Goodbye Ireland.....my last thoughts

My Last Thoughts,...

It is my last day in Ireland, really, my last few hours. To be honest, I have never been so sad in my entire life. The experience was beyond anything I could wish and hope for. Six weeks was not enough time. I want to stay, I want to travel Europe, I just want more time. Although I was apprehensive about teaching (especially after my first day. ah.), I found myself crying my eyes out as I left the school. I had boys giving me hugs at the end of the day. Some of the boys made me cards and gave me gifts. As my teacher was saying goodbye, she gave each of the boys two Rollo chocolates to celebrate. Chocolate is like gold to these kids, they went crazy. One little boy came up and gave me one of this Rollo's. How do you stop tears from coming when they give up something so important? I know it was just a piece of chocolate, but it was a huge gesture for these kids.

As for my host family, I haven't said goodbye to them yet, but I am crying about just thinking about leaving. I feel like I have become a part of their family. I believe that having a wonderful host family makes a huge different when staying abroad. The mother treated us as if we were her daughters.

As for Ireland, I will miss everything. To say it has grown on me is the understatement of the century.

My advice to anyone who is reading this blog: Travel abroad! I do not think just visiting is enough, however. Live in another country, get to know the people and culture.

Would I come back to Ireland? In a heartbeat.

How has this trip changed me? I have a burning desire to see the world now. I was always curious before, but now that I know what is out there I want see everything. I am not afraid to step out of my little bubble. In the future, I want to live in another country for a year. Is this possible? I don't know. I guess I will try to get a one year teaching position in another place. All I know is that it is at the top of my bucket list.

I am blessed to have had this experience. Thank you to everyone who has helped me get here. Thank you to everyone who has read my confessions over the past few weeks as well. I wish you could be here.

I guess that is all that is left to say is GOODBYE IRELAND.....

London Baby!!!!

HELLOOO LONDONNNN

Spending a short two days in London was a good weekend trip. As you can see from all my pictures, we tried to see as many sites as possible. My favorite event was watching the changing of the guards at Buckingham palace. There were thousands of people surrounding the area as the guards paraded through the palace gates. Everywhere I moved, I got an elbow in my back because it was so crowed. It was like this all over London, however. It reminded me of New York City actually. Traveling the tubes was also an experience. At times it was so crowded I could barely breath. The weekend was fast paced and tiring. I slept like a baby at the hostel on Saturday night.

Altogether I had a good time in London. I am happy I went, but I have to say that it didn't live up to my expectations. I guess I was expecting something more European, but it was actually very similar to the US.

Nights in Dublin

Apologies everyone. I have been slacking on my blog for the past week.
Everything has just been so crazy lately. I can't believe there is only one week until I go home! Where has the time gone?

For the past few weeks I have just been soaking up the sites in Dublin. It is wonderful to see all the Christmas lights showering the streets. Everywhere you look, you can see people caroling and performing. One of the pictures I posted is of a man posing as a statue. Initially, I thought he was a statue, until he started to move. It was funny to watch the pigeons fighting on his arm while he just stood there.
Let me just talk about food for a moment. Tuesday, December 8th was a Holy Day so my school had off. I spent the day meandering in the city again and came across the most amazing crepes. I spent about 7 dollars on a banana and nutella crepe. OOOO and Starbucks robs people. I bought the largest hot chocolate and paid about 7.50 dollars.....robbery. Yet so amazing. I would do it again. I bought it because I was in a Christmas mood. I should probably quell that Christmas mood because it is making me spend way too much money. It is so hard to resist when there are street vendors everywhere!
Aside from my spending excursions, I have been teaching everyday at St. Mary's. I posted a picture of a few of my second grade boys during a singing performance.
The last picture I put up is of my host family's living room. I just want to lounge in this room and sit by the fire all night.

The final days of my Thanksgiving trip

For the final days of my Thanksgiving trip, we visited Burren Area, the city of Galway, and an early monastic site. The Burren area is right on the coast of the Atlantic. Everything surrounding this area is made out of broken up rock. Throughout the years, water froze in between the cracks of the rock and separated them. The result=a scenic area where it is very easy to break your ankle if you are not watching your step.

Afterwards, we spent our time walking around Galway. The city was bursting with activity!

On our long ride home, we stopped at one of the most famous monastic sites in Ireland at Clonmacnoise. One last thing I want to comment on is the flooding around Ireland. I included a picture of the River Shannon. It is sooo flooded that it looks like a lake, not a river. Even the sidewalks are disappearing! Apparently, this is the worst flooding Ireland has seen in a long time. We actually had to take an hour detour because some of the roads were closed off.

Check out my pictures.

A few more pictures from the Cliffs

Here are a few more picture from the Cliffs. You can see the no trespassing sign I passed by on my way to the other side. Check out the warning sign they posted along the path! In order for me to obtain these amazing pictures, I had to trek through piles of mud. Look at how dirty I was at the end of the day. You can only imagine what the back of my pants looked like after I sat down on the edge.

I played with fate this day, so I will treasure these pictures forever!

Cliffs of Mohr

The Cliffs
Check out the videos (click on the pictures to view videos).
Basically, this is why I came to Ireland.
Don't judge me when your watching the videos. I sound and look like a complete idiot. I am out of breath because I basically ran up the mountain to catch this shot. My first camera died, so I went all the way back to the bus to get another camera. In short, that is why I sound so silly.
The day was absolutely perfect. I only wish I had a better camera to capture the shots. It may be hard to see some of the cliffs because the sun was so bright. Apparently, our tour guide told us that out of the 12 years he has been taking people to the cliffs, this was the most calm, perfect day he has ever seen! We were so lucky. Also, the wind was really calm this day. Normally, the wind is so bad it is blowing people over. Unfortunately, this is also the cause of many deaths each year. Tourist will hop the no trespassing sign (oops,..much like I did) and lean over the cliff while it is windy. I think you know what happens from here,....

Friday: The 9th Most Beautiful Place in the World (according to National Geographic)

Friday:
The Dingle Peninsula
According to National Geographic, the Dingle Peninsula is the 9th most beautiful place in the world. I would have to say that I agree on the beauty! Just look at my pictures...
P.S. Take a look at the sheep. They are everywhere in Ireland. I know we have sheep at home, but it is just different here. Everywhere you look sheep are grazing in fields. There have been several times when we have had to stop the bus because of sheep walking in the road (our driver called this "rush hour"..hahah)

Thanksgiving in Ireland

Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving from Ireland!!!!

To start our holiday off, we ate a traditional Irish breakfast. Check out the picture I posted. Not only are the breakfasts HUGE, but they are full of meat. Notice the black and brown circles on the plate. These are called black and white pudding; Another name is BLOOD PUDDING. On the first day I was here, I forgot what was in these and ate them. Let me give you a hint as to what they are made with,...one of the main ingredients is in the name (hello...blood....). Another part of this sausage looking food is animal intestine. Yup, I ate this.

After looking at another castle and a picturesque village, we eventually ended up Tralee for Thanksgiving dinner. I put a picture of my Thanksgiving meal up.

Despite the fact that the restaurant tried their best, it just wasn't like home. We all stood up and said what we were Thankful for at dinner time. This moment was actually the first time I have felt homesick on this trip. We all sat around and talked about what happens on our Thanksgivings back at home. All I could think about was my whole family, crowded in my Grandmothers kitchen, holding hands and saying our prayers before dinner. Man, my mouth is watering just thinking about the food my Dad, Grandfather and Uncles slave over all day. Although I had a moment of sadness, the rest of the night was wonderful. We danced the hokey pokey to an accordion player and watched American football on the TV until the late hours of the night.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Here are just a few pictures from my adventures today. The famous Temple Bar. All the pubs are so beautiful! The atmosphere is so welcoming and fun. I love all the live music!

I also took a picture of the rive and double Decker buses at night. I hate those stupid buses,...we have to ride them for an hour to get to the city. Today however, I had a funny experience, my roommate opened an emergency exit, thinking it was a window. The bus stopped,...right in the middle of the street and shut down. I almost died laughing. The bus driver had to run around the bus to find the problem. Luckily , cough cough, the guy next to us was "nice enough" to point out that the problem was us. Needless to say, we got a few stares.

On another note:

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving. I will be traveling, so enjoy all the turkey and stuffing! I will be thinking of everyone. Watch some football for me! I'll write when I come back.

Happy Thanksgiving

Monday and Tuesday...

Monday and Tuesday

Over the past few days a lot has been happening in Ireland. Because we didn't have school on Tuesday, our whole group went to the oldest Pub in Ireland, the Brazen Head. The picture shows me stapling a dollar bill to the wall. At this pub, it is a tradition for any American to sign his or her name on dollar bill and tack them to the walls. There are dollar bills everywhere. I am now a piece of history at the Brazen Head.

The reason there was no school on Tuesday was because all the private sectors in Ireland were striking! The government is cutting salaries and taking away pensions, so on Tuesday, everyone striked. It was amazing not to have school, but also to watch the strikes on the streets. I can't imagine our WHOLE country uniting for a strike. It was truly mystical.

During the day on Tuesday, we toured the Jameson factory....I had so much fun!!! We also ate at another amazing pub. We were about to tour Trinity College when it started to pour (this has happened A LOT so far). The rest of our day was spent soaking wet and sitting on a bus. The wind and rain are a common thing here. One moment it is sunny and the next your drenched. Not ideal beach weather, Ill tell you!

I kissed that rock thing....

Felicia....I kissed that 'rock thingy' today.

Today I kissed the Blarney Stone. The first two pictures are of me kissing the stone. The last picture is of Blarney Castle. I nearly fell climbing, what felt like, miles of stairs to get to the top.
To break up the 4 hour drive we had to get to Blarney, we stopped at another castle (this is the third picture in). I have come to a very important conclusion this trip: there are WAY TOO MANY castles in Ireland. Each castle is unique and mystical in its own way and I really appreciate the architecture in each one, but there are just sooooooo many.

On another fantastic note: I bought Waterford crystal today. I now am going to need a third job when I come home (oops). The sale lady did a fantastic job selling me "exclusive" Ireland pieces. Apparently the pieces that I bought are only sold in Ireland (yeah right.....). I am going to believe her, however, to help me rationalize the money I spent. I bought four beautiful white wine glasses. The design, which I just researched, is supposed to be Celtic. Although I did not know this at the time, it is actually why I bought them. Because I am sure nobody cares about my purchase, I will stop this conversation before anyone falls asleep at their computer.

(p.s. Mom and Dad, look for the package in the mail. When you receive them, treat them like your babies. Put them high up so the dogs don't eat them....you never know.....its possible with my dog)

Sick, but nothing is going to stop me from seeing Ireland!

I am sick of being sick. I guess the weather has finally caught up with me. Despite fighting a migraine ALL day, I still enjoyed myself.

After searching for a route to the Boyne and pushing through inches of water (everything was flooded!!!), we finally made it to our first destination. I learned (for the fourth time) about the most important battle in Irish history,...the Battle of the Boyne.

The next site, the temple passage in New Grange, was more my stride. The passage way we walked through was 5,000 years old. It is 1,000 years older than Stoneheadge and 500 years older than the pyramids. Everything about this site was mystical. One of my posted pictures shows the outside of the passage (no pictures could be taken inside, however). Back when there was no means of transportation (not even horses were domesticated yet), people moved HUGE rock over 400 miles. The site was build with no plaster....literally all that is holding up the passage is rock against rock. Scary but AMAZING. Even cooler,...check out the rock in front of the passage. Can you see the carvings? So cool, right? It gets better I promise! The reason this site is so impressive is because of what happens during the solstice. For only 7 minutes over a five day period, the sun perfectly aligns and illuminates the inside of the passage. The construction of the passage is so genius and precise, that it is said that the stone age humans that created this structure were light years more intelligent than our scientists today. What mystified me even more is that fact that no one can be sure why this passage was created. There are many conjectures, but no real answers. Some believe the passage was used by sun worshipers for religious ceremonies. Some believe the passage was used for burial purposes. Some believe the passage created as art for arts sake. Who knows? Honestly, I am happy not knowing...

The last site we visited was Trim castle. The other two pictures are from this area. Can you guess what famous movie star walked these grounds not too many years ago? Probably not...Mel Gibson! This is where they filmed Brave Heart. Very fun.

Music to my ears

Here is a little music for your enjoyment. I was walking down a street one day and ran into these musicians. It was truly grand to just sit and listen to the music. Hope you enjoy as much as I do!!!

I want to dedicate this blog to all my favorite musicians (Brandon, Cole and Felicia).

Wicklow Tour

Welcome to the beautiful Wicklow mountains. After taking a scenic tour up the mountain, our first destination was the Glendalough Monastic site. Monastic buildings located on this site dated back to the 10th century!

Fun fact about the Irish cross: In one of my picture you will see a grave yard with the remains of a church behind it. Look for an example of a cross. Before St. Patrick came to Ireland, the region's religions was paganism. When St. Patrick came to Ireland, it is said that as to not upset the Pagan culture, he meshed the christian cross with a cirlce (which represents the sun(and other earth materials) that the Pagan's worshiped). This is one theory that I was told today. Many Christians believe that the cirlce encompassing the cross symbolizes everlasting life. I do not know what your beliefs are, but I thought I would share both of these interesting theories.

After touring the monastic site, we took and hour hike up the mountain to view the waterfall (which I took a picture of). By the top of the mountain I was sweating and out of breath. Guess I should start to get in shape, huh?

We ended our day in the Powerscourt House and Gardens (This is the first picture that is shown). The Powerscourt Gardens is a collection of flowers and shrubbery, sculpted in artistic ways. To be truthful, I was slightly disappointed because most of the flowers were dead. The green grass was quit pretty, but all together I was unimpressed with this site. I did, however, have a wonderful scone from the gift shop.

Just another note:

Thanks to anyone that is reading my blog. Are you tired of my scenic pictures yet? It is so hard for me to even describe everything I am seeing. All I can say is that Ireland needs to go on every one's bucket list!

To all my students: Thanks you for listening to what I have to say. If you go away to college, you should take every opportunity available to you to tour other countries. Study abroad! I am learning valuable life lessons everyday. I miss you all! (P.S. Twilight opens on Friday,..I know a few of you have started your countdown! I will see it and then we can compare notes)

Belfast

Saturday, November 14

Belfast

Although we only spent a few hours in Belfast, I learned decades of history. For years and years Belfast was an area of destruction during the time of the "Troubles" between the English and Irish nationalists. Even today you can still see the remains of the fighting. They say that the Irish in this area are more Irish than the Irish and the British/Irish are more British than the British. The "peace line" (a giant fence), which is taller than the Berlin wall runs through the city and is a constant reminder of the separation. The term "peace line" is ironic because it is about anything but peace.
While driving through the city there are many examples of graffiti in the form of amateur paintings on the sides of the buildings. Depending on what part of the city you are in determines what perspective the paintings are from (the Irish nationalists (headed by Sinn Fein) or the British).

Heaven

Friday, November 13

I found a piece of heaven on Friday.
Ladies and gentlemen,....
Dumdrums: The largest shopping mall in Europe

5 hours of shopping and we only briefly touched the mall. As you can see in the photo, we all did some major damage. All I will say is that I will be avoiding my bank account for some time.

To finish off the perfect night, I ate an entire medium pizza at Pizza Hut.
Like I said,...HEAVEN!

First two days of school....

Three words: All Boys School

One word: Help

No, just kidding. My first two days of school were an adventure. I still need to get adjusted to the all boys atmosphere. There are so many differences in our school system. Let me tell you about a few interesting differences

-My day runs from 9-2:30 (Are all my American students jealous?).

-The children get two "yards" or recesses. During this time, teachers have tea. This is no joke. Probably my favorite part of the day is tea time. Every teacher in the school sits in the staff room for tea and biscuits.

-During lunch, the students have only ten minutes to eat their lunches in the classroom. They also have a "fruit break" early in the day. This is kinda like a snack break.

-Students learn Irish or Gaelic for almost an hour. I think you can imagine how confused I was as an hour of the day was spoken in a different language. Another hour is dedicated to religion

-There are no music, art or gym teachers. The homeroom teachers teach all subjects. Today, we had music. We sang "When the Saints Come Marching In" as we marched around the room. So fun!

I will tell you more about the school as I continue through my five week adventure.

I will try not to bore you with the details of my day, but I thought I should brag about the fact that I walked over an hour to get home today. My calves are now burning, but I feel great. I wanted to put my athletic activity in writing because I do not know how long it will take for me to become lazy again.

Here is a picture to keep you laughing,...I think I could beat this boxer anyday...

Finally Sunday

Finally caught up with all my posts.
It is Sunday and what a beautiful day. There were millions of activities Brittnee and I could have participated in today. Because of the sunshine, we dropped everything and took a ride through the countryside. I will not say much about the day because I believe my pictures will say it all. Just take a look.....
OOOOOOO! One final note. Where are all my P.S. I Love You fans? Today we ended our exersion with eating at the highest pub in all of Ireland; Johnnie Fox's. In P.S. I Love You, this is where our characters meet and first fall in love. Aside from the movie, you should know that famous actors, presidents and authors frequent Jonnie Fox's all the time (Examples include Brad Pitt and Bill Clinton) There is live, traditional music every night of the week. For anyone famous that comes to Ireland, Johnnie Fox's is a must see. Just think, I could have sat in the same seat as Brad Pitt,...what a day!