Have you ever been on a boat or on a beach wearing five tops, a
raincoat, two pairs of pants, four socks, and rain boots?
Neither had I…until this week. I felt like I should have been wearing a
bikini and flip flops considering the beachy-ness of the situation, but nope,
only in Ireland would I be dressed like an Eskimo on the beach and still be
freezing my buns off. More on that later. Anyways…
This week, I ventured into the Irish countryside. And let me tell you
about the Irish countryside…
I mentioned in my previous post that I was in Donegal with my sixth
class students, their teacher, Trish, and the sixth classes from five other
primary schools in the Dublin area. The students would be attending classes (completely
in Irish) at the Irish College in the mornings, go on excursions in the
afternoons, and participate in organized activities in the evenings. The
purpose of the trip was for the students to bond with their classmates as a
last hurrah before moving on to secondary school, to brush up on their Irish,
and to prepare them for the environment they are going to encounter in
secondary school. In primary school, there is only one class per grade level so
the students have been in the same classroom with the same classmates since
they were four years old. In secondary school, however, the students will be
switching classrooms for different classes with different groups of classmates,
as they did this week. Us teachers were the chaperones, but we had more free
time than we could have imagined. It was essentially a week-long field trip,
definitely better than a work week!
We embarked on our journey on Monday morning in a large coach bus, which
my school shared with one other school. It took six hours of driving time plus
one stop for lunch in a halfway town called Monaghan. Once we got out of
Dublin, there was only one road the entire way. It was very narrow and I got
the “willies” in my stomach every time the bus bobbed up and down over the
hills. I napped most of the way to alleviate the thought of motion sickness and
because I knew the ride would drag on if I didn’t, especially with a bus full
of loud, excited 12-year-olds.
We finally pulled into the Irish College (known as the Gaeltacht) in
Donegal around 4pm. The students from each school would be staying with host
families…one house for the girls and one house for the boys. The teachers never
got to see the students’ houses, but our students said their houses were very
nice. Meanwhile, as the students settled in, Liz (6th class
teacher), Emma (6th class teacher from another school) and I checked
into our “house.” We were staying in Maureen’s house right across the street
from the college – Maureen has been hosting visiting teachers for ten years, so
she was an experienced and incredible hostess to us! Liz, Emma, and I each had
our own rooms with very comfortable double beds and free wifi. We also had our
own living room separate from Maureen’s family’s living area, which is where we
ate all of our meals, so it was as if we were staying in our own place! Maureen
cooked amazing meals for us throughout the week and was always reminding us to
make ourselves at home…we could not have asked for a more hospitable hostess!
My bed in Donegal :)
Our private dining area in Maureen's house
Our private living room in Maureen's house
After a chicken curry dinner, the students and teachers from all six
schools gathered in the college for a few hours of listening to rules for the
week followed by Irish dance lessons. The Irish dance lessons eventually turned
into a nightclub featuring 12-year-olds fist pumping to “Call Me, Maybe.” This
is where I met Emily, another American teacher in the program from Indiana, who
was along on the trip as well. We couldn’t believe we were actually in the
middle of this 12-year-old dance party, but hey, we had fun!
Afterwards, the students went off to bed, while the teachers went to one
of only two pubs within walking distance of the college. Emily and I stayed a
few hours later than everyone else as we met two young native Donegal men who
bought us each a couple of pints. They knew we were American the second they
saw Emily and I in our “wellies” (rain boots) since no Irish women wear rain boots.
John and Owen interrogated us about America and what we were doing in Ireland,
let alone in Donegal. They were definitely very interested in our lives, but
then again, I can’t imagine many girls our age living anywhere near that pub
considering there is absolutely no night life in that area whatsoever, so no
wonder they could’ve talked to Emily and I all night. No thanks, we thought.
Eventually, Emily walked me home (even though only 100 feet up the road)
because I was too scared to do so alone in the dark in another unfamiliar
environment. I soon found out that I could not be in a safer place; Donegal is
so safe that the families never even lock their doors!
On Tuesday, our first full day, I observed just how much of a ghost town
Donegal truly is. It is a county with no civilization – a 20-minute drive to
the nearest grocery store. There were very few houses – maybe one per acre –
and only one long, bumpy, narrow road throughout the entire town. Every coffee
shop and pharmacy was out of business. The residents of Donegal only speak
Irish Gaelic, which explains why all road signs were written in Irish. Needless
to say, we all struggled to communicate with the natives, but Emily and I had
particular difficulties not knowing any Irish whatsoever. I really don’t
understand how families can live in such an abandoned town.
This is what I mean by no civilization...literally
There are mountains everywhere!
Anyways, while the students attended classes at the college, Emily and
Emma and I took a long walk along the shoreline. We sat on a big rock, took in
the beautiful scenery, and got to know each other through conversation. It was undoubtedly
colder and windier than in Dublin – good thing I packed eight weeks worth of
layers for only four days!
The Gaeltacht where the students went to class
One of the five classrooms ... each separated by a dividing wall
Scenery from our walk!
Tallest mountain in the Republic
Maureen made us a delicious lunch of veggie soup, chicken salad
sandwiches, warm scones with rhubarb and vanilla jam, and all the tea/coffee we
could drink. After lunch, all of us teachers headed to Dunlewey Fun Park with
the students. The kids had a lot of fun riding the mechanical bull, paddle
boating, and climbing the rock wall. I raced two of my students to the top of
the rock wall, but sadly…I lost. Oh well, it was a fun afternoon!
I made it to the top!
Pretty sunset on the way home :)
Dinner that night consisted of roast pork, mashed potatoes, cabbage, turnips,
apple crumble, custard, and ice cream…definitely my favorite meal of the week!
Then we headed back to the college to watch all of the students in an Irish
quizzo contest. All of the questions were in Irish, so I obviously had no idea
what was happening. However…there was a question about what state Disney Land
is in and I told my students to write down California. The Irish headmaster who
was running the contest said the correct answer was Florida, but I explained
that Disney World is in Florida, while Disney Land is in California. He had no
idea there was a difference! My students thought I was so clever proving the
headmaster wrong :)
Afterwards, the students went to bed and us teachers headed off to the
other pub down the road. We were the only people in it, but we had so much fun
and I was glad I got to know the other teachers a little better!
On Wednesday, while the students were in classes, we took a short boat
ride out to Gola – a deserted island off the coast of Donegal. The last
resident left the island in 1975. We walked the perimeter of the entire island
in an hour. There were a few rundown houses, a collapsed one-room schoolhouse,
lots of green, and some wild sheep. It was so quiet and peaceful and the
scenery was absolutely breathtaking!! And…I drove the boat home (with
directions from the captain, of course)!
Our cute little boat
View from Gola Island
On the Island
Ancient one-room schoolhouse
The scenery took my breath away!
Maureen made us a yummy lunch of ham and cheese paninis, salad, Doritos,
and chocolate chip “buns.” Then us teachers accompanied the students on a ferry
to Aran Mor, the smallest of the Aran Islands. The rain was coming down in buckets
and I never felt so cold in my life, hence the Eskimo apparel mentioned above. Liz
went on the earlier trip with the boys, so I was assigned to supervise the
girls. We were on the island for an hour. The girls and I sat on the rocks for
the half time; this is when I caught up on all the sixth class gossip and who
“goes out with” who. We also did cartwheels on the sand to help ourselves stay
warm! It was great fun :)
Our ferry ... we all had to stand!
Sailing to Aran Mor
Aran Mor Beach ... brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!
I was ravenous by the time we sailed back, thanks to all the fresh air
and seawater! After downing homemade lasagna, carrots, peas, roasted potatoes,
and pear flan, we headed over to the college to watch the students perform in
the talent show. There were group and individual acts; Delgany took 2nd
place for their line dance to the Irish national anthem!
On Thursday, we walked down to the hotel where all the principals were
staying for what turned into a 3-hour coffee break. I still believe I’ve drank
more tea and coffee than I have water! I took the time to get to know all the
teachers even better – they were all so interested in American education!
Maureen made us another lovely lunch of baked potato soup, ham and
pineapple pizza, and tuna sandwiches. Talk about complex carbs, but who’s
complaining?! After lunch, we accompanied the students on a short bus ride to
the beach. Once again I was dressed like an Eskimo in my five layers, while the
students dove into the North Atlantic in their “togs” (bathing suits). Watching
them made my face turn blue, but I guess you have to toughen up when you live
in Ireland or else you’ll never be able to swim! I bonded with the hundreds of
students who weren’t brave enough to swim – we raced in the dunes, built
sandcastles, and climbed on the rocks. It was a lot of fun, but it felt so
weird to be layered up on the beach!
North Atlantic Ocean
That night, while the students attended The Disco, the headmaster
treated all of the teachers to a fancy dinner at the only restaurant in town
called “Danny Minnie’s.” You would never be able to tell how fancy it was from
looking at the outside; I felt as though I was at a wedding reception or
something! We all gathered for cocktails in the lounge before heading to the
dining room for dinner. I had a salad for an appetizer, salmon as a main course,
and a dark chocolate torte for dessert. Everything was soooooo good! Despite
being in a serious food coma afterwards, I was peer pressured into going to the
pub for a night cap with all the teachers. I didn’t last past midnight, but it
was all in all a great night!!
Dinner table fit for the president
My salad containing bacon, egg, tomato, & parmesean
My fresh caught salmon in a basil cream sauce
My dark chocolate torte served on Ireland's finest china
We boarded the bus at 8am Friday morning to head back to Dublin. The
ride home felt a lot longer and bumpier than our ride there. One of my students
puked three times, while a student from the other school puked twice. I think
the week away was finally catching up to everyone, including me. I was
completely “nackerd,” as the Irish say, but for some reason I couldn’t fall
asleep. Instead, I took lots of pictures of the gorgeous scenery and reflected
on the wonderful week that was :) Here are some pictures I took from the bus:
Seven hours later, I was back at the Conran residence. Trish ordered
pizzas for dinner (she didn’t feel like cooking after a long week and I don’t
blame her!). I unpacked, took a shower, painted my toenails, and hit the hay. I
really enjoyed exploring the countryside of Ireland after living in the
outskirts of Dublin for several weeks. It is a completely different lifestyle
that I would have never experienced had I not been teaching at Delgany National
School!
As for this weekend, I’m basically taking it easy. I spent a few hours
in the city today with Alli, and I just returned from the pub where I watched
the Heineken Cup final (Ireland’s rugby national championship that receives
more hype than our Superbowl). Leinster rolled over Ulster 42-14. I don’t
understand rugby, but it was interesting to watch the Irish fans get really
into it!
Tomorrow I plan to relax most of the day and to get ready for this week
when SHAUN COMES TO VISIT! He arrives bright and early Monday morning :) We plan to visit the Cliffs of Moher, the Aran
Islands, Guinness and Jameson factories, and who knows what else! I’ve been
looking forward to this week ever since he told me he was coming and I can’t
believe it’s finally here! I am very, VERY excited!!!!!!
We’re living out all week and I’m not bringing my laptop, but I’ll take
lots of pictures and update our adventures after Memorial Day!
I hope everyone has a great week and a very happy Memorial Day weekend!
Please send that sun and warmth to Ireland :)
I miss you all!
Love, Anna
