Scoil Mhuir and St. Marys Boys School

Today was my first day tackling the Dublin bus system. I trekked down Lord Edward/Dame St. to Trinity College. I took the free newspaper that they hand out because it comes in handy when you have to clean off the condensation on the bus windows to see the landmarks to get to where you need to go.  I waited about 10-15 minutes for Bus 15B (not to be confused with 15 or 15A). Once on board I headed to the top level of the double decker bus. It's easier to see the landmarks up there. The nice part about heading to Scoil Mhuir is not worrying about where to get off. I take it to the very end, to Whitechurch,about a 50 minute ride today. The school is located behind the church in a pretty economically disadvantaged area. It doesn't really look like it, but the teacher did mention it to me. I stopped by to see the principal, Owen MacLaughlin, and he led me to Mr. Johnsons room. I remember Mr. Johnson from last year. He is a wonderful older gentleman who has a great relationship with his students (4th class, equal to 4th grade in the states). He loves music, has a keyboard in the front of the class, and is teaching them the pipes (I think that is what they are called) and practicing for the city wide choir competition in December. I remember that from last year. I chatted with Megan for a little bit, Mr. Johnson talked to me in the hallway about attending the next faculty meeting, and then headed to see Krista. Her co-op was a young woman in her thirties who seems very nice. She was throwing Krista in today (her second day) by having her teach a lesson on Thanksgiving. I assured Krista that I would not observe today, as I wanted to give her time to adjust to the Irish classroom.

When I left Scoil Mhuir I had to pick up the 15B again and then connect to the 74A. I waited at both stops for 10 minutes or so, but since it was a sunny, fairly warm (by Ireland standards) day I didn't mind. I rode the 74A a few miles to the Yellow House, which isn't really a house. It's a pub. I turned right at the Yellow House, up the hill, and found the blue gates that lead to St. Mary's Boys National School. The secretary led me to one of the classrooms where Brittnee was located. We went to the teachers room to chat. About ten minutes later it was tea time, so all three of my student teachers were in the teachers room and we caught up over a cup of tea.  After the 10-15 minute break and the teachers dispersed, the student teachers expressed some of their experiences and concerns thus far. Our students observe very quickly that the Irish school system is different than ours, and the most glaring difference is in classroom management and discipline. It doesn't necessarily exist here. What our students have been taught, and what worked in the states, doesn't necessary work as well here. They need to be creative in discovering ways to engage the students differently. They are bright kids here in the Irish schools, but there is always a lot of chatter and not a lot of respect for the student teachers. That disarms our kids a bit. They are not used to that type of classroom and/or behavior. I gave them a pep talk and assured them that they will be better for the experience and to embrace the opportunity that they have. They all have great attitudes so I am sure they will be fine.

When I left St. Mary's I had to catch the 16 or 16A back to city centre. The bus was very crowded coming into the city at noon and took about 35 minutes. It dropped me off right across from Dunne's, the grocery store near my flat. I headed home, but first stopped for lunch at the Larder. I might have to change my rule about not eating in the same place twice. I forgot how much I liked that place last year. I had a wonderful BLT on toasted sesame bagel with couscous and salad greens as my two side dishes. By the way, bacon here is not the same as home. It is more like Canadian bacon, or ham, but it's not like ours. It's not bad, it's just different.

After lunch I headed back to the flat to do some school work. I also was anxious to log onto my laptop so I could watch the Steelers game via my slingbox and Tivo. I made sure not to log onto the Internet (Facebook, blogs or websites) where the outcome may have been mentioned. I thoroughly enjoyed the game (mostly the second half!) as the Steelers won in grand fashion. (Note the use of grand. They say grand and brilliant a great deal around here.)

Tomorrow it is on to St. Colmcilles Junior and Secondary, to check in on "the boys", my three male student teachers. Bus 15 should get me there. We shall see...

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for the student teachers. They were all to email me this evening and let me know how it went. Tomorrow I start making the rounds. So far the feedback has been very positive. They are excited about their classes and are anxious to start teaching. Some are already scheduled to teach a few lessons this week, which is great.

I spent the morning mapping out the week. It has proven to be a real challenge. I have 16 student teachers in 10 different schools, all in the suburbs. Three of the schools are new from a year ago, so I haven't a clue where they are or how to get there. The student teachers are to email me as much information as they can (bus number, landmarks, etc.) and hopefully I will find them. Tomorrow I am starting at two schools that I remember from a year ago, Scoil Mhuir and St. Marys Boys School. Hopefully I will remember the landmarks, where to ring the bell, where to get off, which direction to go off the bus and where to connect. And then, hopefully, I will make it back to city centre. We will see...Stay tuned...

I went out around 11am in search of a watch. A few days ago mine decided to stop functioning. The buttons sometimes changed the feature (time, alarm, stopwatch, etc.), and mostly did not. As I walked today it literally fell off my wrist, so that was the final determining factor, I needed a new watch. I went down through the Temple Bar District, just because I hadn't yet, and crossed over the Liffey at O'Connell Street. I went up Henry Street and ducked down a side street where they had a farmers market. I bought some grapes and mandarins and continued in search of a watch. I entered a three story mall off of Henry Street but was having trouble figuring out what store sold what products by their names, until I found the "Watch Store". Bingo. Ironically, when I took student teachers to Mexico City in 2005 my watch also broke. I finally bought an adidas watch off a street vendor for 11 pecos. I spent a good bit more today for the cheapest casio on the shelf. Nevertheless, I am now set with a new watch to get me to the bus(es) on time.

After a late pizza lunch at Milano (a place highly recommended from last years group), I headed back to the flat to do some school work. I am chairing two different graduate students practicum projects, and needed to read the first three chapters that they each submitted right before I left SRU. One down (edited version sent) and one to go. I also need to write a ROCK Grant that is due by Friday. That is the evenings entertainment.

After about three hours of school work I headed out to grab some dinner. I opted for chicken swarmama at abrakebabra's. Not such a good choice, but live and learn. I am determined to, 1) not eat from any American fast food places (McD's, BK, KFC, Subway, etc.) and (2) not eat at the same place twice. Charlies, the fast food Chinese place, doesn't count. It is convenient and fairly tasty. That's my go to meal. I've been there twice so far.

Lydia just called. She is John Nolen's lady friend whom I met a year ago. She went on our four day trip with us this past week. She is from Latvia and has been here for 7 years. She has quite the story of getting out of her country as a child. She even has numbers tatooed on her hand from her struggles. She asked if I wanted to go out some night this week. She will check the internet and find something for us to do. That will be a nice change of pace.

I hear the weather is great back home. Pushing 70 degrees if the rumors are true. Here, not so much. It was raining when I went out for dinner, and still pretty cold. Not Eagles earmuff cold, but zip up the coat and walk fast kind of cold. Gotta love Ireland in November.

Cathedrals

Since today is my only free Sunday in Dublin, I wanted to attend a service at either Christ Church Cathedral, right across the street, or St. Patricks Cathedral, a few blocks down the street. I went online to check out the times of the services and decided to attend Christ Church this morning and St. Patricks this afternoon.

The service at Christ Church began at 11am. I had not entered Christ Church in my last visit to Dublin, so I definitely wanted to see the inside. You can pay 6 Euros to tour the church, but I wanted to actually attend a service if I could. From the website, "It is Dublin’s oldest building, though much changed in the course of its thousand year history. Architecturally, it is famed for its Norman crypt (the second largest in Britain or Ireland) and for the arcading of the nave which is considered to be the finest example of Early English in the country. It is probably both liturgically and musically the most ambitious of Ireland’s Anglican places of worship." The service was run by the The Very Revd Dermot P. M. Dunne, the Dean of Christ Church, in addition to four other men in various colored robes. When church was over I wandered around the sancuary to check out the inside of this historical landmark. I didn't plan on taking any pictures until the door opened and the tourists with backpacks and cameras entered the church, before the sacraments were even collected. With that, I took out my camera and started clicking away. The pictures can be found at:  http://picasaweb.google.com/joanne.leight

After church I came back to the flat, picked up my backpack and map, and headed back out to a surprisingly sunny day in Dublin. I grabbed a late lunch at a place called South Street (it reminded me of Philly) and decided to head to Saint Stephens Green. I never got there last year, although I rode past it every day on the bus. It was either too late (it closes at dusk) or too rainy to venture into the park a year ago. It is a great place and was filled with lots people today. Some were sitting on benches drinking tea/coffee, feeding the pigeons, swans or ducks, pushing strollers, or taking pictures. It was full of activity. I found this description on another website, "St. Stephen's Green was enclosed in 1664. The 22 acre park was laid out in its present form in 1880. Landscaped with flowerbeds, trees, a fountain and a lake, the green is dotted with memorials to eminent Dubliners. The 1887 bandstand is still the focal point for free daytime concerts in summer." You can check the above link for photos of the park.

I then ventured into uncharted territory by trekking to St. Patricks Catheral, for a 3:15 Evensong Service. My sense of direction is not so good, but I made it without incident. It did help that I was following a very large steeple. I joined the many people snapping photos in the courtyard. I wandered to the entrance about 25 minutes before the service was to begin and noticed a large crowd already filing in. A women was shooing tourists away and I asked if visitors were permitted to Evensong. She asked a man in a white robe and he said yes, but it was Remembrance Sunday and the place was already pretty packed. I entered and found a seat in the very last row of the massive cathedral. There were many older men wearing dark suits with medals. They must have served their time in the military decades ago. Ten of these men marched in holding flags of various military associations around Ireland. The most incredible treat was the attendance of the President of Ireland, Mrs. Mary McAleese. She was escorted to the State Pew two minutes before the service began. With her were the President of the Women's Section of the Royal British Legion of the Republic of Ireland, and also

the Ambassador of the United Kingdom, both of who read the lessons of the service. The sermon was delivered by the Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe. The President laid a wreath at the war memorial in the north transept during the service. This was impossible to see from where I was sitting, but I did check it out when the service was over. I took a little bit of time to walk around the sactuary and read the many memorials. Jonathan Swift was Dean of St. Patricks for many years. It is a wonderful building. I was thrilled to see the President and have her stand only about ten feet away from me. It was a real treat.

Dusk was beginning so I headed back up the hill to the flat. I ducked into the Centra for a couple cans of Pepsi and noticed they were having a sale, buy one six pack of Pepsi get one free. Score! 

Tonight I am watching football on my slingbox, Two and a Half Men reruns on TV, and trying to map out the bus schedule for the student teachers. They begin school tomorrow. I will give them a day to get settled and will start making the rounds on Tuesday. The fun begins...

Boyle Abbey, Lough Key Forest Park and Boda Borg

This morning began with a nice breakfast prepared by Monica, the young Polish woman who ran the B&B. She has been here for three years and is returning to Poland in December. She was very kind to us during our visit.

We departed Sligo and headed to the Boyle Abbey. Of course, it was raining pretty hard so we just stopped for a quick photo shoot and then back on the bus. We arrived at Lough Key Forest Park mid-morning and fortunately the rain slowed down enough for us to tour the Park and the old homestead. From the brochure, "The Lough Key Experience will take you on an engaging journey of nature and history thorugh the 19th Century underground servants tunnels, up the Moylurg Viewing Tower and along Ireland's first Tree Canopy Trail - a 300m long creation of timber and steel that gently rises 9m above the woodland floor offering a birds eye view of the landscape." Below are two pictures on top of the Viewing Tower.

After our tour we went back into the main building and experienced Boda Borg, and it was awesome! We watched a two minute video and listened to an explanation on how to play the game. We divided into groups of three. I was with Lydia, John Nolen's lady friend who was on the trip with us. She is a trauma nurse at the Dublin hosptial in City Centre. The third person was Shawna, an elementary education major who happens to have a perfect 4.0 (which came in handy). There are only nine Boda Borg's in the world and eight are in Sweden. Here is how you play: there are 40 rooms on two floors, each with a color and name on the door and a light above. A green door means a challenge that is more mental, a red door means a challenge that is moderately physical and also mental, and a black door indicates very physical. If the light over the door is green, you may enter. If it is blinking green it is either resetting or someone is in it.  The names on the doors were such things as laser, light, strength, sports, farm, and colours, among others. With no directions you had to solve the challenge with trial and error, ingenuity, and skill, to get the light over the exit door to light green. If you messed up it turned red and you had to leave the room. You could try again or try a new door. If you were correct, you entered a second room, and then a third, and finally a fourth. If at any time you did not solve the challenge, you had to go back to room one in the sequence and go through the rooms again. Finally, if you successfully navigated the four rooms (or some had less) your ticket was stamped and you solved that room. There were 15 possible stamps and if you got five you were a master! We got two. The most in our group were three groups that got three stamps. It was really a great challenge and lots of fun. I would do it again in a heartbeat. My knees are bruised as we had to crawl and climb and slide and jump and run and mentally solve all of the rooms. The time flew by as we did this for two hours. It was really cool.

When we were finished with Boda Borg we had lunch in the cafe. Here is an example of what a great group of students I have with me. Before our hike we had to give our lunch order. With a show of hands there were 6 for chicken ala king with rice and 13 for lasagna with chips. No biggie. When lunch arrived the kitchen had reversed the order. Without missing a beat students just started offering to eat the chicken instead of the lasagna and problem solved. No complaints, no fuss, nothing. I thought that was pretty cool. They really are a good group and I enjoyed getting to know them better on this trip north.

We headed back to Dublin, a trip of two and a half hours or so. John dropped the students off near their host families and at Delaney's, and Paddy brought me to the flat from Delaney's. I got home just as Christ Church Catheral rang the 5pm bells. After about an hour I headed out for some dinner. I wasn't in the mood for sitting alone in a restaurant or pub on a Saturday night. I was happy to be home in the flat so I went off in search of "take away" and decided on Charlies, a fast food Chinese place that is only a few blocks down Dame Street. The city was bustling but I was happy to come home, put on sweats, and watch some TV from home via my laptop through my TiVo and slingbox. I love technology. Right now I am watching the Penn State - Ohio State game. It's better than old Friends reruns on Irish TV. The same episode runs numerous times a day. I'm very glad I bought a slingbox. For those of you unfamiliar, it permits me to watch my home TV through the internet on my laptop. Since I have it hooked through my TiVo I can also watch my taped shows as well. It helps pass the long evenings in the flat. Truth be told, I am a TV junkie.

Tomorrow morning I will venture out for church. I can't decide if I should go to Christ Church Cathedral across the street, or St. Patricks a few blocks away. I went online to find out what time the service was at Christ Church and imagine my surprise when I found out that a church founded in 1480 could be followed on Twitter!

If you are interested in checking out my pictures from the four days in northern Ireland, check out my photo albums on picasa. Here is the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/joanne.leight

Let me know what you think.

WB Yeats and Sligo

Tonight I am in room 4 at the Park Bed and Breakfast in Sligo. Three nights, three different accommodations, all in room 4. I wonder what that means...

The day began with a walk along the beach. I know that sounds great, and in theory it was, in reality, not so much. Picture this: bitter cold, whipping winds, and just as we hiked to a hillside overlooking the ocean for a group photo, downpour. The wind was so fierce it could literally knock you off your feet. As we hiked back to the bus there was a terrific squall of rain from behind us so everyone ended up soaked in the back. One student took off his jeans and wore shorts for the scenic two hour bus ride to the town of Donegal. There is nothing better than sitting in wet jeans for a long bus ride. When we arrived in Donegal we had a few blocks to walk to the Donegal castle. Our student ducked into a store and actually bought a pair of jeans (the shorts were a bit cold in the bitter Irish air)to get through the day. Danny, our tour guide, gave us a nice tour of the castle, which was built in 1465. There were two other older couples wandering the castle with us and one of the men was wearing a Pirates hat. I questioned if he was a fan (it's hard to find Pirates fans in Pittsburgh, let alone Ireland) and he said he was from Boston but his daughter-in-law was from Ligonier. The hat was given to him from his son. He was actually a Red Sox fan.

After the castle we had about an hour on our own for lunch and some shopping. I found a great little place called The Old Abbey's Coffee and Gourmet Sandwich Shoppe. They had quite a few great things on the menu, including gourmet pizza and baked potatos. Since I was still chilled from the wet jeans and the castle tour, I opted for the homemade vegetable soup with wheaten bread. It was mightly tasty and warmed me up. As I sat there observing the locals enjoying their lunch, a James Taylor song came on the radio. I had a flashback to the summer before last when I saw him at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia. Listening to him in Donegal made me smile. I'm a long way from Philly. I ordered a tea to go and I was off to do some window shopping before catching the bus at 1:30.

We then traveled to Drumcliffe Graveyard, the burial place of the great Irish poet and statesman, WB Yeats. John had asked me yesterday if I would choose a student to read about Yeats and to recite one of his poems. Since we have one English major on the trip, I naturally thought of him. So John (the student) took the bus microphone and shared some information about Yeats, reciting from a book John Nolen had given him. He also read a poem when we stopped to get some great pictures overlooking the Lake Isle of Innisfree. Yeats is buried at a small cemetary in an unassuming plot. I took a few pictures and even picked up a few postcards at the giftshop for my friends who majored in English in college. They would have liked this particular place. Oh, and I ordered another tea to go. I was still trying to get warm. I was finally dry, but still chilled.

After leaving the Drumcliffe Graveyard we stopped at the Lough Gill and saw another castle. This one was closed for the season, but we could still take pictures from the outside and go down to the dock and take pictures from the water.

Next stop, Sligo. We arrived around half past four. I am in the Park B&B, with nine of our students, and John is at the B&B across the street with the remaining seven. It's a great little place, especially since we were able to tap into the wireless. They are not so lucky across the street. Around 6pm we had dinner at Molly Fultons bar and restaurant. We had three choices for each of the three courses. It was an excellent meal. I had a chance to sit with some of the students that I don't know well, so that was nice.

Now I am back in room 4, drinking tea and trying to stay warm. Tomorrow we head back to Dublin, but first we visit the Boyle Abbey and the Lough Key Forest Park and Tour Boda Borg, all before lunch. The students should be back in time to have dinner with their host families. They start school on Monday. I will spend Sunday uploading pictures and trying to make them available to anyone who would like to see them. I've taken over 200 just on this three day trip. Any suggestions on the best online site to make these available: flickr, adobe, picassa? Any ideas?

Donegal

Thursday, November 5

Today began with a 7am text message on my Irish phone from John. I believe the exact words were: Yankees win 7-3. Not the news I wanted to wake up to, but after reading the postings of my Phillies friends on Facebook I guess it's a good thing I didn't stay up all night watching such a bad game. I have yet to read any details, and may never, but it didn't sound like a game I would have enjoyed. Oh well...they had a great run. They provided an additional month of fun and excitement. The odds of winning back to back are very slim. The only National League team to do so since the early 1900's was the Big Red Machine of the Cincinnati Reds in 1974-75. So, the fact that they got back to the Series was a great accomplishment, especially with the worst closer in baseball and a starting rotation that was suspect. The good news is...only a couple of months until pitchers and catchers report to spring training!

On to todays events.

After another Irish breakfast we headed to the town of Derry, about an hour away from where we were staying. We had a wonderful hour long foot tour of Derry (or Londonderry, if you prefer that time in history) from our tour guide, Tommy. I found it incredibly ironic that we started our tour from the tourist center by cutting through a three story mall. We went up two sets of escalators before departing the mall right at the enterance of the historic wall that surrounds the city. It's a wonderful old town with lots of history and very proud residents, if Tommy was any indication of the general population. The weather was totally Irish, cold and rainy. Sometimes it would drizzle, other times rain hard enough for umbrellas, Nonetheless, Tommy was unfazed and gave us a very good tour.

We continued on to the town of Dunlewey, but made a stop at Grianain of Aileach first. It's basically a Ring Fort owned by the O'Neill Family. It was on top of a large mountain and incredibly cold and windy. And as if on cue, started to downpour as we were assembling for a group photo on top of the fort. We got some wonderful photos at this spot and one other when John pulled over just for the photo opportunities. (When I get back to Dublin I will work on uploading my photos online to share with others.)

We arrived in Dunlewey, a very remote town on the Dunlewey Lake, around lunch time. The Ionaid Cois Locha is a local co-op that has a number of attractions. We were greeted with a lunch of tea, scones and various sandwiches. Then we went on a boat ride around the lake. Again, as if on cue, it started to rain harder when we were on the water. Fortunately we could go under cover and still get some great pictures from the water. Upon returning to shore we viewed a six minute video on the history of Dunlewey and the art of weaving. Our host then demonstrated spinning the wool on an old spinning wheel. He then took us to the room that had a huge weaving loom. It had 410 individual spools of wool that were being weaved on this loom. One of the students tried her hand at the process, which involves much concentration. After leaving the weaving demonstration we were given a tour of the original homestead and told a little bit about Sophie, the owner. After exploring the grounds we ventured into the gift shop where everything was on sale. They close down for the winter and we were the last ones through. We killed some time in front of the very welcome and warm fire and then enjoyed a great dinner of either: turkey and ham (yes, both), beef or salmon. You can guess that they all came with a side of mashed potatoes.

We left Ionaid Cois Locha to travel about 20 minutes to the Teach Campbell Bed and Breakfast in Bunbeg, an Irish speaking area. I am told it is right on the Atlantic Ocean, but I can neither confirm or deny that fact, as it was dark when when arrived. We had about an hour and a half to get settled and to the joy of all who had brought laptops, discovered a wireless signal.

We went back to Ionaid Cois Locha around 8pm for an evening of Irish music. Donegal is known for it's fine musicians and they did not disappoint. An added treat was the opening number when they let Adam, one of our students, play a number on his Irish bagpipes. He did a great job and I even videotaped the entire piece on my camera. The musicians that followed were phenomenon. An older gentleman named Alec Finn played the bazooka, which looked like a cross between a mandolin, banjo and guitar. My mother's maiden name was Finn, so I was interested in him simply because of his name. A women played the fiddle like I have never seen before. She was amazing. The third musician was a younger man who played a small accordian. At one point they had a young man in the audience sing a couple of songs and play his accordian. Apparently he had just won the Irish equivilent to the Oscar on Saturday and apologized for being hoarse. He said he's been partying since Saturday. He sang in Gaelic (Irish) so I don't know what the words were, but he was very good as well.

As we started back to the B&B I felt compelled to give my lecture on responsible behavior. There is a pub nearby that the students wanted to visit and so I made sure they understood that they need to look after one another and to always travel in groups. We have 16 student teachers and 13 are females. They will certainly be targets in Irish pubs, so I just reminded them of some things to remember when they are out. They are six weeks away from graduating, so I trust they will act as responsible adults. At least I hope so.

Tomorrow we head to Sligo.

Ulster American Folk Park - Omagh, Ireland

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

As I type my entry for today’s blog posting I do so from a hostel in Omagh, Ireland. (And I am typing in Word, not online.) The fact that we are in the middle of nowhere, with no connection to the outside world, makes tonight a very difficult night. I can handle sleeping in a room with four cinder block walls and few amenities (think freshman year, Harner Hall). But what is most difficult is the fact that I cannot watch what could be the last game of the Phillies 2009 season. It is my deepest hope that they live for another day, but I will not know that until tomorrow morning. We tried a few different ways of getting the internet, but to no avail. John’s brother, who lives in Florida, will text the results to John and he will then text to me to the phone he gave me for my visit. I am in the room next door and the text will arrive very early for us. I would be praying for rain in NY, but I would prefer not to give Andy Pettite another day of rest. I do hope they get to game 7, and I do hope tomorrow night we have internet access.

Today we began our four day trek to northern Ireland. I already posted our itinerary so you can see what we are doing and where we are going. I was picked up at 6:20 and the bus left Delaney’s at 7. After about a two hour drive we stopped at Sam’s Diner for an Irish breakfast. We then proceeded to the Ulster American Folk Park (www.folkpark.com). According to their map and guide, “The Ulster American Park is an open air museum which tells the story of emigration from Ulster to North America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Old World and New World layout illustrates the various aspects of emigrant life on both sides of the Atlantic.” The museum had 30 buildings in the park and we visited about half of them each with a guide in character, and walked past the others. We saw the Mellon Homestead (the birthplace of the patriarch of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh), a single room cabin, the weaver’s cabin, and the ship that brought the emigrants to America. We also saw the Samuel Fulton Stone House found in Lancaster County, PA and also a log cabin built by young Thomas Mellon when they first arrived in America. It was quite interesting and very remarkable how they recreated all of these structures. The drizzle that persisted all morning changed to a steady shower just about the time we finished for lunch. It was a pretty miserable day, weather wise. We had a light lunch of either stuffed chicken breast wrapped in bacon with mashed potatoes, or lasagna with chips (French fries). The afternoon consisted of a presentation in the Center for Migration Studies/Library by Dr. Patrick (Paddy) Fitzgerald regarding the history of emigration in Ireland found in the art of the time. We then went through the Emigrants Exhibition which told the story of over 200 years of emigration and was divided into four sections: people and players, failure and opportunity, transport and migration, and survival and prosperity. There was also a wonderful boxing display, as the Irish are quite proud of their strong boxing heritage and their champion boxers.

We had about an hour until dinner so most of the group went back to the library where we were permitted to get online on one of the four computers available. The students rotated through to check email, facebook, or make a posting on their blog. Some students do not have the internet at their host families so they were anxious to get online. I taught the student blogging in our last meeting together before departing the states, and I believe there are quite a few that are using a blog to keep in touch with friends and family back home. One student is using it to keep in touch with sixth graders that she had in class during her first nine weeks of student teaching. They are reading her blog and making comments of her adventures. I was pleased when I heard that many were exploring blogging.

Our dinner was another light meal of chicken fingers (or hamburger) with mashed potatoes, carrots, macaroni and cheese and salad. We had chocolate sponge cake with custard for dessert. We are certainly not going hungry on this trip. After dinner we had a lecture by a local teacher on Irish history. It was over an hour long and very interesting, but again, a lecture after such a heavy meal is tough! We then had tea and cookies. None of us were hungry, but that didn’t keep us from enjoying the vfery tasty chocolate chip cookies that were provided for us.

The students are trying to keep themselves busy with no TV, internet or nightlife to entertain them. There is nowhere for them to go and we are the only group in the hostel so I don’t have to worry about them disturbing anyone. I trust they will head to bed eventually and I will see them all at breakfast at 8am. It will be another busy day in Northern Ireland. Since I have no ball game to watch and no internet to explore, I will be calling it a day much earlier than normal. Until tomorrow…