Wonderful Waterford

Since we have arrived in Ireland, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous. Maureen said the sunshine makes it perfect to walk around and explore Waterford. We luckily haven't had to use our raincoats once. Hopefully, I didn't just jinx us. Yesterday commenced the first day of classes for the Irish Life Experience. The students woke up bright and early for breakfast-feeling rejuvenated after a long two days of traveling. All of the students seem to have adjusted well to Irish time and have fully recovered from their jet leg. Many were looking forward to learning more about Irish culture, so yesterday and today were a wonderful introduction. Angie talked about the history of Irish literature in her first class. Today, she touched upon James Joyce and gave them an explanation of Ulysses. Riley said she learned a lot, because she had never heard of James Joyce before. In Gaelic, Dan gave the students a background into Gaelic language. Savannah said that that she learned the following Gaelic phrases: Hello-Dia Dhuit, How are you?-Conas atá tú?, is anim dom.-My name is. Dakota and Hannah said Gaelic is their favorite class, because they enjoy learning new languages. "I love Dan," said Hannah. In Irish history, Dan gave the students background into the Pre-History of Ireland. He spoke about the Celts to St. Patrick and St. Patrick to Strongbow. Strongbow is significant, because Christ Church Cathedral in Waterford is where he married the Irish Princess Aoife, daughter of the King of Leinster in 1170 AD. Many of students will be able to visit the Christ Church Cathedral firsthand while they are in Waterford this week, so it is a nice connection to their history class. Taryn taught the students about the Geography and Geology of Ireland, and today discussed the Counties and Provinces of Ireland. She spiced up the class with a few jokes and some fun facts of Ireland, which the students did not find quite as amusing;). Joke: How do you know an Irishman is having a good time? Answer: He's Dublin over with laughter. In Irish American History, students shared their Irish roots and how their families came to America. Caryl, Clara, Hannah, and Maureen told the other students about their grandparents and great-grandparents from Ireland. They also talked about some of the reasons why people emigrated to America. In the evenings, students participated in drama and dance. In drama they are working on limericks for the week of famous historical figures in Ireland. The limericks will be judged and the winner will receive a prize. In dance, the amazing Siobhan demonstrated the Siege of Ennis. The students learned the steps very quickly with the help of Hannah and Scarlett. We were also lucky enough to have them show us their talent. Very impressive! Tonight, students participated in Siobhan's Digital Scavenger Hunt. They were split into groups and had to find things that totaled 800 points. A few of the things on the list were: A Red Door=10 Points, A Photo in Front of Dominos=15 Points, A Photo of a Hurling Stick in Action=25 Points, A Photo of a Pub or Storefront with a Group Member's Name=50 Points, and A Photo of a Squirrel=100 Points. The Pickled Onion Team (Hannah, PK-AKA Paddy, Riley, Savannah, and Scarlett) successfully won with a picture of a squirrel on a cereal box. This was a hard one. The kids had to get creative, because there are no squirrels in Ireland;). The night ended with an impromptu music sessiun by Pete serenading the students with a few Irish tunes from Paul Brady. It has been a great few days! We are off to Kilkenny Castle and the Rock of Cashel tomorrow. ...More to come over the next few days.

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