My First Few Days in Ireland...

   My travels to Ireland went quite smoothly despite the delay of my first flight.  The plane departure time out of Milwaukee had been delayed and if I would have continued to take the flight, I would have missed my connecting flight out of Chicago.  Instead I was given a bus ticket voucher and told to take the coach bus to the O'Hare airport in Chicago.  This turned out better in the end because I had more time to catch my flight then I would have had originally. 

   Once I arrived in Ireland, my host mom was there to greet me.  It was very nice to finally put a face with a name.  We got to chat all the way back to their house and I was feeling quite welcome.  The rest of the day was nice and relaxing.  I got to unpack and meet the rest of the family.  I was also able to have my first sight seeing adventure.  My host parents took me to the beach which meets up with the Atlantic Ocean.  It was breathtaking and I got some great pictures.  My host parents also explained to me that all of the rain and stormy weather they have been getting is caused by the Atlantic.  It was very interesting to hear about and it made perfect sense as it has rained each day since I have been here.  I am so glad I have my "wellies" (rain boots:)).

   Once I was settled and able to rest a bit, my host mom drove me to the school where I am teaching.  It is called Covenant Primary School.  I met some of the teachers in the staff lounge and was given such a warm welcome.  I was immediately calmed when I was able to see some of the teachers I would be working with.  The staff of teachers are wonderful and so open to any ideas and suggestions.  It is wonderful.  After my venture to the school, my host mom took me around the town of Listowel.  I was shown where the post office is, bank, pharmacy, and grocery store.  Listowel is such a quaint little town and I am able to walk most places which I find very nice.  We did not stay in town for very long because the weather turned stormy and we came back home to have a nice hot cup of tea.  I have found that everywhere I go I am offered tea or coffee.  I like this because with the damp air and rain it is nice to warm up after being outside.

   Today was my first day teaching!  It went very well.  I was able to visit quite a few classrooms and begin to get familiar with the routine and schedule of the day.  I first spent some time in the junior and senior infant rooms.  These children are around the ages of 5 to 7.  They were very energetic and were full of smiles.  This time seemed to fly by.  There is a morning break where the children eat a snack and are allowed to play outside if the weather permits.  At this time, I went with the senior and junior infant teachers to the teacher lounge because there were two birthdays that were celebrated.  I found it very nice that all of the teachers are so close and eager to made each other happy.  They are also very laid back and easy to talk to.  

    Next I was taken to a class with children ages 7 and 8 called 1st class.  I listened to several children read and work on their fluency.  I also helped the teacher with some typing on the computer.  Then it was lunch time which went fairly fast.  After lunch I went to 4th class with children ages 10 and 11.  They had the most questions of all the classes I attended.  They all wanted my attention and were eager to tell me what they knew about the inauguration of Barrack Obama today.  They also made a point to tell me who was from America or had relatives from there.  So cute!!   They were learning about the Geography of Ireland I found myself learning a bunch of new facts about the country today.  Very interesting!  Lastly I visited 3rd class with students ages 9 and 10.   Again I listened to some students read aloud.  I absolutely love their accents.  Tomorrow I was told to follow the same "time table" or schedule as today.  I am excited because I am working on a display for one of the senior infant rooms and I think the children will enjoy it!  I will write again soon!