I have been in Ireland for almost a month now! Time really does fly.
Here's what I felt my first 48 hours here:
Upon arrival, I
noticed differences between Ireland and the United States immediately. On the flight, directions and communications
were said in both English and Irish.
Most signs on the airport were written in both languages, as well. On the drive over, the landscape was
completely different from my familiar side of Indianapolis, Indiana. There is a generous amount of open land in
Ireland that still belongs to farmers.
On the way from Dublin to Ballinasloe in County Cork, I saw the most
sheep I have ever seen in my life! The first night out, I went with my host
sister, Sonia, and her friends. I did
not think language would be a problem since we speak the same tongue, but it is
difficult for me to understand what people here are saying all the time. They speak quickly, their intonations are
very soft compared to American English, and their vocabulary terms for things
are extremely different! I will have to be a quick learner to be able to
participate in conversation over here fully.
Around town, the houses themselves are different. Most are built out of stone or a stucco-like
material instead of vinyl siding. I have
also noticed that very few houses have full front and back yards. My host, for example, has a patio covering
the length of her backyard instead of grass.
Overall, language is the biggest barrier that I will have to surpass in
order to have a wonderful experience.
Prior
to arrival, I had heard that the Irish lifestyle is more laidback and
slow-paced. Yet, I was not prepared for
it at all! At my previous student teaching placement, I would often work
through break and lunch with my cooperating teacher to prepare lessons and look
at data. However, it would be
unspeakable here! I did not take my morning tea this morning because I had a
hectic schedule, and the teachers I talked to were horrified that I did not
give myself a 5-10 minute tea break. All
of the teachers also take their lunch together, whereas in most of my Indiana
placements, my teachers ate lunch in their classrooms either alone or with one
to two other teachers. The principal at
Scoil an Chroi Naofa ate with all of her teachers, which seems like a great
idea for building rapport between colleagues.
In addition, the school day is also an entire hour less than schools in
the United States—their days are six hours long instead of seven. I doubt schools in Ireland would add more
days at the end of the school year or hours to the end of their school day to
make up for snow days! Relaxing during
the school day will be a big adjustment for me, but I will definitely try to
acclimate.
As
mentioned above, I knew some words would be different in Irish English as
compared to American English, but I did not think I would have such a hard time
understanding some people talk! In general, I understand well, but if the
person is talking extremely quickly or casually with a lot of slang, I cannot
understand what they are saying exactly.
For example, at the lunch at school today, the teachers were talking
about exercise. I understood a little,
but it took me a while to understand that they were talking about triathlons
and Insanity.
The biggest things here that are different is that they are just so laid back, classroom management/discipline is rare, St. Patrick's Day was extremely tame, and no one uses napkins! I love napkins, so naturally I look like I'm single handedly killing off a forest when I bring them in to lunch.
Enjoy some pictures:
I volunteered at a "jumble" sale for a cancer center! I really loved it!
From the courthouse in Galway. The balance is intentionally uneven because the Irish had less rights than the British prior to Ireland gaining independence.
Cold, windy Galway!
Gaelige or Gaelic Irish board in my junior infants classroom (ages 4/5).
Play Rota or play rotation schedule for the kiddos in the morning.
River in Galway.
Role play area in the junior infants classroom.
SHEEP
My schedule right now has me in three different classrooms doing group work, pulling students out, and doing the occasional lesson. I'm doing my reading certificate here so teachers have me working with "low" students to get them higher in reading. I also help with a student who has autism for an hour at the end of the day, giving him time for play therapy, OT, and a little bit of reading intervention. It was a lot to adjust to having such a hectic schedule, but I'm finally on top of it!
For me, it is finally EASTER BREAK!!!! I will be going to London, Edinburgh, Northern Ireland, and Southern Ireland for about 12 days. I'll update after that!
~Kaitlynn
