On My Own: St. Patricks and Ballyroan Boys School

Today was my first day navigating the Dublin mass transit system by myself. I checked the bus schedule and decided to get the 8:25 bus (15B) to St. Patricks school. I left the apartment at 7:55 and must have walked very fast because I arrived at the bus stop at Trinity College by 8:10. Everyone seems to walk with a purpose in Dublin. You walk very fast and you do not yield. I haven't figured out the walking pattern yet. It's almost like human chicken. You just keep walking until someone moves to avoid a collision. And then you may, or may not say excuse me. I thought that since they drive on the opposite side of the street perhaps they walk that way as well. Not so much. There is no rhyme or reason to the walking process. Also, I might add, there seems to be an abundance of strollers with the cutest babies strapped in tightly. I suppose they are strapped in so well due to the warp speed that mommy or daddy push them about town. It does not matter that it is below freezing, those babes are wrapped up and pushed all over Dublin. All of the strollers have a clear plastic tarp that fit over the entire stroller, kind of like the Pope-mobile, to keep the toddlers protected from the wind and rain. Did I mention that it's cold and wet in Ireland?

So, I got on the 15B at around 8:15 (caught the earlier bus). I took a seat on the upper level so I could check off all the landmarks en route to my stop. First there was the canal with the swans, then a church tower, then St. Josephs (a school I will go to tomorrow), left at the Hyundai dealer, past the Morgue (pub not dead people), left over a small bridge, past the Topaz gas station, Bushy Park, Rathfarnean Shopping Center and another church on the right. That is where I rang the bell for the bus to stop. When I got off the bus I had to remember from my one visit there last week, which direction to head for St. Patricks. Luckily, school was soon to start so I just followed the masses (and strollers) to the top of the hill and voila, there it was. I checked in at the hall (gym) to make sure my two PE majors were teaching at 9:30 (it was now 9am) and went on to find my special education student teacher. I found her in another small annex building and we decided that I could observe her working with a student one on one after the PE lesson. Once this was determined I went to the staff room to find me some tea. I resisted the urge to enjoy the Weight Watchers cookies on the table and focused on getting warm with my cup of tea. As the morning announcements came on the intercom I realized why I was not getting any warmer. Apparently this is energy conservation week and they will not be turning on the heat. Yeah. Have I mentioned how cold I am in Ireland? They told the girls what they were permitted to wear under their uniforms to stay warm. I did enjoy the little girls helping with the announcements. They were given in both Irish and English and they finished up with a song. I'm not sure of the exact title, but the words to each stanza began, "Moses you're the man...." I kid you not. So...I observed a PE lesson to junior infants with my scarf and jacket on and then observed my special education teacher work with Conner on his spelling while playing a fishing game. Then I left St. Patricks in search of Ballyroan Boy's School, and another cup of tea.

As luck would have it, Ballyroan was only a few turns away and about a 10 minute walk. I did find the teachers room, accepted the invitation for tea (resisted the jam tarts on the table) and thawed out before finding my two elementary student teachers. I observed one teaching a short lesson on reading and the other using M&M's to teach her 7-8 year olds about fractions. The lesson was very well received, especially when the boys were permitted to eat their M&M's at the conclusion of the lesson. As I left Ballyroan I had to cut through yard (recess) and I observed the boys skipping and sliding on the frost covered blacktop. Despite the noon hour and a sunny day, the frost was still very apparent on the school yard. I witnessed a few wipe outs. I imagine the nurse was busy today, as I saw two teachers carrying in an injuried student as I left the gate.

I passed a number of bus stops as I left Ballyroan. None were labeled so I thought it best to backtrack to where I initially got off the bus to take it back to city center. There was a woman waiting who confirmed that it was indeed the 15B stop and I would get back to city center. Feeling pretty good that I was in the right spot I waited for the bus. It finally arrived after a 25 minute wait and I reviewed those key landmarks on our trip back to city center. This time I had the front seat on the upper level and had a great view of the sights. It only took 25 minutes to return (45 minutes to get there in rush hour traffic) and it was exactly 1:11 when I stepped off the bus on Dawson Street. (Those who know me well know that I am obsessed with the number 1:11 - it is my birthday, FYI). From Dawson I cut across Anne St. to Grafton and made a right. I walked a few blocks and then turned left on Wicklow. I made another right and a left and finally made it to Dame Street. From there it is just a ten minute walk uphill to Christ Church and home. I don't know if the route I took was the most direct (I'm sure it was not) or the quickest (again, probably not), but it got me home without having to ask for directions and without getting lost. That is a major accomplishment for me. My sense of direction is so bad I turned the wrong way out of my hotel room to get to the elevator last night! So... I survived my first solo trip to the 'burbs and back. Tomorrow I get to do it all over again. St. Joseph and St. Pius, here I come!