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.