Dublin, perhaps forever. I've enjoyed my time here very much. It is a great city and wonderful county. Having said that, I am ready to go home. A month is a long time to be away. I miss the comforts of home (i.e. lazyboy, TV, Tivo), my CRV, and Sheetz fountain Pepsi. It will be nice to go home.

Tomorrow will be a long day. Paddy will pick me up at 5:20am for my 9am flight. He has to come back and pick up some of the guests at 6:15 to take to John at Delany's. They begin a four day trip to western Ireland tomorrow. It is a wonderful trip and I know they will all enjoy it.

This may be my last blog posting. It's been great to be able to document the trip using this medium. I have no idea if anyone is actually reading these postings, but if you are, thanks. I hope you enjoyed following my travels.

Teachers on Strike

Today the teachers in Dublin went on strike. Just for the day. Truth be told, it was a wonderful day off. The kids were estastic to be able to sleep in and spend the day in the city. It gave me the day to show Rob and Jordan some of the highlights of Dublin.

We started our tour at 10am. My plan was to start at Trinity College where I would show them the bookstore where they could later go back to the see the Books of Kells and the amazing library, if they wished. But, as we got close we saw the doors and gates closed and the teachers on strike. I didn't think about the college striking.

We continued on to Nassau Street where we stopped by the Blarney Woollen store and the Kilkenny shop. I showed Rob where the 15 bus lines would drop him off on Dawson Street. We should come back on the 15 tomorrow so he can see it firsthand. It will drop us off right in front of Starbucks, which is good for him since he is a coffee drinker.

From Nassau we headed to Grafton Street. We spent some time at a shop where I got a few things last week, and we were all able to buy some gifts. While we were there one of the students called to see if I wanted to join them for lunch. They were on O'Connell Street and waiting for a few others. I said to let us know where and when and we would join them. As we got to the end of Grafton I pointed out St. Stephens Green Park and Mall, the Luas high speed line, and some of the eating places near by. As I was pointing out things a woman stopped and asked if I was from Slippery Rock. It turns out she is a teacher at Scoil Carmel and recognized me from my visits. She just wanted to make sure we were ok. I introduced her to Rob, told her we would be visiting tomorrow, and thanked her for her help. I assured her that I was just showing Rob around and that we were in good shape. It was kind of her to stop.

As we started to head to O'Connell Street we stopped at Carroll's for some gifts. I dropped quite a bit of money there last week and manage to spend a bit today as well. This was one of the larger Carroll's and they had lots of great stuff. As we were leaving Luke called again to tell us where they were. It was great timing as we were just crossing the liffey and heading their way. We met them outside of Penney's (a store the students LOVE for the cheap but fashionable clothes, no connection to JC Penneys back home) and headed to the Arlington Hotel. There were nine of us total, and it was nice to spend some time with them. I said my goodbyes to the ones I would not see tomorrow and told them I would see them at graduation. They are sad to see me go (or so they say!).

When we left we continued down O'Connell, past the historic Post Office, and onto the Bus Station. Rob picked up the bus schedules for the various lines he will be taking and then we headed back to Henry Street, another pedestrian only street of stores. We walked it a number of blocks before cutting across to the liffey.

After crossing the liffey we headed to the Temple Bar district and the Temple Bar Trading Post where I wanted to pick up a hoodie for my dad and also my sister. At that point it was around 2pm and Rob and Jordan decided to backtrack to Grafton to do some more shopping and I continued to the Tourist Center for just a few more gifts. I ran into three of our students, and a visiting father of one of them, shopping as well. They went to the Jamison Distillery today for a tour. The students we dined with at lunch went to the zoo, as did a few other students. They all kept busy on their day off.

I got back to the flat around 3:30 and decided I better clean a bit for Rob's arrival. He will move in when I leave. I had a few hours before meeting Lydia. She called this morning and we arranged to meet next door at Jury's Inn at 7:45, when she got off work. We had a late dinner and enjoyed some good conversation before John Nolan arrived around 9pm. They were so kind to have a gift for me as we said our goodbyes. Rob and Jordan, in the lobby to check their email, joined us as Rob had a few questions for John, and John was able to explain to Rob what the four day trip will entail this week. I've been trying to give Rob as much information as I can before I leave. He has asked some good questions and I have been telling him as much as I can remember. Tomorrow will be another busy day as we have six schools to visit and he has to learn another couple of bus routes. We will start at 8am, and may even arrive at Scoil Carmel before the students, but that is all dependent on how the busses are running. I'm hoping for good weather so we can walk from Carmel to St. Colmcilles and not have to connect busses. I've never walked between the two but I think it should be about a 25-30 minute walk. They are in better shape than I am, so we should be fine. Let's hope the daily rain is not falling at that particular time.

Four schools today - Six to go

Today was the first day that I was able to show Rob around Dublin. I'm saving the city centre tour for tomorrow, but today was the first day in the schools. I had hoped to hit five schools today, but we only got to four. We will have to hustle to get to the rest on Wednesday.

Tomorrow there is no school. The teachers are striking. Just for the day. So, no school tomorrow. Teachers on strike. So are the health care workers and Gardia (police). That puts the pressure on us to get to all of the schools in two days. Rob will really be tested next week when he has to remember how to get to each school after a very fast crash course this week. I did the best I could to prepare him before he arrived. I took notes of all of the bus routes and wrote down landmarks for each route (where the bus turns, where to ring the bell, where to get off). I emailed that information to him last week to print and bring with him. I also took pictures of each of the schools and significant landmarks as you approach the school. I put them all in a word document and saved as a PDF file. I highlighted things like the blue gate at St. Marys, the White Church at Scoil Mhuir, the shops near St. Patricks, and others. There are quite a few schools that are not easy to see from the road. By taking pictures of the route to the school, and landmarks along the way, hopefully he will be able to remember and figure it out when flying solo. He was able to get his bearings pretty well today with the map and directions I had sent.

We started by heading to the Tourist Center to pick up a bus ticket. From there we continued to Trinity College to pick up bus 15B. The tourist center did not open until 9am, so we missed rush hour. That was probably a good thing so it wasn't too overwhelming for Rob. We took the 15B to St. Patricks where we found Lauren in the hall (gym). We were just in time for the tea break, so we spent about ten minutes in the teachers room enjoying a cup of tea before heading to Ballyroan Boys School. These two schools are within walking distance so that is good. We caught up with Brooke and Jenna for a short time and then continued on to Scoil Mhuir. We waited again for bus 15B and took it to the end of the line. We talked with Krista and Megan, and both of their co-operating teachers, before heading out again to catch bus 15B. We rode it this time for just a few stops where we got off to connect for the 74A. This took awhile. I bet it was a good half hour until the bus arrived. Rob had a power bar and I had some trail mix as it was close to 1pm as we were waiting to connect.

We took the 74A to the Yellow House Pub and then walked to St. Marys. We found Meredith, Brooke and Brittnee and went to the teachers room to chat. Rob was the supervisor of all three of these students in the states, so this gave them a chance to catch up.

When we left St. Marys it was my intention to stop at Terenure College on the way back to city centre. We didn't have to wait long for bus 16A, but unfortunately that did not cut through Terenure, as many of the other busses do. So, since it was already after 2pm, and they end school fairly early, I just decided to call it a day. I pointed out the school to Rob on the way out of the city this morning, so he at least knows where it is. We should be able to hit that up on Wednesday. It will have to be in the morning, as every Wednesday this boys school has early dismissal due to rugby practices and games.

When we got off the bus we decided to grab a late lunch, and found a place that had free wi-fi, so we could check our email as we waited for our meal. Rob and his fiancee, still tired from their long day yesterday, decided to go back to the hotel to nap and I decided to head back to my flat to watch the Eagles game that I had taped last night. We will meet again at 7:15pm to head to the Brazen Head Pub, the oldest pub in all of Ireland (established in 1198). Since the students do not have school tomorrow, this is a good night to hit the Brazen Head. There is a tradition at this pub. You sign your name to a currency from your country (one dollar bill for us) and hang it on the wall. SRU student teachers have been doing this for years. In fact, last year I found the dollar bill from an advisee from years ago. It's always fun to find SRU bills on the wall/ceiling.

So, tonight will be the last chance I will have to see some of these kids before heading back to the states on Thursday. I will see the rest on Wednesday when we make the rounds to the last six schools. It's hard to believe it's winding down so quickly.

Sunday - Blarney Stone

Rock of Cashel

Blarney Castle

Me in position to kiss the Blarney Stone

I was just too tired last night to post anything, so I will recap now what happened yesterday.

I woke up to a phone call from John Nolen at 5:45am. He called to tell me that Rob's flight was ahead of schedule so we were still good for our original departure time of 7am at the flat. They may have arrived early, however due to a problem with the gate, they were stuck on the runway for awhile before they could deplane. Paddy finally arrived at the flat around 7:40 to pick me up and then it was on to Delany's to meet John and the students.

The trip to the Blarney Castle was a long one. We stopped about half way to visit Rock Cashel, which was donated by the King of Munster in 1101 to the church. It was an impressive structure with some great history. As we were walking up the hill for our 40 minute tour it started to rain again. It got pretty cold too, as the winds picked up a bit as well. Typical Ireland weather!

We continued on to the Blarney Castle, arriving at about 12:30. We had three hours to tour the castle, kiss the stone, grab some lunch and do some serious shopping. There was a nice collection of stores that were having great sales.

We have seen a number of castles on our trip thus far, and the Blarney Castle was probably the least impressive. Perhaps because there was no tour guide, no explanation or history about the castle, no real restoration like some of the other castles we have visited. It is definitely a tourist attraction, complete with a camera to take your picture kissing the rock, which they will then sell you for 10 euros at the shop at the bottom of the castle. The climb to the top was a bit challenging, with many spiral staircases and narrow pathways. There were two men at the top, one manning the camera and the other assisting the visitors. If you are unfamiliar with Blarney, you must lay on your back with your upper body over the ledge. You grab onto two metal bars as you arch your back to kiss the stone. The second man is there to hold you steady. Since there were very few tourists, we were able to take some time to shoot some pictures at the top of the castle. Each of the students who were still on top asked for a picture with me, which was nice. I know I've said it before, but I will say it again, we really do have a great group of students on this trip.

The ride back was a long one. We didn't arrive in Dublin until after 7. Earlier in the week two students had asked if they could come to my flat to watch the Steelers game on my laptop (via slingbox and tivo). When we got close to Dublin two other students asked, and before we hit city centre there were another pair asking if they too could come. So, there were six total who got off the bus at my flat, went around the corner for some fish and chips from Burdocks, and watched the Steelers game on my 12 inch laptop until 11pm. They left disappointed as the Steelers lost in overtime.
So, that is why I was too tired to blog last night. Since they stayed late, and since I was up early, I checked my email and headed to bed.

So, those are the highlights from yesterday's adventure. I can't believe my days of riding John Nolans bus are over! The kids have a long week ahead of them, as they leave on Thanksgiving for a four day trip to the western part of Ireland. They will visit St. John's Castle in Limerick, visit the picturesque village of Adare, have a Thanksgiving dinner and spend the first night in Tralee (in county Kerry). Friday will involve a tour of the Dingle Peninsula, a trip to the Louis Mulcahy Pottery Shop, photo opportunity of Slea Head and Basket Island, and a trip on the ferry across the River Shannon. They will spend Friday night at Lahinch, the surfing capital of the world, according to John. (The kids are discovering that they can't believe everything John tells them about the biggest and best in the world being in Ireland. We went over "the biggest suspense bridge in the world" last week. It was about 100 feet long!) Saturday the trip will continue to the Cliff of Moher and the Burren area. They will get to spend Saturday afternoon/night in Galway. They return back to Dublin on Sunday, after a visit to the Clonmacnoise Monastic site. It is a wonderful trip and the kids will enjoy it very much. We have a few people visiting this week (parents, grandparents, friends, etc.) so it is a good week for visitors to see Ireland and spend time with their loved one. I'm glad I got to experience the trip last year.

Boyne, New Grange and Trim Castle

Road Flooded

Another road flooded

New Grange - 5000 year old tomb

Trim Castle - Site of Braveheart

Where Mel Gibson was killed in Braveheart

Since today is Saturday, John had another fun filled day planned for us. As always, it started dark and early. He picked me up at 7:15 and then headed to Delany's for the students. Our first destination today was the Battle of the Boyne Visitors Centre. Getting there proved to be a challenge. Perhaps I haven't mentioned it much in my previous postings, but it's been raining here in Ireland. And this AM was no exception. In fact, it's been raining so much that the roads to Boyne were closed due to flooding. After a few detours we ended up going through a road covered with water and came out the other side, thankfully. We got to Boyne a bit late, but at least we got there. The amount of water overflowing the streams and rivers was unbelievable. I know, at times, I tend to embellish a tad, or perhaps even fabricate the truth from time to time. But you gotta believe me when I tell you it's been raining in Ireland. A lot. Every day. Today was no exception.

The Battle of the Boyne occurred in 1690 and was the largest battle in Ireland, and in all of  Europe for that matter. William III was fighting his father-in-law James II for power. William proved victorious (that is the CliffsNote version) and the visitors centre showed us that with a short video, a lighted map display, models of solders, old guns and swords. It was too miserable to walk the grounds, so after snapping a few photos of the cannons in the rain, we piled back into the bus and hoped the way out proved to be passable.

Next stop, New Grange Visitor Centre. First we saw a short video on New Grange, then took the shuttle bus to the big attraction, a 5000 year old passage tomb. It's a World Heritage Site. It truly was amazing. This was created 500 years before the pyramids and 1000 years before Stonehedge. As you are in the tomb the guide simulates the solstice, when a beam of light illuminates the entire tomb from a small window above the door. Every year they have a drawing from among 2,900 applications for the 20 spots in the tomb for December 21st, the solstice. It was incredibly impressive. There is no mortar holding the stones together, yet it has been held together for over 5000 years. How they figured out how to position the tomb and put the window at the exact location to have the sun illuminate the tomb exactly on the soltice is just amazing. This is before the invention of the wheel, before they had horses to haul rocks, and when the life expectancy was 35. Truly amazing.

The rain finally let up for our last stop of the day, Trim Castle. If you saw the movie Braveheart then you have seen Trim Castle. It was the most incredible castle. We got a great tour of the inside, right after a group of paranormal experts left (it said so on their matching jackets). Apparently they were investigating a ghost living in the castle, believed to be an old priest who was a spy for King Henry. Hm....... It was a HUGE castle, in height, width and depth. Tomorrow we have a long bus ride so we will watch Braveheart. There are a few kids who never saw it. It will be very cool to watch it again after visiting the site. I got a picture at the scene when they put Mel Gibson to death. Pretty cool. :)

As we left the castle the skies opened again and the ride back had some dreadful rain. John dropped me off at city centre right at 5pm. Four of the students decided to dine in the city so the five of us walked around the corner from the flat and had Indian food. It was a nice day, despite the weather.

Tomorrow my colleague arrives. He should be enroute as I type this. For those of you unfamiliar with the Ireland experience, it works like this: When you volunteer to do this trip it is a two year commitment. The first year you pretty much learn the ropes. You supervise half of the kids in the states, and you join the group in Ireland the weekend before Thanksgiving. That is what I did last year, and that is what Rob is doing this year. The second year you plan the trip. You select the students, plan the meetings, arrange travel plans with the travel agent, communicate with John Nolen regarding our Ireland trips, coordinate with our colleague who assigns the schools and host families in Ireland, and you take the students to Ireland. In the states you supervise half of the kids, but when you are here you have them all. I will turn them all over to Rob when I leave. The week before Thanksgiving is when the two faculty members overlap, so this is the week that I will show Rob around Dublin. I will show him how to get to each of the ten schools and introduce him to the principals and cooperating teachers. I will also show him how to get a bus ticket, where to pick up each of the buses, and where he can do some grocery shopping. I will show him Grafton Street, Henry Street and O'Connell Street. It will be a whirlwind tour for him, as we only have three days together, but I'm sure by the time I leave he will have acclimated to Dublin quite nicely. At least I hope so.

Tomorrow we kiss the Blarney stone. More to follow...

The SRU crew

Friday in Dublin

Today was a good day. I really worked hard to get all of my observations done in four days, so I could use today to troubleshoot any problems that might have come up. Thankfully, none did. I was able to do 14 observations, in 9 schools, in four days. St. Colmcilles Secondary had testing all week, so John and Adam did not teach, thus I did not observe them. I'll fit them in next week.

I REALLY wanted to sleep in today. I know one reason why I am getting sick is pure exhaustion. I haven't been sleeping well and I've been out and about so much it's wearing me down. I woke up at 8am with sun shining in my window. As horrible as the weather was yesterday, today was just lovely. Grand, brilliant, all those Irish terms.

So, I spent a few hours this morning doing some school work and then tackled Dublin. I needed to do some shopping for some gifts for a few folks back home. I won't elaborate just in case any of those people are reading this blog. One place I did go to was Carroll's. This is a chain in Dublin and they have everything you can imagine for gifts and souvenirs. They play all sorts of Irish music like The Fields of Atheny (which I love) and Molly Malone. They were having a promotion that if you spent 100 euros you received an Irish music CD valued at 40 euros. I won't tell you how much I spent but I can say that someone is getting a nice CD for Christmas!

I had a late lunch at the Hairy Lemon Pub again. I can't help it, I'm a sucker for free wifi. I headed home after lunch to unload my bags. I still needed to find an umbrella, so I decided to head over the liffey to Henry Street. I went into quite a few stores in search of an umbrella. Some were department stores, some just store fronts, but didn't have much luck. I couldn't believe it was so hard to find an umbrella. I mean, it's freaking Ireland. Shouldn't every store be selling umbrellas? And shouldn't they be right there at the check out? Seriously, you don't leave home without it, so it should be easy to replace. Right? I finally found a lovely blue and green plaid umbrella at a kiosk in a mall off of Henry Street. I'm sure none of you will ever see this umbrella, as the Irish winds will probably destroy this one too. They had a deal that you could buy a second one for half price. I probably should have gotten two.

I wandered down the farm market alley and picked up some mangerines. I think that's what they were. They look like tangerines or clementines, but they didn't call them that. I got 12 for a euro. Bargain! My friend Sherry called yesterday and told me that I need to increase my vitamin C so I can get healthy again. Hope it works.

As I made my way back to the flat I decided to stop at a place that I pass every day, but never visited, the Queen of Tarts. It's this tiny little storefront with a limited menu and fabulous desserts. So, I had a chocolate chip scone and a cup of tea. I had a window seat so I was able to watch the crowds go by on a Friday afternoon. It was nice.

Tonight the students are enjoying a Friday night of watching the new Twilight movie or going to this great place where they do Irish dancing. The ones who attended last week really enjoyed it. I'm spending the evening cleaning the flat, doing some laundry, and getting ready for a weekend of traveling again. Hopefully the weather cooperates, but it's not looking promising. We start bright and early, as John will be picking me up at 7:20. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. It's always nice to get out of the city, and it's nice to have all the kids together again. It's a good group and I enjoy spending time with them.

Country Braced for the Perfect Storm

That was the headline on the front page of this mornings free newspaper I picked up on the way to Bus 49.  And I quote, "Floods, torrential rain and winds will hit Ireland over the next 48 hours - with experts expecting the worst weather of the year to date." Let's just say, I'm going to need to get a new umbrella. Mine is mangled in ways I never thought possible. The wind was beyond description. While I was waiting for the bus a number of people on bikes rode by. Everyone rides a bike in Dublin, rain or shine. These individuals were laboring against the wind and they were going DOWN hill. They should have been coasting but they were barely able to move forward. It was fierce.

My 8th grade English teacher was a pretty great person (not as great as a couple of English teachers I had in HS, but that is another posting). One day she read us a book she had read to her young boys the night before. Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. There was no Alexander, but it was that kind of day.

It took about 20 minutes for Bus 49 to arrive, and about 30 minutes to ride to Firhouse, where Scoil Carmel is located. It is definitely suburbia, with nothing near the bus stop. So, when I got off the bus the wind and rain nearly knocked me off my feet. It definitely turned my umbrella inside out, in ways I never thought possible. I had to walk to the corner, cross the street, then walk up hill to the school. With no umbrella to block the wind, and rain that was coming sideways, it was a very long ten minute walk to Scoil Carmel. I was soaked by the time I arrived.

I observed two great lessons this morning. Lizzy was with the secondary infants and did a great activity with the kids baby pictures (which, seriously was only a few years ago!). Then Bethany taught a 1st class how to create a table and bar graph using M&M's as her visual aid. She also used a Smartboard which was great. With my love of technology I certainly know about Smartboards, but never saw one incorporated into a lesson before. It was wonderful. The kids could come to the board and move things around on the screen, and Bethany was able to toggle between various screens and show them all sorts of different things. It was really cool. I might have to add that to my wish list for the tech class!

I was enjoying tea after the two lessons but I was dreading going back outside. The wind was literally making the walls shake. I knew I had a ten minute walk back down the hill, cross the street, and then walk another 300 yards or so to the bus stop, which was a pole, not a shelter. I also knew that busses come far and few between that far out in the 'burbs. You can imagine how thrilled I was when the principal offered to take me to my next school. She had to run to the bank and Presentation Girls School (the school she actually attended as a student) was not too far out of her way. I couldn't have been more grateful for such a kind offer. It was definitely a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day - weather wise.

Since Nichole would not be teaching until 1pm, and it was only 11:30, I ducked into the first cafe I came to near Presentation and had a nice lunch while I killed some time. I drank some theraflu as I read one of my technology magazines that I had in my backpack. The theraflu went well with the chocolate chip cookie I had for dessert.

Nichole taught a lesson on America to 1st class (6-7 year olds). They had all sorts of questions, including, "Why does your president have different color skin?" One student thought Barack Obama was Michael Jackson, but she was quickly corrected. I think they believe the state of Montana was named after Hannah, but that's another lesson.

I had another ten minute walk to the bus, and a ten minute wait, but this time there was a shelter, as we were on the main drag heading into the city and there was much more traffic (foot and vehicle). I caught Bus 15A and took it right to the tourist center in city centre. I wasn't sure where I would end up, but it turned out well as I was only a few blocks from home.

It was only 3pm, but I decided to get some dinner to take home so I didn't have to go out again in this mess. I picked up some Chinese food, came home, changed into sweats, threw in a load of laundry and am enjoying a night at home. I'm catching up on some school work and watching some shows taped on my tivo (watching through my slingbox via my laptop). I'm very glad tomorrow is Friday. First order of business, buy me a new umbrella.