How Do You Tell an ILE'er is Having a Good Time?

They are Dublin over with laughter! That’s right ILE Family and Friends…, we made it safe and sound to the nation’s capital. Galway was absolutely incredible and all of the students loved every minute of their experience-some even got tattoos to remind them of all the fun they shared together in Galway. HENNA tattoos that is, so don't worry parents, they will wash off in a few weeks. We are all looking forward to the next leg of our journey, so let the adventure continue. While it was a long journey from Galway to Dublin-with a quick stop for lunch in Athlone-the students were still looking forward to being set free on the streets of Dublin for a few hours for dinner and to explore the city. We said goodbye to our wonderful bus driver, Brain, and eventually got settled at King’s Hospital, which would be our home for the next week. King’s Hospital is a Quaker school in Palmerstown, which is a 15-minute drive into the city center. The very popular Liffey Valley Shopping Centre is a ten minute walk from the campus, so after students unpacked, they were able to stroll to the Mall and take a gander at some of the stores. They returned after a few hours, as we had a wonderful surprise and workshop for the ILE. Angie’s brother, Tom, and his traditional Irish band came from Belfast to King’s Hospital to play an incredible sessiun. There were two banjos, a bodhran, a bouzouki, a fiddle, a flute and uilleann pipes. It was simply amazing listening to all of the instruments together. Lots of toe tapping and heads bouncing to the beats. Two of the players were All-Ireland Musicians. It was a treat for the students. Eileen, Grace, Kelsey, and Kendall were able to dance a few reels while the band played-which was special. Jordan and Tyler were not only able to join in with the sessiun on their fiddle and tin whistle, but were able to get private lessons! Gemma (the fiddle player) and Paddy (the flute and uilleann pipe player) were extremely impressed with Jordan’s and Tyler’s natural musical abilities. They both said that the two students were extremely talented. Before the sessiun ended, we challenged the students to a musical pose contest. They had to pair up with a partner and dance their 3's in a circle to the band's music. When the music stopped, one student from each pair had to sit on the other's knee and freeze. The pair that didn't move and was most like a statue ended up winning. It was a stiff competition between Cailin and Tyler vs. Cliff and Eileen, but Cliff and Eileen took the win! Wahoo!

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