Total Eclipse of the Heart

Hello Irish Life Experience Families and Friends! Greetings from Dublin. We arrived to the capital city on Thursday afternoon and were able to have a relaxing packed lunch in St. Stephen's Green. The students swapped ham with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sipped on chocolate milk, and devoured Hula Hoops-while sharing jokes with each other. Before it started spitting rain, Dan gave the students a special walking tour of his hometown. On Dawson Street, he pointed out St. Ann's Church and the National Museum of Ireland, where they have a spectacular James Joyce exhibit. We turned left on Duke Street, and told the students about the famous Davy Byrne's Literary Pub. We then took a right onto the cobblestone of Grafton. We followed our leader to the Molly Malone statue, also known as the "Tart with the Cart." A few students stopped to get a picture with Molly. Both Caitlin and Piper said that they were familiar with Molly's song and broke out in a brief snippet of "Cockles and Mussels." The herd headed up Westmoreland Street and we showed them the trendy Temple Bar, before we reached O'Connell Bridge. As we crossed the Bridge, Dan told the students that it was the only bridge in the world that was as long as it is wide. We pointed out a few shops of interest along the way, where students could pick up Irish jerseys and souvenirs. Many are interested in getting county jerseys from where their relatives came from, so I'm sure Elvery's will be seeing some business from our group this week;). Eventually we reached the O'Connell Monument, the GPO (General Post Office), and the Spire or the Stiletto in the Ghetto. Dan spoke about the significance of the GPO and the 1916 Rebellion, so the students found it very worthwhile. "I enjoyed seeing the history of Dublin through walking its streets. It felt as if I was finally in the heart and soul of Ireland," said Caitlin. Sydney said she can't wait to return to explore the city even more. We took a left on O'Connell and crossed over the Liffey again via the Ha'penny Bridge-into the popular Temple Bar. We rounded the tour back to Grafton and finished up on Nassau Street in front of Trinity and the Book of Kells. Luckily we were able to enjoy the streets of Dublin rain free. We got on the bus in the nick of time-minutes before it started to down pour. Phew! We are definitely lucking out with the weather. We drove to our new home of King's Hospital in Palmerstown. A suburb of Dublin, fifteen minutes outside the city center. Students were able to get settled and were a little overwhelmed at first, since there are a few other groups of Italian and Spanish staying here. We were very spoiled at Newtown, since we had the whole boarding school to roam freely by ourselves. On Thursday night, King's Hospital arranged a disco for all of the campers. The ILE'ers broke out some stellar moves, while Dan and Taryn impressed the students with their robot dance. The students were exhausted after a long day of traveling, walking in Dublin, and dancing, so many were in bed early. Friday was a typical class day for the students. In literature, Pete spoke about Seamus Heaney. In Gaelic, Dan taught them numbers. A haon=1, A dó=2, A trí=3, A ceathair=4, A cúig=5, A sé=6, A seacht=7, A hocht=8, A naoi=9, A deich=10. Dan spoke about Charles Stewart Parnell and the early 1800's in Irish history. In Irish studies, Taryn showed Reeling in the '90's DVD, where the students were able to see what Ireland was like when she first came to Ireland and why she fell in love with the country. Dan then finished up the class day with Irish American history and talked about JFK. Friday night was a special treat for the students. After dance and drama, we ALL went to see the premiere of Eclipse, from the Twilight Series. Even though not all of the students were Twihearts, they all thought it was highly entertaining-whether they hated it or loved it. Siobhan said it was incredible and she can't wait for Breaking Dawn. "I'm Team Victoria," Siobhan said. The students seemed divided on the Team Edward/Jacob controversy. However, Bryan from Tenon Tours, said that he was on Team Charlie. What a fun-filled night of vampires and werewolves in Ireland! Today was the Irish Life Experience's last class day. Ahhh:(. Angie talked about Frank O'Connor and read the short story of the Drunkard in her literature class. Erin and Katie both said they loved the Drunkard and can't wait to read more of Frank O'Connor's stories. After learning the numbers in Gaelic class on Friday, Dan played Irish Bingo with the ILE'ers. Caitlin and Katie won! Great job girls! Moving on to Irish history, Dan talked about Ireland in the mid to late 1800's and then had the students give a two minute presentation on a famous Irish American person in their lives for his Irish American history class. Hannah, Paddy, and Piper spoke eloquently about their grandparents-a beautiful tribute to them. Taryn finished her class speaking about the changes that Ireland has gone through in the past 20+ years and how the ILE students can preserve and promote Irish culture in America when they return. Many are looking forward to sharing their new found knowledge and passion of Ireland with their families and friends. Their love for the country and its people grows with each passing day. They all said they can't wait to return with the Irish Life Experience as Counselors! A conversation with a few girls last night, left me grinning from ear to ear. There were a few tears and misty eyes, as they said it's going by too quickly and that the Irish Life Experience is the best summer they have ever had! This is why I love my job and know that we are doing something right, giving these young adults the education and experience of a lifetime.

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