The Beginning of the End

When I first arrived at Dublin International Airport back in October, I was tired, scared and not at all sure of what this trip would hold. One thing is for sure, this trip has been unlike any other I have ever experienced before. Not only have I seen and visited internationally famed places of interest, visited other foreign countries, and taught students from a different cultural background than myself, but I did it all on my own. There are many things in my life that I am proud to have accomplished, but this I think may be the biggest. Every trip, every weekend, every lesson plan I organized, planned and carried out myself. Looking back and thinking about how much I have experiences, seen and accomplished, I am truly amazed at what I have all done, and I am very proud of myself.
This past weekend was one of few where I did not travel to any place of interest. Instead I enjoyed a relaxing weekend with my host family. I went with them to visit Santa Clause twice. I also began to get my things in order, as I am leaving to go home this coming Saturday; which is now only five short days away!
Speaking of going home to see my family and friends, this is another thing that I now feel differently about. I think because I have always lived and went to school in a rather close proximity to all of my family that I began to take them for granted, intentionally or not. Being away from them, where my only regular connection was through an email each morning, has truly opened my eyes to how important they are to me. This time apart from them has made me realize how large of a part of my life they are.
The past few weeks have been very trying for me at school. The Christmas play is now over. It was a stressful, but successful night. The kids all had a great time. There were no major flaws and no one forgot their lines! Their costumes were great and we had quite a few parents help us out with out props. All in all, it was a very entertaining evening; one I know I will not forget.
As Christmas draws closer and closer, things around the Bohermeen community are looking more and more festive, St. Ultan’s School, is no exception. A few of the fourth class girls put up the Christmas tree and decorated the hallways last week. They were trying to go for a red, white and blue theme, on account of me, but they said that they ran out of blue so they had to switch to green. The hallway looks amazing girls!
Only five short days left here in Ireland. This has been the opportunity and experience of a lifetime. Leaving will be bittersweet. I am ready to go home and spend Charismas with my family, but I will not quickly forget all the people here that I have met!

Christmas Time in Ireland

Well, this weekend brought my travelling in Europe to a close for this trip. I was invited to Co. Laoise to go home with my cooperating teacher. This area is very rural, and extremely beautiful. Over the weekend we visited the city of Kilkenny. There we toured Kilkenny Castle, St. Canice’s Cathedral, did some shopping downtown and then ate lunch in a pub that was established in 1324. Later in the day we took a short drive to the small town of Cashel. This is the home of the famed Rock of Cashel. The Rock is a massive ruin of a castle, and cathedral. Both are located at the top of a massive cliff; no elevators or escalators to reach the top. We climbed up to the front door and enquired about a tour. The man at the desk informed us that the Rock tour was closed today due to the gale force winds. So after all the work to reach the top we headed back down the cliff. I can see why it was closed though. If someone were to fall off, there would be no saving them. It was a great weekend. It was great to see this part of the country and it was also nice to spend some time with my teacher outside of the classroom and get to know her on a personal level.
This is my second last week here. Our Christmas play is due to take place this Thursday evening. I had all of my student bring in their costumes yesterday for a dress rehearsal. It was a little crazy but it looks great and I think we are ready for a grand show in only two days! I wish I had a video recorder, but I think I’ll just be stuck with taking a ton of pictures that night. Putting this show together has been quite a feat for me. I wrote, casted, rehearsed and got all the props together for it. I’m rather proud of how things are coming along. I hope the final show is a success for everyone!
Not only have I been very busy with getting everything ready for the play this week, but I have now been teaching fulltime for quite a while. It has been going very well, but with 30 kids in large classroom, my voice is beginning to get a little sore. One class that I have never taught prior to his placement was religion. I was initially nervous about this because I went to a public school and only had religion classes on Sunday. After teaching a few lessons, this has become on of my favourite classes to teach. For one reason or another, the students are always very calm during this time and they seem to do a better quality of work for this class. I really enjoy teaching the material, as I am Catholic myself. This week’s lessons have been about the Nativity and the Christmas story. I have truly enjoyed teaching these lessons and helping the students to understand that there is more to Christmas than Santa and presents.
With Christmas less than two weeks away now I am beginning to do more and more holiday lessons. I truly enjoy this time of year. It is a little more chaotic in the classroom, but it doesn’t seem to bother me. I know they are just excited about the Christmas season, and I don’t want to be the nasty teacher who squashes their excitement.
Well, It’s down to only eleven more days for me here. I cannot begin to tell where the time has gone. I truly feel like I was picked up at the airport in Dublin last week. It has been an amazing time, and I will truly miss this place when I leave!

A weekend in London!

I have just returned from yet another amazing weekend. I travelled to London, where I met up with Erin Marks and Maggie George. Together we toured the city of London and had a fantastic time. We basically saw everything that you can possibly see in the city in one day. We saw, Piccadilly circus, the Times Square of London, Big Ben, The House of Parliament, we walked across London Bridge, saw Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and the changing of the guard, Westminster Abbey and Cathedral. Then we met up with Maggie at the Eye of London at 1:30. We took a ride on the eye, the most amazing views of the city ever! Then we did a “little” shopping. We decided to get out of the cold so we went to tea at The Goring Hotel, super fancy. I had mango and strawberry tea, very nice. We also got one of those three tier teas services with finger sandwiches, scones and cream and delicious desserts. We hung out there and relaxed for a while. Then we took the tub all over the city . We went to the Harry Potter train stop at 9 3/4, and then we went to Harrods. Just amazing, the best store I have ever been to in my life, I really wish I had about five thousand pounds to spend there!! When we came out of Harrods it was snowing just a little, very beautiful. By now we were all very tired, so we took the tube back to the hostel for some much needed rest.

Well, travelling isn’t the only thing that I have been up to here. I am down to only three weeks left of school. Monday I begin teaching full complete days. I will continue to do this until I leave. This will be quite a challenge, but I have been almost teaching full days for quite a few weeks now. One thing that is difficult about this is planning and teaching to a split classroom. Trying to give two sets of directions at a time can be very tricky, but it is forcing me to learn how to control the classroom in this type of situation, and it is helping me learn how to effectively multitask. Two skills that will be much needed in my own classroom in the future.

Aside from teaching in the classroom, one thing I have really enjoyed while I am here is getting to know the staff and the students. This past week I was invited over to a students house for afternoon tea. It was such a nice experience. Visiting with her parents and getting to know them is one thing I will never forget. I truly enjoy all my students, and so many parents have made a special effort to say hello or talk to me. It is great to be in a community that is so friendly.

Next week will be a very busy one. Thursday is the big Christmas play. I have been working with second calls to get them ready. I think we almost have it down, but there are still a few kinks we have to get smoothed out this week. We also have to get costumes, props and sense ready. Lots of work in a little time!

While I am truly enjoying my time here, with only a few weeks left until Christmas I am beginning to get just a little home sick. I am ready to go home and tell my family and friends about all the amazing things I have done and the places I have been to here.