Back to Dublin & the Book of Kells

Our four hour trip back from Galway on Sunday morning was split at about the half way point with a stop at an old monastery. We saw a video about the history of the sacred grounds, saw some of the Celtic crosses that were now indoors to help preserve them, and then we wandered the grounds. (The tour guide seemed all too eager to get back inside after she gave her speil.)There were some wonderful old structures and tombstones from centuries ago. The most modern structure was one erected for Pope John Paul's visit a few dozen years ago. As always, it was bitter cold as we walked the frozen grounds. Even as we left at noon the frost on the grass and roads had not melted, despite the sun shining. As I mentioned previously, the waitress at breakfast in Galway called it just, "desperate" when describing the cold and the weather. I'm not a big fan of the cold, by the way. I've been cold since arriving in Ireland!

We arrived back in Dublin around 2pm and after checking into Jury's Inn, Christ Church, we walked a few blocks to a good Italian place for a late lunch. They seem to serve chips (fries) with everything. I did not think my chicken smothered in a red sauce would come with chips, but alas, it did. It is not unusual to actually have two potato side dishes. That has been an adjustment for the students when dining at their host families homes. It is still a surprise to me, but I haven't been one to turn down a good side dish, especially one high in carbs!

We decided to walk off our meal with a trip down Dane Street towards Trinity College. Since we still hadn't fit in a visit to the Book of Kells, we decided to check it out. Since it was 3:30, we had an hour before close. It turned out to be a good time to go as there was not a line and we could walk right in and see the Book up close. It was truly amazing when you read the display describing the process of creating the Book and also the preservation of it for over 1000 years. It was very cool. When leaving the secured, darkened room that contained the Book, we climbed stairs to the Long Room in the Old Library of Trinity College. It is appropriately named since it is 65 meters in length. It was originally only one story when it was built, but in the 1850's the shelves were full so they raised the roof to a barrel-vaulted ceiling and added another floor, which overlooks the main floor. The room now holds 200,000 of the library's oldest books. Some of the books open for display behind glass were from the 1400's and 1500's. Annie and I both love books, so we were loving this room. It was very overwhelming with the size of the room and the number of books contained therein. I thought of my friend Melba, the librarian, and how much she would have enjoyed the Long Room.

After we closed up the Library shop, buying some great gifts for family and friends, we drifted to Grafton Street and took in some of the street musicians and ducked into a few of the stores. I finally got some postcards to send to my nieces and nephews and now have to sit down and actually get them written and sent before I depart in a week. We ended up at a little coffee shop for tea/coffee and a chocolate dessert that we shared. I think the workers were more impressed with their little shop than they should have been. They got Annie's coffee order wrong and seemed to be bothered when we asked for a spoon and for cream. We are such the demanding tourists. There was a bit of an attitude by the Russian immigrant who, upon learning how to use the big fancy coffee machine, called herself a barista. We were not impressed.

Saturday in Galway

All of these days are running together. Since we didn't have Internet access during our trip (except for tapping into a wireless source on Friday night) we both fell behind on our postings. I'll try to remember Saturday.

I do know it started early, as every morning has. We had a fine Irish breakfast and then the bus left the hotel at 9am sharp. We only drove a few blocks to the beach for a group photo. As is the trend, it was bitter cold (0 degrees Celsius), but it didn't keep most of the students from leaving their shoes and socks on the bus so they could wander into the water. I did not.

We drove a few hours to Galway. We were very much looking forward to visiting this city. After we checked in we explored the pedestrian only streets full of shoppers and stores and even checked out a number of outdoor merchants. What a tough way to make a living. It was bitterly cold (and it did downpour for a few minutes). It was so cold the waitress at breakfast on Sunday called it "desperate". We grabbed an early dinner and planned on pub hopping just for some good Irish music later in the evening, but the cold weather and my lingering cold and cough kept us in for the night.

I know more happened on Saturday, but it escapes me at the moment. I will post this and encourage you to check out Annie's blog. She will have a more detailed account tomorrow.

Friday at Dingle

Friday was so jam packed I hope I can remember it all. I seriously encourage you to check out Annie's blog (http://annieire.blogspot.com/) because she really covers the day in great detail. It's all a blur to me, but she actually took notes of all of our locales and stops and recalls it wonderfully in her postings. I hope you are checking it out.

So, we had an excellent breakfast at the Tralee Inn and were back on the bus by 9am. We picked up Sheila, our guide for the day. She did a wonderful job of sharing with us all sorts of stories of the sights we were seeing. Her accent was different than those we have heard in Dublin. She was delightful.

Our first stop of the day was Inch beach, a beautiful long beach that was the site of the movie, Ryan's Daughter (which I now have to put on my Netflix list). A few of our students took off their shoes and waded in the bitter cold water. One brave student decided to mark his 26th birthday with a full body immersion. I was shivering with my scarf, gloves and earmuffs (taken off for the picture!). I can't even imagine taking a swim. The views from this beach were amazing.

All of our stops throughout the day were quick ones. We were definitely on a strict schedule, for a couple of reasons. First, we had to do the entire Dingle Peninsula by 2:30, as the Dean and his wife had to catch a train back to Dublin so they could fly home on Saturday. Second, we needed to catch a ferry by 3:30, or the rest of our day would be in jeopardy.

We made a few brief stops as we proceeded through Dingle and out to the Peninsula, mostly for photo opts. It was just an amazing display of beauty as the landscape and sky met the water. I can't even try to describe it. The weather cooperated perfectly as it was usually dry and sometimes sunny when we would stop, and rain and sometimes hail when we would be on the bus. It resulted in quite a few rainbows.

We did make it back to Dingle for the Dean and his wife to leave with Sheila to catch the 3pm train. We also made it to the ferry with ten minutes to spare. As you can imagine, the ferry was huge, as our bus and the other dozen or so cars were dwarfed by the size of the vessel. We traveled 20 minutes across the Shannon River to Lahinch. It was terribly cold standing on the deck on the ferry, and it did begin to precipitate, so the last few minutes of the ferry ride were spent on the bus.

When we arrived at Lahinch we checked into two hotels right next to each other, owned by the same person. The Atlantic Hotel was a wonderful old hotel with winding hallways and charming rooms, complete with a window seat. The few shops that were open in this mostly tourist seaside town were closing in about an hour so we quickly made our way to a local wool store where I was able to purchase a lovely scarf to match my jacket. We purchased a few gifts and then wandered back to the hotel to get ready for a late, but incredibly delicious, three course Irish meal.

We were determined to find some live Irish music for our evening entertainment, but the event was cancelled in the hotel next door and the pub down the street (where a number of our students were celebrating the birthday of the morning swimmer) was playing reggae. Not exactly what we had in mind. When the third (and final) pub on the street was playing something not Irish, we decided to call it a night.

All in all, a very good day on the Dingle Peninsula.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving started bright and early. John Nolen was ready to pick us up at 6am. We then drove to Delaney's Pub to pick up the students. That is always the meeting place for trips. All of the students live within walking distance from their schools, which are all south of the city. The drive to Delaney's can take 45 minutes or so, but that early on a Thursday morning we made it in 25 minutes. The students came from all directions out of the darkness dragging their luggage for the four day trip.

Our drive out of the city and across the middle of Ireland was nothing impressive, I must say. It looked very much like the view from I-80 on my treks across PA during the summer months. Lots of green grass, a few houses, and cows and sheep scattered about. I think I nodded off during the early hours. Actually, truth be told, I was out cold.

We stopped for an Irish breakfast around 9am. We had the typical eggs, sausage, bacon, blood pudding (not me!), scones, etc. We drove a bit more to Limerick. We drove past the University of Limerick, where SRU has a fall exchange program with their PE majors. I had three Irish students in class this fall. It was great to see where they came from. We stopped at King John's Castles and spent some time wandering the grounds. When I finally get my pictures uploaded I will be sure to include a few. We were blessed with a bit of sunshine during the visit, as it rained throughout the day. It rains throughout most days, actually. That does lead to some wonderful rainbows!

From Limerick we drove to Adare where we stopped so everyone could find their family name. I did find my mother's maiden name, Finn. It was a fast stop. Onward we went to Tralee. We had a few hours to visit the museum and do some shopping (in the rain!). Since we were in county Kerry, I was on a mission to find some article of clothing with Kerry on it. That is my brother's name, although we pronounce it "Curry" in eastern PA. I found him a scarf. Not as cool as perhaps a Kerry rugby shirt, but what are the odds that he would really wear something with his name across his chest?

We checked into the Tralee Townhouse, a small private hotel around 5pm and had a chance for some R & R prior to our 7:30pm Thanksgiving dinner. We had reserved the second floor of a local pub where we were served a very good three course dinner of soup, turkey, ham, stuffing, vegetables, baked pototatos and apple pie for dessert. The highlight of the meal was a local man, Derry, who played what he considered American favorites (Yellow Rose of Texas and the National Anthem, among others) on his accordian. All 31 individuals (minus Derry who just smiled and drank his Guinness) shared what they were thankful for as the evening drew to a close. It turned out to be a pretty good Thanksgiving, even without a football game to watch.

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...

St. Colmcille's School

I am updating my blog from the staff room at St. Colmcille's Community School, while drinking tea and enjoying an Irish bisquit! This is a secondary school where I just observed an English transition class. The transition year is 15-16 year olds and some students actually skip this year. 1st year is 12-13 yr olds, 2nd year is 13-14 yr olds, 3rd year is 14-15 yr olds, then transition, and then 5th year, 15-17 yr olds and finally 6th year which are 17-18 year olds. I learned that they have no assessments at all (no tests, quizzes, graded homework, papers, etc.) What they have is a week of testing in November (which was last week) and again in February and June. That is it. It is different than in the states, that's for sure, but the students are still about a grade level ahead of what we have observed back home. Here at Colmcilles secondary level we also have a student teacher teaching History.

We walked here from Colmcilles primary building. We observed two different physical education classes, one for first class (kindergarten) and the other with primary infants (4 year olds). Both of the classes went very well as they worked on locomotor skills, tumbling, personal space, and the parachute. The kids really enjoy our PE student teachers since there are really no organized PE at that level. It is the responsibility of the classroom teacher to teach PE, most of the time.

We left the hotel at 7:55am, caught the 8:25 bus 16 and rode it about 45 minutes. We will return late afternoon and then will leave at 5pm to walk back to Trinity College to catch a 5:25 bus to a place called Ballenteer. We are hosting a social at a local pub for the host families and cooperating teachers and administrators. That event will be from 7-9, so it looks like another late evening.

Today is still quite brisk, but at least it is not raining as it was yesterday. It was 39 degrees yesterday, but it felt like 29 (according to weather.com). My cold is progressing to the congested head and uncontrollable cough stage. I hope to turn a corner before the weekend. The weather should warm up a bit also.

The bell just rang, so I must be off. Until later...

First (of many) Moving Days

Today started bright and early with a walk to the bus stop at 7:55. The Dean joined us on this cold and raining morning. We took the 15B to the very last stop. This school will be easy to get to when I am alone, it's the connections that will be a challenge. We observed a wonderful lesson to 4th graders about Thanksgiving, and then they played a few songs for us on their recorders. They also sang for us as well. We stayed for their weekly Monday morning assembly where they practiced another song that they will sing on December 6 with thousands of other Irish students. They are going for the Guinness World Record. They also handed out a few award certificates, such as best behaved on the play yard, and a few others. Upon our departure we quickly hustled to catch the 15B just a few stops where we had to connect for the 74A. We started to get concerned when it didn't arrive right away, and contemplated our alternatives, but then in a distance, the 74A. What a grand sight! We took that to the Yellow House (which is not really a house at all, but rather a pub) and then walked to St. Mary's Boys School. We each observed a student teacher while the Dean took pictures and met a number of the teachers. We were able to catch the 16A bus which brought us back to the city. From there we went to purchase bus tickets for the next two days, as ours expire today. As my colleagues went to a local pub for lunch, I made my way back to the flat.

Today I moved from the flat to the hotel, Jury's Inn, next door. This is the hotel where friends and family stay when visiting, and where the Dean and his wife are currently staying. We have a few family's visiting for the Thanksgiving week, and they will join us on our trip later in the week. My friend Annie arrived this AM, so I joined her when I got back to the city. We walked down Lord Edwards/Dame St. towards Trinity but turned onto St. George's to show her the tourist center (where we buy our bus passes) and the post office right across the street. From there we walked to Grafton Street and wandered a few side streets. We settled on a wonderful Thai place for a late lunch. I'm glad she made it safely. I think she will love Dublin and is anxious to start exploring. She actually saw quite a bit when she ventured out earlier in the day, as her flight had arrived at 6:30am and we did not connect until close to 2pm.

Tomorrow is another early day, going to the only school I have yet to visit. They were testing all of last week so there was not a lot of teaching being done. We have two PE student teachers at the elementary level and then our two secondary students are at the high school, one in English and one in Social Studies. All four of these were assigned to me this semester so I am anxious to see them again and watch them teach in an Irish classroom.

Since I left the flat, I no longer have Internet access. It is 5 euros for an hour (10 euros a day) at the hotel. There are Internet cafes all over the city, so I am at one right now, paying 1 euro for 30 minutes. I hope to continue to update my blog, but it becomes more difficult now. During our four day Thanksgiving trip I am most certain I will not have Internet access, so I will be spending lots of euros when we return to tell you all about it. We drive to the west coast of Ireland, with many stops in between, so I will hope my memory serves me well when I try to update my blog early next week. Having said that, I do hope to be back online tomorrow.

I believe it's time for tea. And perhaps a scone. Until next time...