May The Road Rise Up to Meet You…A Final Goodbye

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened”   Dr. Seuss 

How can it be that over 10 weeks ago, I stepped foot onto a plane that was about to take me on an adventure, and through a growing journey, of a lifetime? How am I supposed to step back into normalness of life here, and let this incredible experience just fade into a memory? The people I met, the places I visited, the life lessons I encountered—just like that, it’s all over. And here I now sit, in my room at 326 Marsh Street in De Pere, Wisconsin, with only pictures and memories to make those distant people and places seem like a reality. As cliché as this sounds, it honestly does feel like it was all a dream—it started and ended so quickly, and the busy-ness of life swooped in so quickly upon my return that I honestly can’t believe that a week ago I was in Rome and Ireland, and a month ago I was in London. I may have had some growing pains throughout this “dream” experience, but without a doubt, “waking up is the hardest part…” (in my head I’m hearing that as a song lyric, but I can’t place the song!)

I don’t want to leave this last blog entirely as a sappy sob story, so let me see if I can catch you up to date on all the wonderful things that have filled my time since I last blogged! The last time I checked in, I had just returned from our trip to Bantry, if I remember correctly.  Well our last week of school was actually anything but a normal week! We were in the middle of extensive preparations for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, so teachers were having impromptu meetings, students were more antsy as they started looking for costumes, participating in practices for the parade (and the weather sunny and 60; who wouldn’t have more energy?!), and there were lots of signs and costumes to be made, so between managing the classrooms while the teachers met, helping out with miscellaneous tasks, and teaching our last lessons, it was a full, but wonderful week.

 

The last day we were at school was a “Green Day,” in preparation for St. Patrick’s Day! All the girls got to wear their green, orange, and best St. Patrick’s Day ensembles! From facepaint, to tutus, and green eye shadow, everyone embraced their Irish spirit! Even Han and I made sure to wear the little green we brought along, and we even bought a headband with clover spring-things on the top! The students loved it, the teachers thought it was hilarious, but it kept us smiling all day regardless!

There was a small assembly in the morning of Green Day where each class sang or recited poems in Irish/Gaelic. One class sang Wagon Wheel in Irish, and for those of you who know the Lenz family, that’s engrained into our DNA! I laughed and smiled until I cried—and that was only the start of the water works during the day.

 

After the morning assembly, the teachers hosted a small little goodbye brunch for us. It was completely with scones, and buns, and brownies, and fresh fruit, and cake and even gifts for Han and myself. I know I’ve said this before, but this staff was truly incredible, and this was just the cherry on top of the entire experience. The gift they gave us was a beautiful pendant necklace with the Claddagh hands and a diamond-like stone encapsulated in a glistening silver hoop. I feel truly honored to have been part of their staff, and saying those goodbyes was undeniably hard. I returned to first class where we finished creating their Leprechaun figures, and then I handed out a small gift of an American Penny, a Reece’s Pieces candy, and a sucker to each of them. They were excited about the penny and sucker, but very cautious about the Reece’s. They don’t really have those in Ireland, so this foreign candy kind of freaked most of them out! Haha…about half took one bite and threw it away, but I know I heard at least one girl say, “I like this!” so that was fun to hear. Each of my first class girls hand made me a card, and even gave me other gifts of homemade bracelets made out of pipe cleaners, small animal figurines, and boxes of chocolates.

Second class followed suit by giving me a small clover plant, banners in addition to their cards, flowers, and candles! If I wasn’t already pushing the 50lb weight limit for my suitcase, I definitely was after getting all of these gifts at school! I was so humbled and honored that they thought so highly of me, though, to share these gifts with me on the last day. Second class also got a mechanical pencil from me, which is another trinket they don’t really have in Ireland, as well as a small candy bar from the local Aldi store. Their teacher also allowed us to spend some time watching the Suite Life of Zac and Cody during that last day as a treat. That reminded me of home, especially when Zac Efron made an appearance on the show!

 

Fourth class had been begging Han and I to share our contact information with them, so as their goodbye gift, we gave them each 2 suckers taped to a sheet of paper with our Skype addresses, snapchat names, instagram information, and e-mail addresses. They absolutely LOVED that, and I had 2 email in my inbox, and multiples instagram and Skype request before I even got home from school that day. And they have continued to keep in touch with us since we got home, which just warms my heart! And finally, for senior infants, I gave them little monster lollypops as well.  I wish that I could have given more to each class, since they did so much in making me feel welcome, and helping me grow as a teacher, but time/budgets/space in suitcases didn’t quite allow for that. Hopefully they could tell how full my heart was as tears filled my eyes during each and every goodbye, and as I exchanged a wholehearted thank you for every gift and card I was given. Saying goodbye to the teachers was equally, or even more challenging than saying goodbye to the students. My main two teachers gave me a gorgeous diamond pendant necklace, as well as a traditional Irish music CD. I have been so blessed to have worked with them these past 2.5 months, and those last hugs meant more than I could express. Han and I walked out of that building for the last time with our gifts in hand—it was a surreal experience, that once again, didn’t quite hit me until a little later—but sitting here now, I would give anything to be able to walk back through those doors.

The strangest part of our last week in Ireland was realizing all our “lasts”: our last time doing laundry, our last Monday morning, our last day walking home, our last time stopping for ice cream at Jumbos, the last time getting a lift home from a teacher, the last time going on a run, the last cup of tea, the last time sleeping in our beds…the lasts came flying fast and furiously! Coming home from school and packing instead of lesson planning was really weird, but I honestly don’t think it fully hit me that I was leaving until we had our last meal together on Friday night. Our host family was kind enough to make us some of our favorite meals during our last week here, which included the traditional Irish meal of Bacon (ham) and Cabbage, and Fidelma’s amazing quiche. That’s what we concluded with on Friday. Dinner was earlier than usual since we had a 3-hour drive to Dublin that night yet, but we still made the most of every moment. We had a short time for our last cup of tea, did dishes one last time, packed our stuff in the car, and attempted to say thank you and goodbye with words that couldn’t capture our deepest gratitude or appreciation for all they had done for us. The tears couldn’t be held back at this point, and my eyes are welling up even as I write this now, but I think that is just the strongest, truest sign that this entire experience, that school, my host family, and every moment I had there was blessed by God, and one that I will never forget.

 

After heading to Dublin, and spending a very short evening at our host dad’s daughter’s house, we took off for the Eternal city of Rome!!

That was another completely surreal experience, much like London. I was excited to have Han with me this time, but the challenges and mini adventures that we encountered were nearly consistent! We met Alex in the airport to get a map, his apartment key, an adaptor, bus passes, and directions to his place, and we thought that we had everything under control, but everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. The bus that was taking us from the airport to the main bus station broke down on the route there, so we literally had to get out of the bus and just WALK. The bus driver didn’t speak English either, so we had only our map to help us figure out where we were, and how to get where we had to go. By the grace of God, we made it to the bus station, but somehow we got on the wrong bus that took us to the entirely wrong side of the city. So once again, it was just Han, myself, and our map. But taking casual hour stroll through the city of Rome isn’t the worst situation to be placed in! We walked past gorgeous bridges along the Tiber River in gorgeous 70 degree, sunny weather. It was pretty perfect! We found our way to the tram stop while taking hundreds of pictures along the way, but once again, our tram experience wasn’t quite perfect. We got off at the wrong stop, and had to wander again until we found Alex’ apartment. Once we FINALLY found it, we ended up going up the wrong elevator that took us into the wrong apartment building. Confusion and difficulties characterized our journey to our first stop, but we made it, and got to see a lot of the city along the way.

The rest of that day consisted of just wandering some more. We walked through some street shops, bought some souvenirs, and enjoyed the sunset. We ended our evening with pizza and gelato next to the Trevi fountain—just a casual day 😉

 

The next day, we saw as many sights as possible! We started with a  trip to the Pantheon—an architectural wonder as it is perfectly round!

  

We followed that by heading to the Piazza Novona, where a street market was set up complete with artists, and three gorgeous fountains.From there, we took a nice long stroll to the Vatican! What an incredible experience we had there—the courtyard was packed with people, all waiting to see and experience a blessing from the Pope—and that’s exactly what we got to do! He appeared at a window above the courtyard, and gave a small sermon/blessing all in Italian, but we were in the presence of the Pope and the Lord—language was the least of our concern.

We were able to actually go into St. Peter’s Basilica after that, and what a stunning experience that was. Stunning doesn’t’ even capture it, and neither do pictures, but I have never known what it felt like to see something so beautiful you couldn’t help but cry, until that moment. It was an awe-filled, overwhelming moment, and you could feel the presence, greatness, wonderful, splendor, and beauty of God in that building. We got to see the catacombs underneath the Vatican as well as Michangelo’s Pieta before heading to our next stop: the Piazza Popolo.

  

At the Piazza, we got to see a breathtaking view of the city, rest our feet by a fountain, and walk through the surrounding gardens. It was a lovely and peaceful afternoon in the sunshine. After that, we went to the Spanish Steps (where the fountain was sadly under construction so it wasn’t quite as picturesque as most photos depict), and then to dinner right next to the Steps at a restaurant called Numbs. I had delicious, authentic bruschetta—which is one of my FAVORITE foods!—and then a mozzarella, basil, and tomato Panini.

Our second evening in Rome ended with gelato back at the Pantheon, and a wonderful life talk with Han at the Trevi Fountain! It was our last night together since January—I absolutely loved seeing the world with her throughout these past few months, and growing as both teachers and adults. She was a true blessing in my life, and I thank God for our friendship!

The next day, we met up with Katie Danielson and her family, and we headed to the Roman Forum and the Colosseum—another surreal experience! What an honor to be in the presence of all that history. It was another gorgeous day, we had our farmer’s tans showing bright and boldly, and we were seeing with our own eyes the places that you only hear about or see on TV.  That has been an incredible feeling.

   

Following that, we went to the Victor Emmanuel Building, which symbolizes the unification of Italy, but they have an elevator that will take you to the roof, and the view of the city from up there is just…breathtaking. Thanks to Katie’ family for taking the time and providing the funds for us to see that view! We grabbed lunch at a small café right in the center of the Piazza Venenzia where I had the most delicious bowl of Pasta Carbonara I have ever had in my entire life! They say that Italian food is amazing, and they are right!

After lunch came the moment where I finally had to say goodbye to Han. Her bus came a little bit more quickly than we were anticipating, so our goodbye was incredibly rushed, but I think it was nearly better that way. Trying to find more words and strength to say goodbye may have been more than my heart could handle. But we exchanged a quick hug, and she was gone. Another unfortunate “last.”

Following her goodbye, Katie’s family went to the Vatican to see St. Peter’s Basilica but since we already saw that, I headed to the Sistine Chapel! I wasn’t allowed to actually take pictures in the chapel, but it was incredible to see the murals that Michelangelo’s painting, especially the one with Adam and God’s fingers nearly touching. But the entire Vatican museum that is attached to the Sistine Chapel was filled with stunning pieces of artwork. I wish I had more knowledge of every unique piece that was contained in that space, but guess that just means I’ll have to learn more before the next time I go back!

  (my illegal picture of the Sistine Chapel is somewhat dark, but you get the idea!)

From the Sistine chapel, Katie showed me her school, we stopped in a few shops as well as other beautiful churches, and the Piazza Santa Maria. The evening ended at Gino’s Restaurant where I had an ENTIRE Margarita pizza (unexpectedly…I was thinking more personal pizza…haha), delicious focaccia bread, and a scrumptious glass of white wine! What could be more Italian than that meal?!

The next day was my last day in Rome…how sad! I spent time with Katie’s family revisiting the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and Spanish Steps, but I also had the chance to barter for some gift to bring home, as well as wander on my own! We got lunch at the 06 Café, where I got my last bowl of authentic Italian food (Fettuccini with mushrooms! Seriously…so good!), and said my goodbyes. From that point on, it was just me and my map—which I actually really enjoyed! It was a liberating and independent feeling just wandering around one of the biggest, most beautiful historic cities in the world all by myself. I wandered to another market at Campo del Fiori, stopped in a DISNEY STORE on Via Del Corso, walked across the Ponte Fabricio Bridge, and saw the Teatro ­­­­Marcello. It was a fun day of exploring, but the day was ending, so I had to start making my long trek back to the bus station. It took nearly an hour to get there, and I got stopped by a large protest on the way (which was the third one we saw during our time there!), but I made it in time, got to the airport, and flew home back to Ireland.

 

I spent the night at Abigail’s again, where I resorted my stuff, and the next morning, I said my final goodbyes to friends and my Irish family, and headed back to the Dublin airport. I had a little hiccup on the way, however, as usual! The bus I had a ticket to didn’t end up showing up at the stop it was supposed to! So after waiting about a half hour, I just hopped on the next bus I saw that was going to the airport! I had to use my last Euro note (which was a 5), and buses don’t give change, so I have a receipt if I ever go back to Ireland, I can reclaim my 2.40 change—but actually, a girl got on the bus after me and for some reason her bus pass wasn’t working! She was from Australia, and it was her first day of work here, so the gracious bus driver let her stay on without paying, but I like to think my extra bus money went to cover her fare. I actually happened to find 3 euro coins in my bag, which would have made for less lost change, but once again, that turned out to be a blessing/mistake in disguise! I got to the airport, and where I had to wait for my plane had vending machines that only took coins. Good thing I had coins left—thanks for watching out for me, again, Lord! I also had a slight scare when my boarding pass disappeared! Somehow it fell out of my passport after I went through security, and I just happened to spot it underneath the security guard’s seat! I had a minor panic attack, but once again, I was being well taken care of by our heavenly father. Oh! Also, my luggage definitely was over the 50lb limit, and my carry-ons were heavier than 10kg, but Ireland folk are forgiving and flexible, as I learned time and time again, so I made it onto the airplane without having to pay extra fees, and with all my belongings close by!

On the flight home, I ended up sitting next to a woman chaperoning a band/choir trip of students from a high school in Iowa! That was fun to be able to chat with her about life back at home in the Midwest! But besides that, I journaled, listening to music while seeing out the window, and watched three movies on my flight home: Monte Carlo, Letters to Juliet, and Notting Hill—all movies focused on travel in Europe! Go figure! But that made the 8.5 hour flight pass relatively quickly, and with the time lapse, I made it home by 3:30pm (after learning Ireland at 12pm their time). My mom and dad were waiting for me at the airport with hugs and a few tears—it was so good to see familiar faces of people I love!! The next few hours were filled with stories from Ireland, grabbing dinner (Qdoba is a little bit different than authentic Italian or Ireland food, but delicious nonetheless), and arriving back at my wonderful home. It was a strange feeling to walk back into my house—feeling like I never really left, but knowing that even though nothing had changed at home, I had come back changed. I will forever remember and be grateful for the time I had abroad, and I thank God for blessing my entire experience from start to finish. Thank you all for following my blog and supporting me throughout these past months, and I can’t wait to see you all soon!

  

My last few Irish words and observations:
-deputy: vice (i.e. deputy principal is the vice principal)
-zebra crossing: a cross walk without a traffic light or anything but the white lines on the black road
-pelican crossing: a cross walk that has a flashing light to attract attention
-cheers: another common way of saying goodbye
-second name: last name
-motorway: highway
-pet: name like honey, or dear (sort of–in a nonromantic way)
-random fact: they keep their money in their cash registers upright, instead of laying it down
-they also pass on the right when on the motorway (and they flash their lights at the car in front of them if they are in the fast lane, but are going too slow)
-Sky is their equivalent to Dish for cable
-the prayer we said at the end of everyday was:
God our Father I’ve come to say, thank you for your love today. Thank you for my family, and all the friends you give me. Guard me in the dark of night, and in the morning send your light. Amen. Goodnight dear Jesus, goodnight for now. Must go to sleep, and as I go, I give to you my little soul to keep.
The words I learned in Irish are:
-halla: gym/open hall (ha la)
-doras: door (door ahs)
-lón: lunch (loon)
-suigh síos sit (sick-she-is)
-mála scoile backpack (moe-leh-sco-lah)
-bualadh bos: round of applause (buh-la bus)
-líne: line (leen-uh)
-I also “know”: brustig,” which is hurry, and “lava suis, lava mach, lava chastna”, which is raise your hands up, move them to the side, and stretch down (it’s a classroom management technique) and “dive”, which is something like good morning, but I can’t find the true Irish spellings of these words!

Goodbye Ireland—you won my heart, and I will be missing you forever and always.

192 hours…

What a crazy, busy weekend we just had! If there is one thing I learned, it’s that the Irish understand the meaning of hospitality to the fullest! There is no such thing as a “quick bite” of a sandwich, or salad, or even a small chicken breast when you have company over–if an Irish family invites you for dinner, or even lunch, you best be prepared for a three course meal complete with a delicious, exquisite salad, a full main meal of meat, potato, two types of vegetables, and breads, and finished with a dessert of homemade pastry, or sweet rolls, or ice cream and brownies! And this applies for both dinner, AND lunch! But I’m getting ahead of myself–let me tell you HOW we got to these wonderful meal experiences 🙂

Last week, our host dad first took us to the Cliffs of Moher! Majestic and overwhelming are just two words that immediately come to mind when seeing these. We took a ferry over from County Kerry to County Clare, and then drove for about 2 hours to get to the cliffs.

The weather was clear, yet cloudy that day, but fortunately we could still see out quite a distance! The cliffs were breathtaking to view, and it was just a once in a lifetime experience (like all of the experiences I have had here!) to walk along its edges. Han and I embraced our inner wild side and actually ventured off the designated path to get a better view of the drop below! It was short lived as a guard whistled at us about 3 minutes later, but we got a picture to prove we were there! What a thrill that was 🙂

  

On the way home, our host dad took us through Lisdoonvarna, which is apparently known for its matchmaking festival! It’s the smallest little town, but apparently it attracts quite a crowd in the summer for its festival! Maybe it doesn’t work for everyone, though, cause I’m coming back without a man…

So after our day trip to the Cliffs of Moher, we went with our family to the town of Bantry, but had the chance to see quite a few sights along the way! We first drove through the Black Valley/Moll’s Gap, but took a quick stop at Kate Kearney’s Cottage along the way. Kate Kearney’s cottage is well known for a woman named Kate who offered a certain type of liquor to passing travelers along that route. The house has stayed with the family throughout the years, and has been now transformed into a restaurant that has space for fancy events like weddings, but is also a bar, family restaurant, and gift shop! It’s quite the stop!

Black Valley, then, is situated right in the middle of a mountain valley, and didn’t get power until the 70’s (hence the title–it was black for many, many years). It’s the end of winter here right now, so the grass and such was still pretty brown, but normally during the summer, it’s luscious green, and covered in purple flowers. Han and I took a short little climb during our coffee break, and the view of the vast mountain was still stunning. It’s not everyday that you get to see a mountain when you live in Wisconsin…

  

After the mountain, we ventured onward, stopped at an adorable, well known shop called Avoca, then continued onward to Bantry. In Bantry, we attempted to make a trek out to the coast at Sheep’s Head. After about 45 minutes, we arrived at the cliff’s edge, but it was so incredibly windy and overcast, that we couldn’t really walk around much. I have never experienced such strong wind that nearly pushed you backwards! The view of the ocean was still wonderful even if we only saw it for a moment!

From there, we arrived at our destination: Top of the Rock Pod Pairc! The easiest way to explain this is to relate it to a camping experience in cabins! There were about 10 different “pods” at the park: 4 standard, 3 family, and 2 luxury. The pod is a little rounded hut type thing made out of wood, with a solid roof, a glass door, a window, 2 cots, a heater, and a little lamp. It isn’t much, but it’s all you need when there is a large common area that has a fully functioning kitchen, game/living room, and restrooms. The family pods are similar to the standard ones, but have more beds so more people can fit, and the luxury pods include their own toilet, a futon, small kitchen table, and 1 large queen bed. Our host parents stayed in a luxury one, while Han and I enjoyed our quaint stay in the standard pod! Each pod has its own name, and Han and mine was called “the cow” in Irish–we had such great craic (fun) in our tiny cow!! 🙂 The pod pairc is located on a family’s farmland, so there are live animals there, and there are also unbelievable views, as the pairc is right in the middle of a grassy valley. The walking paths around the pairc allow you to take in these stunning views, and really enjoy the beauty of the nature that God created. Beyond the views, the hospitality is equally as amazing (relating back to my opening paragraph!) They were family friends of our host family, so they treated us to a lovely dinner! It was a three hour experience complete with delicious food, encouraging conversation, and delectable tea afterwards around the fire! Afterwards, Han and I returned to our cow for an evening of journaling, laughing, and jamming along to some great tunes!

  

The next day, we started with another delicious meal–cinnamon rolls, homemade bread, cereals, tea and coffee, raspberry jam, and bananas–and then took a short hike around the grounds! We were unaware that this “short” walk was going to turn into a nature adventure along a riverbank and up and down steep inclines! We were already dressed for church in our khakis…bad life choice is all I can say! Haha–but the views were absolutely worth it! Church that day was at Bantry Christian Fellowship Church. Our host dad was giving the sermon, so we did some worship, settled down to hear his message, and concluded with tea and biscuits as usual! There was a little thief in the church, however! I brought in my water bottle, left it sitting by my seat after church when I went to the restroom, came back, and an adorable, red-headed, curly-haired little girl had found it, and was walking around sucking on it! After seeing her little 1-year old self drooling all over it, it wasn’t a hard decision to just let her keep it, but I couldn’t help but just laugh! Of all places to get something “stolen,” it happens in a church!

Our next moment of hospitality was at lunch after church. Another family friend offered to host us for lunch, and the food and presentation was equally as impressive and filling as every meal we had had thus far! Fish, pork, lamb, 2 types of veggies, garlic bread as an appetizer, potatoes, and a dessert of brownies, ice cream, and tea. We definitely are not going to be coming home hungry or weighing any less! But the company and experiences have been entirely worth the extra pounds! I think America needs to learn some of this hospitality, and leisurely approach to mealtimes.

Well our weekend winded down with a short trip back around Black Valley, to Torc Waterfall, and finally Ross Castle. It was a very busy weekend filled with lots of driving, but also lots of pleasant conversation, amazing views, and quality time with our host family on our last weekend with them. And the car ride home was accompanied by a gorgeous sunset.

  

That’s the craziest part–that our 10 weeks is winding down rapidly! I remember thinking that 2.5 months was going to be the longest stretch of time I had ever experienced, but suddenly, it is gone! That always seems to happen…and everyone told me that I wouldn’t want to leave at the end, and I have to admit they are right. My heart breaks at the thought of leaving my host family, the simplicity of life here, my students, the welcoming staff at school, the beautiful landscape, the delicious home-cooked meals, the emphasis put on making time for conversations and people…I’m excited to see my family and friends again, but I feel like I’m leaving another home as we start packing to leave here. I’m fighting back the tears as I type this…I can only imagine what Friday is going to be like at school. It’s green day on Friday, in preparation for St. Patrick’s day, so we all wear green, and do some fun St. Patrick’s day activities, so what a perfect way to end the experience 🙂 We unfortunately aren’t going to get to see our students in the St. Patrick’s day parade on Monday, but we have another adventure calling to us from Rome, Italy! That will be amazing, I have no doubt, and the weather is supposed to be in the 60s and sunny! Let’s hope some of that weather comes back home with Han and I as we fly home on Wednesday! Say an extra little prayer for us as we begin our last adventure here, say our goodbyes, and conclude a truly unforgettable chapter in our lives. Only 192 hours left…

Oh! And a last side note–our host family is amazing! Our host mom made me my own personal crocheted hat when she uncovered how much I really wanted one (and lacked the skills and time to make my own), and she also prepared a Pancake Tuesday after school snack for us! It was absolutely perfect 🙂  She taught us how to crochet this past week, so I have yet another handmade craft to bring home, and her carrot cake, we just uncovered tonight, is to die for! And our host dad was kind enough to take us to one of the highest points yesterday to get an overwhelmingly beautiful view of the country, and then on a walk along the beach to see a gorgeous sunset. I think God blessed us with a host family more amazing than I could have ever imagined.

New words:
rub out–erase something (a rubber is an eraser)
manky–bad quality
cheeky–bad, misbehaving
soft–a damp, yet not particularly rainy or sunny day
SESE–this is a subject they have that stands for Social, Environment & Scientific Education
joined writing–cursive writing
boot–trunk of a car
wellies–rain boots
your man–the guy (i.e. your man who led that spinning class was great!)
trap–a cart that goes behind a jaunting car (horse and carriage)
rubbish–garbage
charity shop–thrift store
footpath–sidewalk
bonds–wards in a hospital (I think…it’s something related to a hospital)
runners–tennis shoes
tires (like on a car) is spelt tyres
in terms of pronunciation things, they pronounce “glacier” as “glay-see-er,” leisure as “leh-zure,” and “appreciate” as “appre-see-ate”; they also almost sound more northern than we do in Wisconsin/Minnesota when they say the word “bag!”…their vowel sound is just very interesting!

Galway!

“If you ever go across the sea to Ireland,
Then maybe at the closing of your day;
You will sit and watch the moonrise over Claddagh,
And see the sun go down on Galway Bay…”
-Bing Crosby

What great words, AND a wonderful singer to jump start our trip to Galway! I actually didn’t even know this song existed until my host dad had us listen to it while we made our travel plans on Thursday night! And now I’m in love with it 🙂

Well this week at school started the first of our “lasts”: we said goodbye to one of our host family’s daughters as she returned to school after spending time at home for spring break; and we ended our literacy liftoff program with 4th class. You would think we were dying or something by the way they were hugging us and on the verge of crying and giving us presents…and if this was hard enough, and we’re still going to be in the same school for two more weeks, I don’t even want to start thinking about what it will be like when we actually have to say goodbye! But now is not the time to think about that! In school, we started a unit on movement in my second class, and we’re going to be looking at gravity and friction. We’re also going to start a unit on countries around the world, look at advertising, and begin a unit on a chapter book they are reading called “Sam and Some Sticky Situations.” That means lots of planning for these next few weeks!  In first class, we are also going to be doing a unit on different animals around the world, and doing a bit of writing with that. Senior Infants, we still haven’t finished our monster projects, but we’re working on it! This upcoming week we have a school assembly on Monday, and mass on Friday morning. It’s going to be busy, but wonderful at the same time!

I finished my first two knitting projects today!! I finished my cowl, and then a tea cozy for my friend Cayla’s teapot! I’m so excited to have something to show with my new skill–and now I’m going to learn to crochet in the next two weeks, and finish off a headband before we leave! Challenge accepted!

Well, back to the start of my post, we went to Galway this past weekend! One of the teacher’s offered to give us a lift, so we went immediately after school on Friday! I was the worst car buddy ever, as I zonked out for nearly half the ride! oops…but after driving around for a while, we found our Sleepzone hostel. If first impressions were the end all, say all, we should have had the worst time possible in Galway! We walk in to see a group of about 12 guys who are basically wasted! (and this is only about 6pm might I add) One guy was such a goner, he was even on the floor! Drunk people are not my favorite people in the world, so there was an edge of uneasiness accompanying my initial feelings toward Galway. The receptionist guy sought us out, however, seeming a little peeved about the behavior of this group, and tended to us personally while ensuring this is not a common instance at their hostel. He was really  helpful, friendly (and cute if I do say so myself!), and we got all squared away in no time. We didn’t run into the drunk guys again all weekend, which was nice, and did I mention that the hostel was GORGEOUS!?!? The hostel I stayed at in London was fine, nothing grand really, so I expected all hostels to be that way, but this one was so nice! It was incredibly clean, the rooms were colorful, and ours had a private bathroom and a veranda looking out over the city! There were multiple sitting rooms, a huge common dining hall, and really friendly other guests (as we came to uncover as the weekend went on).

We made our way to our rooms, claimed our bed, and then went off to attend the Technology Education Conference. The conference was two days, but as we wanted to explore the city a bit, we only attended the first night, but the first night was great! There were about 100 teachers in a conference room at the incredibly fancy Clayton hotel, and the night was somewhat informal. They had about 15 people prepared to present, and so they were randomly selected to present either 2 or 7 minute little spheels about technology used in the classroom. It was incredibly informational, and the teachers were really well-informed! I got some great ideas, and I hope that I can use some of them in my second placement when I return home (there just isn’t enough time left here to use them…) They had sandwiches, wraps, and appetizers around 10:30 when the event ended, and then our cooperating teacher gave us money to take a taxi back to the hostel (she was afraid of getting lost if she took us, and none of the other teachers were headed that way either…) We got back to the hostel, found 4 other girls in our room who were all quiet and settling in for the night, so we unpacked, and went to bed! Great first day, and I slept SO well that first night 🙂

Second day, woke up around 9 and headed to breakfast! There was toast, and a TON of people! Who knew that many people could fit in a hostel! But we squeezed our way in, ate, and headed out for the day. To start our day, we went to TK Maxx (the TJ Maxx equivalent in Europe!), then we ventured around Shop Street, went to the farmer’s market, visited the Spanish Arch, toured our way through the Galway Museum, finished up some souvenir shopping, dropped our bags back off at the hostel, and headed to the Galway Cathedral, NUIG (National University of Ireland Galway–where our host parents met!) and Claddagh Quay! Claddagh, for those of you who were like me (uninformed!) refers to the Irish ring that has two hands holding a heart. If the heart is facing outward, it means your heart is for the taking. If it’s inward, it means that you are saving it because you have given it to someone else. I didn’t realize that was an Irish thing, or the the Claddagh was a place, but it sure it! We went to the waterside, walked through Claddagh park, walked for about an hour along the Mutton Island Causeway, and headed toward Salt Hill! Salthill was filled with little restaurants and shops, but we spent most of our time walking up and down the shores of Galway Bay. It was windy and a bit chilly, but I still got to put my hand in the water, collect a stone, and take some pictures! From there, we walked back down Salt Hill and grabbed a traditional dinner of fish and chips! It was about time that we had a traditional meal 🙂 After dinner, the weather got angry. It started raining cats and dogs, and was accompanied by a fierce wind that cleared the streets of any and all sane people. We, unfortunately, had about a half hour back to Galway center, rain or shine! We ducked inside a casino for a second to escape it–I lost a whole .20 cents there…I’m living on the edge, I know 😉 but the weather was still bad, so we sucked it up and headed back! The backs of our pants were completely soaked, the rain began to leak through the seams of my jacket, poured down my hood, and left us pretty cold as the wind took its toll on us. Needless to say, that wasn’t my favorite moment in Ireland. BUT, the bright side, the wind was at our backs! Thank goodness for that! We saw one guy trying to finish up his run, but had given up on wearing wet shoes so he was carrying them, and running bare feet in shorts and a short sleeve shirt! Not the best day for a run…but we made it back in one piece, grabbed some last minute souvenirs, and headed toward the Pubs! Now, at this point, we are wet, cold, and don’t have much money, so really, all we wanted to do was sit in a bar for a little bit and hear some traditional Irish music in from the rain. Well, we stopped at Taaffes Bar where there was music playing, but it was so crowded in there, that we just decided to call it a night (at 7:30pm ) and went back to the hostel. Not very adventurous, I know! But when we got back, we had a cup of tea with a girl from Germany, which was exciting in itself! We chatted about her year-long journeys here, chatted about her home and life, and got to share a few stories from America too! One guy in the hostel even offered us some of his seafood quiche! It was crazy to see some people preparing meals of potatoes, bread, and whole ducks at the hostel! It was an interesting sight, but overall a nice, relaxing evening, and an all around great day in Galway!

 TK Maxx

 Shop Street

 Spanish Arch

 Galway Cathedral

 NUIG

 NUIG

 View of Galway from Claddagh Quay

 Galway Bay

 Casino!

 Fish and chips!

The next morning, we were up for breakfast, had to check-out by 10, but our ride wasn’t coming until 12ish, and the shops didn’t open until 11. And it was POURING outside again. So, we just sat. Haha…we sat in the hostel for about 45 minutes until the rain let up, then ventured to the local shopping centre. We had to wait about 10 minutes for it to open, and as luck would have it, it started pouring again! So we ducked inside a bank for a little bit before venturing in. We made one last visit to our new favorite store (Pennys!), wandered around Eyre Square, and then were collected by our teacher to head back home. The sun had come out by then and it was the most beautiful blue sky we had seen throughout our whole time in Ireland! The weather didn’t last, as usual Irish weather doesn’t, but it was so nice to see the sunshine for a while today, and feel the heat of it’s rays! On the way home, we stopped at a small town called Adare since it was so picturesque and cute!

 Eyre Square

 Adare! and The Blue Door

So now we’re back home, had a delicious meal of chicken, broccoli, and mashed potatoes, and finished up with a cookie cake and tea! Time to settle down for a night of lesson planning. I’ll fill you in on our adventures next weekend as we head to the Ring of Kerry/Bantry! (and we might even make it to Cliffs of Moher before that if we get a nice day!)

Until next time!

Oh! and the few new words I have since last time:
blitz: tournament for sports
travelers: gypsies
take away: carry out food
set down: drop off (drop off someone at the airport)
they say “feck” a lot as an alternative to f***…not sure if that is still considered swearing or not!

 “But real adventures, I reflected, do not happen to people who remain at home: they must be sought abroad.”  -Dubliners (a line from the book I’m reading!)

So it’s been a while…

Hello all, and happy hump day! 3 weeks from today, I will be landing safely in Chicago, IL, USA!!! How crazy is that?!?! It’s been a while since I last checked in, but so much has happened since then, so I’ll do my best to update you to the fullest degree that I can!

Well, the first thing is my list of new words/terms that I’m learning (my apologies if I start repeating myself!):
messing: fooling around
car park: parking garage/lot/ramp
fine: when you ask “how are you?”, in America, we say “good,” but here they say “fine”
will I: instead of saying “CAN, or MAY, I (fill in the blank with an activity or task),” they will say “WILL I (fill in the blank).”
post: mail something
note: paper money, so instead of a dollar bill, it’s a Euro note
hoover: vacuum
fiver: when somethings costs 5 Euro, it’s a fiver
tener: same as above, except for something that is 10 Euro
torch: flashlight
love heart: heart–they just always put “love” before it
clothes rail: clothes rack, as in the ones at a store
parcel: package
off: when someone is absent or gone
biscuits: cookies
digestives: graham cracker cookies
maths: subject of math at school–they add an “s” to the end!
dinghy: inflatable raft
bog: marsh or swampy area
tick: to correct something; i.e. “I’ll tick your homework”
ring: to circle something, you RING it
holiday: vacation
cork: cover to a glue stick
zed: their name for the letter “z”
hach (?): not sure how to spell this one, but for the letter “h”, they pronounce a hard “h” sound like in hate, where we say an “a” sound like in “ate”
tipex: white out
factor: SPF when referring to sunscreen; i.e. factor 15 (SPF 15)
desperate: so describe something that is awful, or intense; i.e. the wind was desperate!
wind screen: windshield on a car
queue: line; i.e. make a queue over by the door
bestie: this was a word from London actually used to describe a girlfriend (in the romantic sense)
stone: a unit of measurement related to weight; i.e. she’s approximately 2 stone (which is about 14 lbs)
skipping: jumping rope
film: they pronounce the “l” very distinctly as well as the “m”
interesting fact—“hell” is not a swear word here, so you’ll often hear the young girls saying “what the hell” which is no big deal here!
and one last thing: when saying the Our Father prayer, they have very different ways of pausing and emphasizing than we do! Same words, very different feel

I’m learning a lot, and am so intrigued by the words they use! We hear a great deal more unique words than the ones I share, but it’s somewhat strange for me to pull out my phone and document words during the middle of a conversation…haha, so I can only document the ones I remember at the end of the day!

At school, I’ve continued teaching in 1st class, 2nd class, 4th class, and a little bit with Senior Infants. In Senior Infants, we finished up our drama lesson on the seasons. We were able to act out various activities in each season, become Season’s Wizards ourselves where we created the weather and environment associated with each season, and then discussed how we can prevent the “actual” Seasons Wizards from fighting–so a little bit of life skill training on conflict! In 1st class, we did some work on Aerial Views, where we looked at Google Earth and saw our school, my house in America, and my host family’s house; we did a lesson on spring today since spring starts February 1st for them, are making hot air balloons out of paper, cups, and pipe cleaners–they are having a blast decorating those! We are also working on their cursive writing, and joining the letters (they call cursive “Big Writing”), and an interesting thing to note is that every student is still learning and is required to use cursive writing throughout primary and secondary school. In American schools, that has faded out, but here is it still a strong component, and I’ve found it somewhat interesting to teach since they create their cursive letters somewhat differently that we do in America (go figure!), so I’m learning as well as my students! We made collages of our homes by cutting out pictures from magazines and gluing them together, discussed the life cycle of a frog and butterfly, and then made Valentine’s Hands as our Valentines Craft! We traced their hands, cut them out, they decorated them, and then we attached them with a sheet that says “this much!”–just a simple representation of them telling their families they love them as far apart as their hands can spread! We’ve been practicing counting by 2, 5, and 10, and are working toward addition and subtraction, so we’ve been using lots of popsicle sticks and interactive SmartBoard games to give them practice with that! Finally, I taught a music lesson where I got to teach them some simple American songs! We learned Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and Yankee Doodle!

In Senior Infants, we have finished creating our clay monster projects, and now they are just painting them! It’s amazing how long painting a simple clay figure no bigger than 1″ wide and 3″ tall can take a 6 year old! 🙂

2nd class has been somewhat sad as one of the girls moved away last week. Her mom got a new job, so they had to move to a new city in Ireland. We had a going away party for her where girls brought in desserts and snacks, we watched Despicable Me 2, made lots of cards for her, and took pictures to remember the moment! She was an incredibly bright, fun girl to have in class, so we are definitely going to miss her. But besides that, we have been exploring light and the characteristics of it by watching magic school bus, and doing small experiments with mirrors and such. We also then looked at the eye, and how the eye takes in light. They created their own eye diagrams, and depicted how the eye adjusts to different amounts of light. We finished by learning about Neil Armstrong and the moon by creating a newscast (“The Blue Girls”–the name they came up with for our news station) where they each got to have a role in creating our own video. We ended our light unit by exploring planets and creating their own visual representations of individual planets, and a class representation of the solar system. We explored the importance and role of commentary by analyzing and watching some of the Olympics, and made Valentines Bumble Bees that said “Bee Mine!” Oh! And for Valentines Day, one of my girls made me homemade white and dark chocolate, and wrote me a card. It was the sweetest thing ever 🙂

 

Unfortunately, some sort of flu was going around our school for about a week and half before our midterm break started (which was Feb. 20 and 21st). Nearly half the school was out sick! In my class of 27 1st class girls, we had more than one day with only 12. In addition, we had some crazy weather that they haven’t seen in years that kept girls at home. Half the city lost power for multiple days, other places throughout Ireland were without power for a week, the damage was extensive with roofs being blow off, trees being ripped out of the ground, sheds flying away–it was crazy! We lost power at school for a while too, and teachers were panicking as they called home to see if their loved ones were safe, and parents came flocking into school to get their children home before it got worse. Talk about a stressful week before midterms. I think the entire school community was excited for, and needed, a few days off. There was also a parent visit day last week Wednesday, where any potential parents who are thinking of enrolling their girls in the school could come learn about the school, hear the band play, ask questions and talk to teachers, and participate in interactive demonstrations that showed what students were learning and doing in school. The school band was great, and it made me smile to see so many of them playing accordions–we’re used to more brass and woodwind instruments in a band, but the accordion definitely led the way! Each week, the girls also are learning Irish dance, have a chance to participate in gymnastics, and now get to play football (soccer) as well! They love having these small breaks from academics to get physically fit and involved in their learning, and I love watching them do it!
I’m not sure if i mentioned this in one of my first posts, but something interesting about the school is that the teachers are in charge of teaching nearly every subject–gym, art, music, along with the core subjects! It’s quite a diverse list of tasks for teachers! Also, they have small lunch, which is a 10 minute recess, and then big lunch, which is about a half hour. For lunch, there is no cafeteria, but instead, all the girls bring in their own homemade lunches and eat them in the classroom for about 20 minutes, and then go outside. Our school is also connected to a school specifically for individuals with disabilities. The classes are held separately, but the buildings are connected, and there are still some opportunities for integration, which is great for both schools’ students!

So beyond school, watching the Olympics was quite an experience here! It was strange hearing the updates on the Irish and English teams compared the U.S.–and since our host family really isn’t into sport, we didn’t get to watch them nearly as much as we would have at home, but we still got to see a few figure skating and skiing competition throughout the past few weeks. And regardless of our new location, we were still cheering strongly for the USA!

Han and I have learned to knit!!! Han has finished a scarf, and is starting on a headband, while I am working on a tea cozy for my friend’s tea pot, and then working additionally on a scarf. I’m hoping to make either a headband or mittens before I leave, but with only 2 weeks left, we’ll have to see what we can get done! It’s a bummer you can’t bring knitting needles on an airplane anymore…

And speaking on planes, I had the most INCREDIBLE trip to London over my midterm break! I had the chance to meet up with some of my dearest friends from SNC who are studying abroad at different locations throughout Europe this semester, and even got to make some new friends! All together, there was Maddie Cremer, Logan Jadin, Heidi Studinski, Alex Clemetson, Elizabeth Paitel, Tara Cunningham, Lily Space, Rebekah Melcher, Katie Danielson, Dani Mason, and myself. I literally cannot even begin to describe the amount of fun we had on this trip, but I’ll see how much I can type before my fingers give out! (or you get bored!)

I flew out on Thursday afternoon at 3:30pm. My host family dropped me off at Kerry airport, and I sat in the smallest airport I have ever seen. 2 terminals, and the plane literally almost flew into the windows the runway and such was so close. I was feeling somewhat nervous about traveling to London on my own, but God was definitely taking care of me! I was sitting waiting to board, when suddenly I hear someone call my voice from behind. Here was one of the teachers that I work closely with at school flying on the same plane to the same place as I was! She chatted with me over a shared chocolate snack, and even offered me some sterling to get started with London’s currency. She was even going to met up with me once we landed to make sure I got off well…I cannot tell you how seeing that friendly face just settled all nerves I had. Then on the plane, I sat next to a really kind man who offered to let me read his newspaper before he shut his eyes to take an afternoon nap. How kind and thoughtful! When I got to the airport, the man at the ticket counter was beyond kind and helpful, and pointed me in the right direction. When I got to the train platform, however, I was feeling somewhat lost, so I decided to ask a young woman who looked somewhat near my age for some help. Well here was another God moment, because turned out she was traveling to the same destination I was, she had some experience traveling around London so she offered to travel with me, and she was an primary school teacher in Cork! What are the chances of meeting such a person 🙂 God really had my back throughout this entire trip, right from the get-go. I eventually made it to our hostel (after calling the receptionist at the hostel and having him walk me the entire way there from the tube station)—which turned out to be undergoing some intense renovations! It was quite a mess, and needed some updating to be honest, but it looked like it was going to be beautiful when it was done. No one else was there when I arrived, and I was staying in a room with 5 other strange women, so I walked in for the first time, the girls just sort of looked at me, and went back to their own business. They spoke a different language, and seemed to be long term residents as laundry was hanging up all over, but I kept to myself and them to themselves, and I left shortly after to see if I could find anyone else. Once again, God was working in that as I was walking around the hostel, I suddenly heard an incredibly familiar voice. Alex Clemetson. I screamed so loud, and hugged him so tightly when we first saw each other! It was an absolutely wonderful, and somewhat amazing moment to be meeting up with him IN LONDON! After we finally let go, myself, Alex, Tara, Lily, and Rebekah sat in the basement of our hostel and chatted until late in the evening. The girls were actually studying there in London, so they left, and Alex and I wandered around the part of London that was around our hostel for a while. Then around 11:30, we headed back and shared a “dinner”or PB&J sandwiches and cereal at the hostel. That was one of my favorite moments of the entire trip!

The next day, we met up with Elizabeth, Katie, and Heidi at the hostel’s breakfast (which consisted of toast, hot chocolate, orange juice, and corn flakes), and spent the morning exploring London! We went to Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria Monument, took a photo in the traditional London Phone Booth, Canadian Gate, and Green Park. Then we met up with Lily, Rebekah, and Tara after they finished class, and headed to Gloucester Arms for lunch where most people had fish and chips, but I had a delicious chicken and mushroom pie/pastry; then we went to Kensington Palace where Princess Kate, Prince William, and Baby George live! Alex decided to walk in a little farther than he was supposed to, so that initiated the first instance of one of us getting kicked out of somewhere in London (more to come!) We went to Ben’s cookies, Royal Albert Music Hall, Prince Albert Memorial, and Hyde Park.

  

We made a trip back to the Hostel to pick up our last few members–Logan, Maddie, and her roommate Rachel. Alex and I made a mad dash up the stairs and barged into Logan’s room, nearly knocking him over in our excitement to see him! Maddie has not checked in yet, so a few of us decided to walk around town for a little bit to show Logan around, and then return later to collect Maddie. Well we got about 5 blocks, and suddenly I heard my name being screamed from across the street! I turned around to see a girl running toward me, and I took off as well to find myself in another wonderful embrace with my beautiful friend. We returned to the hostel to collect the girls who were resting their feet (I have never experienced such tired legs and sore feet as I did walking around London these past 4 days—I was literally limping around the airport before I flew home!), and then we headed out again. We went to Trafalgar Square, and walked along the Thames River at dusk. Walking along the shore, and seeing the skyline and  lit up buildings illuminating the night sky was the moment I fell in love with that city. I never knew what it was really like to feel your heart so connected to somewhere, and feeling like you never want to leave because everything that could ever bring you peace and joy was captured within the place you were. But I found that there, and that continued to get stronger throughout my time there. We finished the night by grabbing dinner at a Lebanese place, Comptoir Libanais, where I had a delicious chicken wrap, and then going to Wafflemeister for a warm waffle with vanilla cookie ice cream and dark chocolate sauce on it. Seriously…most delicious thing ever.

A few of us headed back to Buckingham Palace to see it at night, and then returned to the hostel. The manager at the hostel was kind enough to place all 4 of us girls staying at that particular hostel together, so we all spent about an hour journaling and chatting, and even Logan and Alex joined us for a while before retiring to their rooms. What an amazing and successful first day!

 

Day 2 was just as full! We started by going to Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey.

 

From there, we headed to see the changing of guard at Buckingham Palace, where the streets were lined with excited people, all itching to see the parade of guards and horses pass by. Afterwards, we went to Notthing Hill, which was a street lined with colorful shops, food stands, and vendors selling the most unique and beautiful items!

Maddie and I shared a Banana and Toffee sauce crepe for lunch while there, and then headed to see the musical Once! (how often do you get to see a musical in LONDON, so when we saw tickets were only 19.50, we couldn’t say no!) Maddie, Elizabeth, Rachel, myself, and Dani all met at the Phoenix Theater, and spent a few hours listening to the most soothing male voice imaginable, and watching a love story develop before our eyes. The ending actually turned out to be quite the surprise, but the experience and show overall was amazing! We went back to the tube station to meet up with a few people from our group–and after about a half hour of trying to get in contact, and developing a bit of anxiety that we were lost forever, never to find anyone again, we finally made contact with Lily! She saved us from the massive crowds entering the streets as the night life came alive at Picadilly Circus and Leicester Square, and we ventured off to dinner! We had to split up for dinner since we were such a big group, but I ended up at an all you can eat Chinese restaurant in the center of London’s equivalent to NYC Time Square! The line was crazy long, but the food at Little Wu was absolutely delicious! After dinner, we began our Harry Potter tour!

We went to platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross station, saw where they actually filmed it, went into the gift shop to get some lovely Harry Potter paraphernalia, saw Westminster tube station where Harry and Mr. Weasley struggled to pass through the entrance gate, and St. Pancreas International where Ron and Harry fly around the clock tower in their magic car. I haven’t been the biggest Harry Potter fan in the world, but after being at these places, I have become a hopeless addict! I’m so excited to watch the films and be able to know exactly where the events are taking place! We finished the day with Gelato from Cremerie Creperie–I had cappuccino flavored gelato in a waffle cone! Day 2 was another wonderful day, and I was lucky enough to have one left! Everyone else except myself, Alex, and Logan had to return to their countries early Sunday, so the three of us got to make the most out of our last day!

Day 3, we had breakfast early, said our goodbyes, and the three of us headed to Wimbledon! It was quite an adventure to get there, as we wandered throughout “Wimbledon Park,” only to discover that was not the location of the actual tennis court! We did, however, come across kids playing rugby with their dad, a track where lots of little kids were learning to hurdle and jump (Alex and Logan, being track guys, had a dying desire to take quick a lap around!), and got to see some more of Europe’s lovely green scenery. We eventually asked a very nice couple, who pointed us to the right place. We walked into the gift shop, after having a pleasant chat with the security guard who told us he has a brother in Indiana, and unintentionally (intentionally I guess for Alex and Logan!!) walked into the museum for which an entrance fee was required. Needless to say, this was the second time some of us got kicked out of somewhere…but no real harm done!

 

We made our way back to Regent’s Park, where on the way to we saw a Beatles shop, and the Sherlock Holmes museum!! With my new addiction to that show, I wish we would have had more time to go through it…but we moved on toward the Zoo. We took a quick picture in front of it, and headed to meet Rebekah at Hillsong church for service! What an experience that was! Tons and tons of excited, spirit-filled individuals praising the Lord together in a beautiful venue. I’m so glad we got to be a part of that!

Unfortunately Alex lost his gloves while we were there, but we made our way toward the British Museum after that. After only 10 minutes, though, we somehow LOST Alex. That was a scary feeling knowing that this museum was enormous and we had absolutely no way to contact him! Logan and I were able to see a lot of history as we wandered through the endless rooms of the museum, and even got to take a picture with THE Cleopatra and THE Rosetta Stone, and after about 45 minutes and many prayers, we somehow ended up running into him on our way out (another God moment!) We made our way to Tower of London, and the Tower Bridge after that. This trip was filled with unbelievable moments where I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the architecture around me, but standing in front of the Tower Bridge nearly surpassed everything. I was just in awe, and it was another one of those moments when everything in me wanted to stay in that moment, in that place forever. We attempted to take pictures to capture its beauty, but it was just impossible, so all I can say is if you have a chance to go see it—TAKE IT! Without any hesitation, go. I have every intention and hope of making it back to that very sight at least one more time in my lifetime, but hopefully more! (as Alex and I decided we are moving there 🙂 )

We met up with Rebekah, Lily, and Tara one last time for dinner at Cafe Floris, had another round of gelato, said our goodbyes (which was truly heartbreaking knowing our trip was coming to an end!) and headed to our last stops: the Millennium bridge, Globe Theater, London Bridge, and Tower Bridge to see it at night. The city at night, like I said, was absolutely stunning, so taking our last walk around the city, along the Thames River, through the Tower Bridge, across the London and Millennium bridges was a beautiful experience. Alex, Logan, and I just had to stop and smile every so often just feeling blessed and overwhelmed by the beauty of the city, and to cherish the once-in-a-lifetime moment we were sharing together. Our hearts were so joy-filled that we actually broke out in song multiple times, randomly throughout that 2 hour adventure!  Seeing the Globe Theater where Shakespeare wrote and performed his plays, walking across the Millennium bridge that was destroyed in the last Harry Potter movie, putting our hands into the historic river Thames, and catching every glimpse we could at the astounding beauty of the Tower Bridge at night was just…incredible. I wish I could put into words how I felt, but it’s just something you have to experience to know and fully understand.

 

It came time to say goodbye to good friends, and to this amazing adventure, so we headed quickly to the Australia House, where Gringots was filmed in Harry Potter, and to St. Paul’s Cathedral where Princess Diana was married, as we made our way to the train station. Logan and I were headed back to Luton airport, and Alex to Stansted, so after getting help from the most kind-hearted train station security guard, we parted ways, realizing the next time we see each other will be May…and I will no longer be an SNC student with them. This was the last time we would all be students together. We somehow held it together, and Logan and I boarded the train after running into yet another beyond kind train station worker who helped us grab our last glance of the city skyline. Our train took us to the airport where we did our best to find a comfortable place to spend the evening, awaiting our flights in the early hours of the morning, and trying to get as much sleep as we could. I was fortunate to meet a very nice English man while I was sitting next to a random outlet charging my phone who wished me the best of luck on my travels yet to come–and that just warmed my heart. The people that I have met in Ireland, and those we also interacted with in London, were just so thoughtful, genuine, personable, and lived out communio (SNC’s model of radical hospitality and caring for those around you)  in a real way!! I loved being a part of that, and am so sad to leave. And in all honesty, my trip to London was more than I could have ever asked or imagined. From the people I was able to share it with, to the laughs and memories we made, to the gorgeous, breath-taking history we got to see and experience, to the sense of home that London gave to me–there is not one part I will ever forget, and I will cherish those moments for as long as I live (not to be cliche…but it’s just undeniably true 🙂 )

Whew! Tired of reading yet!? I know this was a lot, and I have lesson plans to do for tomorrow yet, and it’s already 9pm, so it’s time for me to go! But I have 2 and a half weeks left, with plans to travel to Galway this weekend, Cliffs of Moher next week, Bantry and the Ring of Kerry next weekend, and finish up with a trip to Italy before heading home. These are going to be a busy last few weeks, but I’m so excited to see what’s in store, and am just doing my absolute best to be present in every single moment, for I know leaving these people, this culture, and this beautiful country is going to be beyond difficult.

Until next time!

We Made It Halfway!

5 weeks ago we got to Ireland, and in 5 week’s I’ll be headed home! This trip has gone so incredibly fast, and I have a feeling that the next few weeks will only go faster!

It’s been a while since I blogged, but we had a few weeks of laying low, which was incredibly nice. Unfortunately, it was accompanied by both Han and I having a cold, but we’re on the upswing of that, so we should be as good as new next week! In school, I’ve continued working with Senior Infants, 1st, 2nd, and 4th classes–we’ve been continuing with our clay projects in Senior Infants, and also with our drama unit on the Seasons and the Season’s Wizard! I only get to see them for an hour total each week, but each time they still ask “when are you coming back Ms. Lenz?” and love to wave and say hi every time they see me. And they are absolutely adorable as well 🙂
In 1st class, we got to do a fun art project after learning about cave paintings where they got to make their own out of pastel chalks and paper. Those turned out lovely and colorful, and it’s hilarious to see what they consider a wild animal, and how they chose to depict them! We also have gotten to sing along to some Frozen songs at the end of the day while we are cleaning up. They absolutely love that! I’m hoping that I can teach them some traditional American songs like Yankee Doodle, or Take Me Out to the Ballgame before I head home. We also did a variety of science experiments this week–their teacher and I set up a stations that explored magnets, one for static electricity, one for buoyancy, one that looked at what happened when you put raisins in water compared to 7-up (they start “jumping!”), and then one with string and what happens when you pull a wet cloth across the string compared to a dry one (the string makes a “clucking” sound). Their teacher was gone the entire day yesterday, so I actually got to be the real “teacher” all day long, on my own! That was a fun, but definitely exhausting day! I barely have a voice left today.

 

In 2nd class, we finished their creative writing stories on their dream holidays (vacations), and have started our new unit on light. We kicked off the unit with another episode of Magic School bus, which they go crazy over, and will be doing some experiments with that this week. We’re also going to look at the eye, and how the eye takes in light, and then transition to our main source of light: the sun, and look at the sun, moon, and planets.
In 4th class, we’re continuing our Literacy Liftoff program! I am in charge of comprehension questions, so I rotate from group to group, stay there for 10 minutes at a time, and in our small groups we debrief the reading that they have done. There are other teachers who do Work Work, Grammar, and Pre-reading with them, so it’s a packed 50 minutes, but they nearly cheer everyday when we walk in, which is encouraging! This weekend, Han and I actually are going to Killarney again to support our 4th and 5th grade students at their Peace Proms concert! Students from all over the country get together to put on a concert, and our girls get to be a part of it, so we wanted to be a part of that with them!
Grandparents day was a huge success! There was a record number of Nanas and Grandads there, and the ceremony itself was beautiful. We got to thank, celebrate, and pray over the grandparents, and it was followed by a small reception of tea and biscuits! I wore a new skirt for grandparents day, AND straightened my hair (quite the upgrade from the traditional pants and jumper I wear day in and day out), and the 1st class girls decided that “I looked so pretty that I needed to get married”. Kids just say the darndest things!
Valentine’s day is coming up, so this Friday I’m planning on doing a craft in both my 1st and 2nd classes. Pinterest has proved to be the best creation on the face of the earth, especially for a teacher with limited resources. I’m excited that I get to celebrate this holiday with them! I’ll be sure to post pictures of our finished products!

The host family is still as wonderful as always! We’ve had delicious meals of meatballs with baked turnips and parsnips and potatoes of nearly every kind, pancakes, sausage, toast and egg breakfasts (her pancakes are so much better than box ones at home!!), lasagna, stir fry, chicken and stuffing, a variety of salads, enchiladas, black pudding (if you don’t know what that is, look it up…I’m unsure how I feel about the fact I ate that…:/ ), traditional ham and cabbage, chips (fries) and pizza–their cooking skills never cease to amaze me! But all their food here is incredible to be honest! We had a movie/pizza/junk food night with our host sister last weekend, and we ordered delivery pizza, and that was even incredible! And I’ve become addicted to this granola/fruit cereal–I honestly can’t wait to have it every morning, and sometimes I can’t even wait a full 24 hours, so I have to sneak some in before bed. It’s getting bad…haha. Han and I decided that on Friday, we are going to cook dinner for them as a little Thank You and Valentines Day treat. It won’t be nearly as good as their dinners, but if anyone has any ideas for what to cook, let us know!! Our host mom also gave us our first cooking lesson! She taught us how to make scones–looks like I’ll be making lots of those when I come home! I’ve also graduated to just tea and milk! Sugar is used in tea, but not that commonly, so in an attempt to embrace my inner Irish (and take in fewer calories with all the other delicious foods I’m eating!), I’ve decided to cut out sugar. I’m authentically Irish now! This weekend, our host mom is also going to teach us to knit! We’re headed downtown shortly to pick out our yarn! Finally, we have a habit of settling down to an episode or two of Friends after school, and a Person of Interest episode every night, but I think we may be out of Person of Interest Episodes soon, so any suggestions?! Oh! and we had a baking night with our host sister too! What a blast we had as we made chocolately, chocolate chip cookies!

 

The weather has been less than spectacular unfortunately. They have had more storms, flooding, and cloudy days this winter than they’ve had in a long time, so that has made sightseeing somewhat difficult, but we’re still making the most of every moment here, and we’re sneaking in sightseeing when we can! The bad weather gave us an excuse to go to the cinema and see Frozen however!! My heart was so happy (even if it  was my third time seeing it…)

This past week we managed to find just enough sunshines to visit Dingle Peninsula! The ocean was a gorgeous shade of blue, the sun was out, and it was an absolutely perfect day! I can’t even really describe it, but the pictures below should give you a glimpse of what we saw. We went through the small town of Dingle, which is one of the few places in Ireland that speaks only Irish, through the Conor Pass, to a few beaches, stopped at a pottery shop/cafe, and went up through the mountains. What beautiful sights to see! I even got to be ABOVE a rainbow when we were in the mountains–what an experience that was! God truly blessed us with a breathtaking world to live in!

   

Our host dad is a Pastor, so we have been attending the community christian church with them each sunday. Church here is quite a different experience than at home. Church “starts” at 11, which means there is approximately 30 minutes of chatting and drinking tea before starting. Then, we sing a few worship songs, but there isn’t really a schedule, so if someone wants to sing a different one, we will gladly do that! With only about 50 people attending, it’s a lot easier to accommodate those requests than it would be at my church at home of 3,000. Pastor then leaves time for anyone to share anything they have on their heart, a passage that has been on their mind, a thought, a prayer, prayer request, etc, which he then follows by an hour sermon. Church then ends around 1pm, but lunch follows! Each week, one member of the church volunteers to make lunch for everyone, so we sit around to another cup of tea and lunch for at least an hour and a half. So it’s a full day experience, but it’s filled with time to talk, catch up, encourage each other, and truly just let God speak through every person there. Just another reminder of how time-regimented our culture is at home compared to here. They take time for people and meaningful conversations here…

So this week we’ll continue in the classroom, and next week is our midterm break, so we have off on Thursday and Friday. And–get excited–I’m headed to London!! I’ll be meeting up with a few other SNC people who are studying abroad throughout Europe, so we’ll have an adventure of a lifetime together, I’m sure! And then it’s three short weeks until I’m home…CRAZINESS! But I’m loving every second, and every day I spend here makes me realize how hard it is going to be to say goodbye. But we’ll deal with that when it comes!

Here is a continued list of words I’m learning:
call–stop somewhere (i.e. I’ll call into the shop to pick up a pair of mittens)
ring–call someone
in hospital–how they describe someone who has been taken or is in the hospital (i.e. Is Mike still in hospital?)
drop–throw something away
sellotape–clear tape (CORRECTION ON THE SPELLING FROM LAST TIME)
class–something that’s really cool
lads–our equivalent would be “guys”
petrol–gasoline
dear–expensive (i.e. That purse is really dear!)
plait–a braid
biro–pen
mad–you really like, or are crazy about something (i.e. I’m not mad about peanuts)
nice–when referring to food meaning it tastes good (i.e. that pasta is really nice)
And I’ve noticed their pronunciation is significantly different when they say garage, renaissance, basil, oregano, and vitamins.
Oh! and they also sign all their text messages at the end with their name, and instead of using their fork as a utensil to scoop food onto, they turn their forks upside down and push food onto the rounded side. I’m not sure how that works yet, but I am so intrigued by even those types of small difference between cultures!

Miss you all! Until next time!

Week 2 and Trip to Dublin!

Week 2 in Ireland is complete and now we’re on to week 3! But week two included a fantastic trip to Ireland’s capital–Dublin!!

One of the teachers at our school was kind enough to offer us a ride to and back from Dublin last week Wednesday, so within two days, we quickly put together a weekend excursion to Dublin complete with bus tickets, a place to spend the night, a list of attractions, and a million sets of directions (it’s amazing how much I rely on the GPS on my phone to get around! It’s a major struggle when you don’t quite have access to that…) Our journey started bright at early Saturday morning–our ride picked us up, and together we drove to Limerick. She had to take the day there, so Han and I continued our journey to Dublin VIA bus. After stopping at Limerick University, and fighting through the intense wind and rain that seemed to follow our bus the entire way, we made it to Dublin! and what a beautiful city it was! Han and I quickly compared it to Chicago, but the buildings and streets were cleaner, and immensely more beautiful!

 

Our travels got off to a little bit of a rough start when we started walking the completely wrong direction to our first destination! We walk about 15 minutes off the path before stopping to get lunch at one of the only food places around, and asking for directions. We were slightly shocked to find we were so far off the path! But we got some BLTs, turned around, and made it back to Trinity College…Trinity College, in case you weren’t aware, was where part of the Harry Potter movies were filmed! It was such a neat experience to be in that place, seeing the stunning buildings, envisioning the movie, yet also taking in the reality that was before us.

Next we headed to the Dublin Castle…what a sight to see!! I have never wanted to be royalty so much in my life (yet also realizing how stressful being royalty must be at the same time!) But every room was filled with beautiful with chandeliers, painted ceilings, marble fireplaces, and decorated walls. It was simply breathtaking.

We headed on to Temple Bar from there! Although that is definitely not my scene, I had to at least go to say I’d been there…and Han and I tried our first Guinness there as well! Besides it tasting like acid, it was fun to just have that as an experience! We stopped by the Guinness storehouse later that day as well, but didn’t end up doing the tour. One short experience with Guinness was enough!

We found ourselves in awe at Christ’s Church and St. Patrick’s Cathedral while we were there as well…why such beautiful structures don’t exist in Wisconsin saddens me! We were just drawn to their beauty, and truly didn’t want to leave. The light rays from Golden Hour only amplified their stunning presence…so beautiful.

Our host dad’s daughter was kind enough to take us in for the evening, so after wandering around Grafton street (which is a gorgeously lit strip of store and restaurant after store and restaurant), eating ice cream at Murphy’s grabbing dinner at a cute sandwich shop, finding some goodies at a bakery, and wandering in the Disney store, we walked to her house! We had a fantastic evening laughing, sipping tea, eating biscuits (chocolate chip cookies), and watching Music and Lyrics with her and her housemate. I didn’t think that there could be so many incredible people all captured within the same country! Their hospitality and kind heartedness continues to radiate day in and day out.

  

Day two got somewhat interesting when we woke up to a text saying that our ride couldn’t give us a lift home because she was in the hospital! She is alright now, but it was a somewhat hectic morning of figuring out bus times and buying tickets! But after spending the morning doing a little bit of shopping and grabbing lunch at a 2-story Burger King, we hopped on a bus! Then 6 hours later…we finally arrived home! The weather took a turn for the worst yesterday as well, with hail, lightning and thunder, snow, rain, sleet, and cold temperatures! It’s not quite as bad as the negative 8 degree weather they’re having at home right now, but it’s definitely not balmy, sunny weather either!

School life has been busy as well…we’ve been working on flight and air right now. We did some windmill projects since that’s a hot topic in the town right now, we are looking at the history of flight, how air pressure works, other properties of air, and are writing short creative stories about a dream vacation they want to take! I absolutely love my kindergarten, first, and second graders, and I’m even getting to spend some time with the older, incredible 4th graders as we do some literacy training with them! They have lots of questions about America, so it’s fun to be able to share stories with them! Grandparents day is coming up on Thursday, so we’re doing lots of crafty-prep for that so the hallways can be covered in beautiful artwork. We also had a practice the other day, and it was so fun to see the kids singing together to prepare for their “nanas and grandads.” Life is definitely busy, but with only 7 weeks left, we have to cram in as much as we can!

And as a side note, here’s a few words that I added to my vocabulary:
-pencil pointer: pencil sharpener
-jumper: sweater
-full stop: period (at the end of a sentence)
-press: cabinet
-rubber: eraser
-geansaí (ganzi): cardigan in Irish
-crisps: chips
-sweets: candy
-chips: fries
-cellatape: scotch tape
-give out: yell at/scold
-brolly: umbrella
-bundles: pile of books on a student’s desk
-leithris (lateris): bathroom in Irish
-a lift: a ride (like a ride home)
-“I know”: “I understand”, “ok,” or “right”
-“not at all”:don’t worry about it
-“you ok?”: can I help you/you ready (when ordering food)
-common phrases include: “thanks a million,” “you’re grand,” “lovely,” “brilliant,” “good girl”

First Trip…to Killarney!!

It’s amazing to think that nearly 2 weeks have gone by since Han and I arrived in Ireland…and just 8 left until we come home! Craziness! Well today, we took our first trip on our own outside the city walls of Listowel to the beautiful town of Killarney! Killarney is well-known as a touristy town, and it lived up to its reputation! It was filled with countless shops and restaurants and pubs, all perfect for a curious traveler! But nevertheless, it was a beautiful and exciting place to be! This trip was also Han and my first experience using public transportation in Ireland. Our host dad got up early this morning to cook us eggs, bacon, and hash browns before dropping us off at the station, and as nervous as we may have been to navigate around these strange cities by ourselves, we made it through! And the trip was wonderful and surprisingly easy to navigate! We did end up asking nearly every bus driver where they were headed, just to make sure that we were going to the right place (we may or may not have tried to get on a bus that was parked and done for the day, as well as a bus to Cork, but that’s beside the point). At one point, a kind gentleman did ask if we needed assistance…we must have looked as lost as we felt! And he guided us to the bus we needed to ride. All in all…smooth transportation! The day turned out to be mostly sunny as well, so walking from shop to shop was a pleasant experience! We started by getting a sweet treat for the journey (I got a scone, and Han got a cupcake), and then we let our hearts and feet take us where they felt called! We wandered in an out of shoe shops, wool/sweater shops, souvenir stores, candy shops, candle stores, and even a burger king (it’s fun to find those small pieces of home while we’re here)!! But you name it, we walked past or through a store that had it. The most difficult part was knowing what to buy! The main question we kept asking ourselves was, “did we come all the way to Ireland to buy a pair of boots (or vest, or scarf, etc.)” I kept thinking, “I need to find something truly Irish to feel justified in spending money over here on it”…so after some searching, we did find a couple great things to match that description, while also finding some wonderful gifts to bring home to friends and family. The time there was amazing, very peaceful yet exciting, and a great way to spend our second weekend away!

When we got home, we were greeted by the most traditional Irish meal there is! Ham (or bacon as they call it), cabbage, and potatoes–and what a treat it was! Our host dad took extra special time and care preparing our plates perfectly for us…it was great to see how excited he was to share his culture’s food, and it was incredibly delicious as well! I have a feeling we’ll be having that more often 🙂 The food we’ve been served here is absolutely stellar…both our host mom and dad cook, and the food they prepare is amazing! We’ve had pork chops, stir fry, enchiladas, pancakes, fresh bread, scones, pizza, chips (fries), leek soup, mashed potatoes…and so much more! We definitely are being treated royally while here!

School is going great as well! This week was somewhat exhausting as we got thrown into the full swing of lesson planning, and being in the school for 7 hours a day, but we survived, and overall, it went well! I spent the majority of time each day with my class of first graders, who are adorable and full of energy! A few girls even attempted to walk home with me the other day…they just weren’t ready to say goodbye! The amount of hand-drawn and hand-colored pictures they give me continues to pile up, and it just warms my heart each time they excitedly approach me with the precious gift. This week we did some name poems, learned about adjectives (to which we watched School House Rock’s “Unpack My Adjectives” song), got grossed out by insects, and made beautiful snails out of colorful tissue paper, googley eyes, and pipe cleaners! My second graders are wonderful as well! I spend an hour with them each morning, and this week we focused on water! We explored the water cycle (which is where I introduced them to Magic School Bus…which they loved!), made water cycle bracelets, did an experiment with condensation and evaporation, researched why we should rink water, did an experiment with eggs to see what effect sugary drinks have on our teeth, did some drama and oral language related to the supermarket, and started writing poetry about water. The sunshines right into their classroom in the mornings, so it is such a pleasant experience to work with a group of great girls while the golden rays illuminate the work we are doing! And my last group is the Senior Infants (kindergarteners). I only see them for about an hour a week, but we had fun doing some drama and making things out of clay this week as well!

So life here is truly grand…wonderful family to spend my evenings with and who take care of us in the most selfless, loving way possible; a school filled with kind, supportive teachers and students; opportunities to explore the beautiful country of Ireland with a fantastic travel companion and friend; food to DIE for; and the continuous support and prayers from family and friends back home. Life is great…I can only praise and thank God for allowing me to have this truly incredible experience! But we still miss you all, and wish you were here to experience this all with us!

2 days of teaching under my belt

Today marked the end of our first week of teaching (which really consisted of just two days 🙂 )  I’ve gotten to spend time in the Senior Infant classroom (kindergarten), 1st class (1st grade), and 2nd class (2nd grade). The children are nothing short of adorable!! They find it fascinating to have an American around–one girl today asked if I REALLY was from America–it must seem somewhat unbelievable to them! But they love asking questions, ranging from serious to silly! Some have included:

-what kinds of animals do you have in America?
-do you have TVs?
-do you have shops?
-do you have Euros?
-how many hours did it take to get here?
-do you have dinosaurs in America? (and tarantulas, and bears)
-do you have kids/are you married?
-what time is it in the United States right now!?

I have no doubt the questions will keep on coming, but it’s fun to share a little bit about America with them! They all decided they want to come to St. Norbert for college when they get older 🙂
Today, I got to teach my first lesson, which was in oral language! We talked about visiting the doctor’s office–what types of doctors there are, what tools doctors use, why you go to the doctor. We read a story, then had time at the end to act out a visit to the doctor. They had a blast with that! But a classroom of 8 year old girls in not without its…fun challenges! “She won’t stop looking at me!” “She has lip gloss (not allowed)!” She’s crying because she jumped in the puddle!” The little things of the day that may stress them out, but I can’t help but smile at 🙂 It’s a struggle, though, when they constantly ask you questions in Irish! It’s hard enough understanding their accent the way it is, but then when you aren’t sure which language they are speaking, the challenge increases even more so! And memorizing names also becomes 20 times harder when you can barely pronounce them to start with! But the overall experience has been fantastic! The teachers are incredibly kind, and they have been excellent at giving us advice on where we should travel to/visit while we are here. For the next 9 weeks, I will continue teaching in all three classrooms, and will be teaching everything from geography, to english, to art and drama, to science. What a challenge, but wonderful opportunity I have ahead of me!

A few random observations from my time so far:
-the light switches are always outside of a room, and when they are down, that indicates the light is on, and when they are up, that means the light is off…interesting!
-grocery stores don’t give out bags. you must always bring your own
-My host mom is an EXCELLENT cook! She was so surprised to hear we had never had pancakes from scratch before, but she has treated us with homemade meatball, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, leak soup, enchiladas, cooked carrots, pork chops, and pizza! It’s going to be awful going back to my own cooking when I’m back at school!
-tea with sugar is a million times better than sugar without
-in school, they compliment the girls with “good girl” very often, which equates with “well done,” but sounds somewhat strange to the ear the first few times you hear it. Also, “read on” is a key phrase as students are reading to their teachers at nearly every moment, even when other things are going on.
-there are no lockers, so the students keep their backpacks at their desks at al times; all the art supplies are kept in the classroom, so from clay to googley eyes…it’s all in the cupboards. The teachers also teach every subject from music, art, drama…they do it! but there are no extracurriculars. no student government, sports, key club, forensics, anything…
-It’s very common and acceptable to walk into any classroom at any point for any purpose and stop what is happening. That’s nearly unheard of at schools in the US!
-The teachers are also very good at multitasking! Today in Senior Infant class, some students were reading aloud to the teacher as she taught a math lesson to the class, while others were working on the craft, others were dancing along to a song, some were on the computer, some were being taken out for reading…it was chaos! but she handled it well, and it seemed to all go just as well!
-time is very flexible…recess is 10 minutes? well, let’s sit in the teachers lounge for 23 minutes, and then make our way back to the classroom eventually. also! school starts at 9am at my host sister’s school? arrive at 9:12, and stroll in casually. it’s fine 🙂

I could go on and on about the things I have noticed, but I’ll save some for another time! It’s great to see the differences in the way of life—none bad by any means! Just different! This weekend will include the tons of lesson plans I have to do, but our host mom is taking us to her craft shop, we are possibly going to tour a castle in the town square, we’re going to stay up late having a movie night with our host sister tonight, hopefully we’ll run some errands tomorrow and possibly learn how to felt, we’ll visit a few shops/coffeehouses, and then finish the weekend by seeing FROZEN with our host sister 🙂 Sound like the perfect weekend? I think so!

Until next time!

We’re Here!!

Class. Gas. Wrecked. Top off. Ring. Slapdash. These are just a few of the words that have made an appearance in casual conversation throughout my first two days here in Listowel, Ireland! What a fantastic two days it has been! Monday evening is when everything began in the Chicago airport. We made it through security without a hitch, but were then delayed 2 hours due to mechanical problems, and then a loss of pilot–then, because of our two hour delay, we had very limited time to make our connecting flight! We stood in the wrong line for nearly a half hour, and then experienced quite the questioning from Immigration authorities…intimidating to say the least! but after making it through that, we SPRINTED through the airport to make our flight. Nothing like a nice run at 5am USA time after not sleeping the night before! 🙂 But we made it onto the plane, and flew safely to Listowel!!

Being here has been incredible so far–we went to the beach right away, which was picturesque to say the least! We saw our first, of many I’m sure, Irish castles, and had our first experience with the refreshing Irish wind, and hiking the luscious green hills. We spent time at our new home chatting, unpacking, and getting adjusted (which included scones, sandwiches and tea!), then had dinner, and went to bed early. Today, we spent time in their quaint, beautiful town! We exchanged money for some Euros, got our cell phones to work, visited some grocery stores, visited the school we are going to teach at, and found a fitness center, movie theater, and many pubs/restaurants! I have a feeling I am going to come back with very little money, but a great deal of additional pounds on my waistline! But it will all be worth it as these first few hours here have been nothing short of wonderful!

Tomorrow is our first day in the classroom–I will be in first class (1st grade), which will be an exciting new experience for me! The school there is interesting as they have some of their classrooms outside on the playground in trailer-type structures, and their gym reminded me of the one that you see on the ship in the movie Titanic…it has benches, and not a ton of open space, so I’m curious to see how that works! Thinking about actually TEACHING a group of young students there is somewhat nerve-wracking, but the few people we did meet today were incredibly kind, laid-back, and welcoming, so I’m sure they will be more than willing to help us along the way. Our host family is additionally nothing short of welcoming, hospitable, and all around amazing! Their daughter is very close in age to Han and myself, which makes it very fun to engage in conversation, and compare realities for her life to ours. Our host mom and dad have been very patient as we learn where things are in the kitchen, how to work the electric shower (major struggle on my end), attempt to like tea (I’ve had about three cups already, so it’s a work in progress!), use phrases that are silly and unheard of (freshman 15 was one they particularly found interesting) and ask a million questions about life and culture there. Nevertheless, we are happy, well-fed, and are finding it enjoyable to adjust to the slower, simple, beautiful lifestyle here. I found myself missing the small things of home at I attempted to get ready this morning, but I had no doubt this will become familiar and second nature soon. Stay tuned for more stories to come! It’s time for tea!

Just the beginning!

This is the start…the beginning of what is no doubt to be an incredible, life-changing adventure! I have nothing but movies and pictures of Ireland to utilize in creating the very vague mental picture of this distance country that I do, but what I lack in clarity, I make up for in excitement! This is something completely new for me; I’ve never traveled outside of the country by myself before, and not only that, I’ve never had a classroom all to myself either–but both of those things are about to change! Who knows what’s in store, but I’m eager (and of COURSE slightly nervous) for it to come! But right now, as I gather facts, do research, ask questions…this is just the beginning.