Don't Blink.

Don’t blink, cause just like that, you’re six years old

And you take a nap

And you wake up and you’re 25…

This song, called Don’t Blink by the one and only Kenny Chesney, came on my iTunes as I was thinking about how I can put the past two and a half weeks into words.

And then I heard these lyrics and they kept playing over and over in my head even after the song was over. Writer’s block aside, the light bulb had gone off.

It’s unreal how fast time is moving. I feel like I stepped off the plane, conquered jet lag in one half-hour nap, and now all of a sudden, two and a half weeks are behind me. Where did it all go?

Well, one thing’s for sure – I am loving every moment!!

My teaching experience here enlightens me more and more every day. It took me two weeks, but I’m now able to name all 240 students. They are so lovely and adorable! I have now spent time observing every class in addition to conducting question and answer sessions about America in each one. I have also worked with many students in small groups, providing extra support for whatever they’re working on in class (except Irish, of course!) I taught persuasive writing to the fifth class and Pennsylvania geography to the fourth class. I’ve also been helping sixth class with learning how to backstitch. I didn’t even know I knew how to backstitch! This week, I am planning on teaching one lesson each day, except for tomorrow when I am the sixth class substitute! Who knew that my first official on my own substitute teaching job would take place in Ireland?! I’m very excited!!!

I also find it very interesting that the students and teachers here hate learning and teaching Irish. They seem to love everything else about their culture, so why not appreciate the language? Well, everyone that I’ve talked to feels that it should be abolished from the primary school curriculum as it is a very peculiar language that is rarely spoken nowadays, especially in Dublin. In a few weeks, however, I will be taking a weeklong field trip with the sixth class to the Gaeltacht in Donegal, where only Irish is spoken. The sixth class students have tried to teach me some Irish each day…what a joke that is!!

Although I love spending time at Delgany National School, I am anxiously awaiting my three weeks of traveling. I’ll be teaching/working for the rest of my life (maybe), but I doubt I will ever get to Ireland again and I am just mesmerized by the number of attractions I still haven’t seen!

Since my last update, my highlights include the following:

On Monday after school, I took a walk into downtown Dun Laoghaire. Just as I could not have asked for a better host family, I also could not have asked for more gorgeous surroundings. There are two piers with lighthouses at the end of each and I plan to walk the two miles at some point before I leave. This time, though, I only walked half of the west pier before I found a nice little cutout in the cliff wall to sit and observe the sunset. Ipod headphones in my ears and a Berks beer in hand overlooking the Irish Sea, I enjoyed every minute of the hour relaxing and reflecting on life.

View from the Pier 

Gorgeous sunset !!

On Tuesday after school, I took my first DART (train) ride home from school, which I will be doing every Tuesday since Trish goes to lectures. This is where I learned that possessing coins in Europe is a necessity. The one-way fare was 3 Euros, but at the time, all I had was a 50 note. The machine required exact change if I didn’t want to lose 47 Euros. Luckily, the bank across the street was open and I was able to exchange my 50, but even then I probably still looked like a goon fiddling through the mound of coins in my hand trying to figure out the most logical way to make exactly 3 Euros. I don’t understand this money system and I probably never will. Anyways, the train dropped me off at the Dun Laoghaire station and I took a stroll down Main Street. I found a deal on a new bathing suit because I’m jumping off that pier into that swimming hole if it’s the last thing I do!

The DART

View from inside the train!

On Wednesday after school, I experienced my first Ireland monsoon…60 mph winds, 30 degrees Fahrenheit, hail balls, thunder and lightning, pounding rain. Not exactly my ideal exploring weather, so I curled up on the couch in front of the fire.

On Thursday, I woke up to the best email I have ever received…SHAUN IS COMING TO VISIT!!!!!! I was egging him on for so long, and now it’s true! I am so so excited for him to come J Another monsoon rolled in after school – I guess I’ll just have to get used to them. I had the most amazing homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner, but not before Trish kindly harassed me for eating a “vile heart attack in a box” otherwise known as Kraft that American college students like myself have come to know and love. It was all in good fun!

On Friday I stayed in with Trish because I had to be up at the crack of dawn on Saturday. We bonded over wine and chocolate and the “tele box” full of McDonalds commercials. It was a great night!

And then came Saturday, where another girl from PSU (Alli) and I embarked on a Paddywagon day trip to Wicklow National Park and the town of Kilkenny. Paddywagon is the most recognized tour company in Ireland, so I figured it was time to give it a whirl. It was an extremely long and exhausting day, but I am so glad I went! I had never met Alli before, but I found out through the grapevine that she lives very close to me and is also here until mid-June, so I have another travel buddy! The bus ride was long and bumpy at times, so I had a pounding headache by the time the day was over, but the outing was well worth it. We hiked the Wicklow mountains, took pictures of gorgeous scenery at the National Park, ate a delicious lunch at the Kilkenny Hibernian Hotel (Kilkenny beer tastes a lot like Yeungling), toured the medieval Kilkenny castle, and looked in many shops. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing!

Wicklow Mountains

So picturesque 

Wicklow National Park

So many trees

Brownshill Dolmen ... I've never seen so much yellow!

The best thing I've ever eaten besides my dad's love chicken and Mrs. Rabbitt's meatballs

In front of Kilkenny Castle

Inside Kilkenny Castle

Castle Courtyard

Streets of Kilkenny

We returned to Dublin around 5:30 and stopped for pints at Ireland’s oldest pub called the Brazen Head. It was built in 1198! It took us nearly an hour to find it, but after unknowingly making it obvious that we were lost tourists by holding open a four foot map, a friendly Dublin native approached us with clear directions. She also warned us of “bag snatchers” in this run down area of Dublin. Luckily, we entered and escaped without harm. I enjoyed my first pint of Smithwick’s pale ale – not my favorite, but I am proud of myself for branching out in my beer consumption. Alli and I felt awkward drinking among all the old men in there, but hey, it was bound to happen sometime! I took the bus home (without getting lost this time!) and walked in the door to dinner on the table, my laundry washed and folded, and new sheets on my bed…The Conran family is waaaaaaaaaay too good to me!

Ireland's oldest pub built in 1198

The girl that had to have a blue raspberry slurpee on the bus home

Inside the Brazen Head... don't look so angry, dude.

Today I was grateful to finally sleep in…till 11! Gosh, how I’ve missed those days! Trish and I ventured out to an extremely “posh” store called Avoca. It had my mom’s name all over it… everything from outdoor furniture to garden essentials to kitchenware to mom clothes to knitted scarves and blankets to home goods to Trader Joes/farmer’s market type foods to everything! The place was surely bumpin! Trish also took me by the enormous Slazenger estate, home of the Slazenger family who invented the American Slazenger hockey sticks. And I thought Toll Brother homes were big……….

A few things I have learned about Ireland since I last wrote:

1. Don't expect to hear any Irish music - Rihanna's "We Found Love" is just as overplayed in this country as it is at home!

2. It's impossible to dress warm enough here. A "jumper" shopping spree is in the very near future.

3. Drinking at least five cups of coffee a day is completely normal. I am accidentally living Erika's life that I made fun of for three semesters.

4. All couples or groups of two at a restaurant sit beside each other instead of across from each other... #shakemyhead

That’s all about all I have for you this time. 

April 29, 2012. Kenny said it best – I have no idea where my college years have gone, let alone the last two weeks. Aren’t there supposed to be 24 hours in a day? I’m already more than a quarter of the way through my allotted time in Ireland and there is still so much for me to see and do! It’s now a matter of ANNA VS. TIME … who will be victorious?

Happy 2^nd 21^st Birthday, Fitz!!

To everyone at PSU – Good luck on finals!

Love you and miss you all.

Until Next Time,

Anna

... don't blink.