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.