Happy Thanksgiving!

Since I seriously doubt I will be anywhere near a computer tomorrow, I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. Please eat some turkey for me and cheer on the Eagles. From what I have been reading online, they desperately need some help! At least the Steelers keep winning (for now).

When I was last online I was at St. Colmcilles Secondary school, enjoying tea and checking email. When we left St. Colmcilles we caught the 16 bus (you know, I'm just making up bus numbers now, I really have no idea which one we took. I am going to be in so much trouble next week when I am flying solo!). Annie and I grabbed a very late lunch at the Larder, which is a wonderful store front cafe with the best homemade vegetable soup. It happens to be right next door to this Internet cafe. The vegetable soup here is actually more like a puree, but it is very good. They even gave us the recipe. When we left we had less than an hour before we had to meet again for a trip back to the suburbs. I spent that time copying all the notes my colleague had taken on the various bus routes and landmarks to look for in traveling to the nine different schools that are hosting our student teachers. It is very overwhelming.

So we met at 5, hiked back to Trinity College to meet bus 14A (?) to Ballenteer at 5:30 and arrived at the Ballenteer Pub at 6:30. This was the evening of our SRU social for the cooperating teachers and principals. Since the co-ops here do not get paid (unlike our co-ops in the states) we always host an evening at a local pub to thank them. The friends and family who are visiting for this holiday week also attend. It's the first time I have seen all of the student teachers together since I arrived over a week ago. It was a great opportunity for the Dean to meet and thank the many individuals who welcome our students into their schools and their classrooms. It was a nice evening, but another late one, as we did not get back until close to 11pm. It actually could have been later, as we (7 of us) actually got on the wrong one but realized it before we took off. The bus system is great, when you know what you are doing.

This morning wasn't quite so early, as we only have one school in the vicinity of Scoil Carmel. We met at 9:30 to catch bus 48 not far from the flat. It was nice not having to walk to Trinity to catch bus 15 or 15B, as we do for all the other schools. My student teacher was teaching the number 10, and counting down from 10-1. They created a rocket project as well. This was a class of primary infants (4 yr olds). My student teacher was entertaining us last evening with stories of her students. Apparently the big thing now during yard (recess) is pulling down the pants of the other boys. She claims to have seen way too many "winkies" on the school yard. That made me laugh.

Since we only had one school to observe we got back a little earlier than normal (1pm) so I was able to pick up my laundry and start packing for the trip tomorrow. We had hoped to visit Trinity College and the Book of Kells, but it ended up getting dark by the time we had a late lunch and ran a few more errands. That will be high on the list for next week. Annie was able to visit the Writers Museum (she was an English major!) and the Dublin Castle today, among many other sites. If you are interested in her blog check it out. She is much more eloquent than I am, and is having a different Dublin experience since I am in the schools every day, and she is able to explore the city. Here is a link to her site:

http://annieire.blogspot.com

As I mentioned previously, we depart tomorrow for the west coast of Ireland. I can't wait to see life outside of Dublin. We will be visiting Tralee (Thanksgiving dinner on the second floor of a pub), Dingle Peninsula, Cliffs of Moher, Lahinch and Galway. I doubt I will be online again until next week, but perhaps I will find an Internet cafe somewhere along the way. I will have my laptop but doubt I will get a wireless connection! I am bringing it so my elementary education majors can present their action research projects to me while on the bus. So much to do...

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy the break from school and/or work. If you get a chance, feel free to post a comment or send me an email. Until next time...