Killarney!

Hello all!!

Boy where do I start.. I have so much to tell. Amanda and I decided that Galway would have been too far for just a weekend trip, so we decided on Killarney which is only an hour and a half away. We got a bus on Saturday morning and met a great group of people from Spain. They entertained us the whole ride with jokes and stories!!! The funniest thing was when we told them we were from Indiana, there was one guy who was like oh! Then you must like basketball. We said yes and started to tell us that Larry Bird was his childhood Idol! We thought that was soo funnny! He also knew Bob Knight .. (who doesnt though).

When we got to Killarney we had absolutly no idea what we were going to do. (which is not like me at all but it worked out!) We checked out the town and went to the tourist office. They told us that we should rent bikes and ride to Muckross National Park adn check it out. So we did!

We rented a biks from an old irish man that was so funny! We walked in to rent the bikes and we said hi we want to rent some bikes to ride to the park. He answered with just give me your money and some id. We were kind of like uh.. can you tell us rates and times first? He was very absent minded!! The bikes were 25 euros for both which wasnt bad.

After we rented our bikes we checked into the "nicest" hostel in town or so we were told. It was called Neptunes. We then rode our bikes to and through the park. It was the most beautiful place that I have ever seen!! I really felt like I was in Ireland while we were there. We saw the waterfall that is somewhat famous and even climed a little.

After we rode back to town we freshened up a little and went out to dinner. I got a salad at this one pub we went to named Murphys. We stayed there for a little while becuase there was a "futbol" match on that everyone was watching!

We didnt stay out very long becuase we were so tired from the day. The night was okay, the people in the next room were kind of loud but it wasnt to bad. We just got back to cork a few hours ago!!

Also there was a time change here last night so we are now five hours ahead of Indian =(

okay I think that is it... I added so many pictures so check them out!

http://picasaweb.google.com/home

- or you can just click on the picture to the left of this of Amanda and I ... it will take you to my pictures.

Again...

username and password:

kmcardle@indiana.edu

123katie123

Hi!

Last night Amanda and I met up with Kyla and her friend Colm for dinner. We went to a little place called resturaunt 14a. It was good, chicken again! I know I know... I did try a shrimp thought! haha For those of you that really know me know that is a huge deal for me!!

Today at school was good. I painted almost all day with the girls. They would come back with me to paint their "easter baskets" that they made out of clay. It was a messy job but it was really fun... I love my little girls already they are super cute! After school amanda and I grabbed some food and headed home.

This weekend we want to Galway... there is a bus that goes there but it is a four hour ride. I think we will get up earyl and just go then come home Sunday evening. Hopefully it will be beautiful like everyone has told us. I just feel unsure becuase I am such a big planner but we
dont have set plans yet so it makes me feel uneasy!

We are still thinking about what we will do for the two week easter break also. We wanted to go to Paris for sure but we dont know where else. We should have probably planned this before but everyone has their own opinions and ideas so its kind of hard.

Well thats all I have for now sorry it wasnt so interesting... love you all

Camogie!

Today was a good day at school! I started out in my usual class and we had an awards day for all of the girls who got perfect attendance last year. Then we went to do some Irish dancing. Watching the little girls dance is so fun!!! After break my teacher asked me if I wanted to go to the "bar" with the sixth grade girls for camogie. I really wasnt sure what the bar was or if it was really the kind of bar that I was thinking of haha! So I went with them to the bar which was a camogie field about five minutes down the road. I watched them practice and play a camogie match. Camogie is a girl version of hurling. They have wodden sticks and they have to hit the ball with the stick down the field to score. It is like soccer but only with hands and clubs instead of feet.

On the walk to the "bar" the sixth graders literally surrounded me like I was famous or something. It was so funny. They ask me things like are you the American girl?, who did your hair?, do you know any celebs? Do you know my cousin wil, he lives in chicago?, Have you ever seen a real live squirrell (they dont have those here and they are really interested in them), have you been to new york, disney world, or california? Hahaha I think it is sooo funny!! They also try to impersonate my accent... they always say oh my god!!! in such a vally girl way!!!

tomorrow our shcool only goes till noon for the girls then the teachers have a staff development day. So I guess that will be nice!

Amanda and I are going to get something in town for dinner tonight!!!!

love you all and miss everyone!

BLARNEY!!

We took a short bus ride to blarney today to see the castle and of course... kiss the stone! We meet Kyla downtown and tool the bus to blarney. The castle was sooo cool. We walked up a very narrow and windy staircase to the top to kiss the stone. The top had a beautiful view! You have to lay on your back and put your head back and far down to kiss the stone, while some old guy is holding you ahha! My picture was form a bad angle but I bought one of the professional pictures that they took. It was so much fun.

When we got back to Cork city we went to dinner and had a burger and chips!

We went out to the pubs last night becuase Ireland won the"grand slam nations" (rugby) which was the first time in 61 years!!! It was a huuuge deal here, like when the colts won the superbowl. It was so fun. We met up with Kyla and her friends that she has met. It was so much more fun actually having people to talk to. Some of them were from the states and some were from here so they had a lot of insight and good advise!

ok.. well tomorrow is monday, back to school! I will write again soon.... check the pics!

Junior Infants...

Today the junior infants teacher was out for a wedding today so they decided to put my in charge of teaching the class for the day... yikes!!! I walked in this morning and there were plans on the table but half of them were in gaelic?!?!? Luckily there was an aide in the class that was clase to my an aide in my class that was close to my age so she was there to help me. The girls were sooo cute! They were like kindergarteners. At lunch time I went to the boys school and ate with Amanda! It was so much better, the teachers over there are a lot younger and there are not so many people in there during break so its not so stressful! It was a much better day!

At 1:30 when the younger girls that I was teaching went home, I went back to my first class. It made me feel good when I walked in the room and all the girls were so happy! I also got a chance to talk to my teacher for a little bit longer today which was good. She is really nice and funny!!!

Tonight Amanda and I are going to meet with Kyla (a girl from montana, who also teaches here) downtown and maybe go out for a little while. Tomorrow we are going to watch a HUGE rugby match. It is in Whales but I guess everyone goes out to the pubs to watch it, they also wear red jerseys. I am excited becuase I actually just bought a red jersey!! Maybe Ill fit in haha!

On sunday I think we are going to try to go to Blarney? We will see.....


love you all.. and already miss you so much!!!

Second day teaching

We walked to school today which took about 30 mins. It was a little longer than expected but it was ok. When we woke up it was foggy and misting. The day went okay except for lunch time. I really don't like lunch or "break" becuase this is the time I feel most out of place. I feel this way becuase there are always so mant teachers in there and they are all talking to eachother and not me. When they do talk to me, its ususally the older ones that I have trouble understanding so I would almost rahter just not talk! haha They they all have tea and coffee again with just like a scone. They dont really eat a lunch. So I feel weird with my salami sandwich, bananna ,and water bottle. haha But I think ill just have to get over it!

The only time when I am at school that I really feel comfortable is in the classroom with just my teacher and the kids. I can really relate to the kids well becuase they all really like me. So I am almost relieved when they came in from break today!

Okay.. so I think they are really big on saving money at the school becuase the kids bring their own toilet paper from home and keep it in thier "wash bag". I found this out when I went to the faculty restroom and there was no toilet paper!! oopss... :) They also have bagged lunches that I think the school makes and each child gets their own. They do not have a cafeteria or kitchen, they just bring their bags out with them from break and I guess eat on the playground- then they have to put their trash or rubbish in their backpacks and take it home to throw away! weird!


I also learned some new words today! I was helping a girl with her math and she had made a mistake so I said get your eraser.. and she just stared at me? They call them rubbers. Also I said oh! you need a period at the end of your sentence. She stared again, I asked... do you use periods and pointed to one. She said oh you mean full stops? haha


Irish words:
full stops- periods at the end of a sentence
rubbers-erasers
runners-tennis shoes


thats it for now... Amanda and I are going shopping now!

*oh and last night we went to dinner at a place int he town called Liberty Grill- it was good. I got a chicken sandwich and fries anyone that knows me knows thats I eat haha. what an american


*also we waited on the wrong side of the road for the taxi and wondered why no one was stopping... we got in one and he said i figured you were americans since you were on the wrong side of the road hahahah

All about school...

The first day of school went well! We took a bus to the school becuase we weren't sure where it was. After getting on the bus and waiting about five or six minutes before getting up enough courage to ask someone which stop the school was, we had missed it. We asked a younger girl and she said oh love you missed it, its back over the bridge two stops ago. haha! We walked home though.. not to bad about 15-20 mins!

School was good we met our principal and teacher, and both were really nice! My teacher is young and soo nice. I can understand her really well too. Since it is close to St. Pattys day the girls are studying Irish. I am in an all gilrs school by the way, if you didnt know haha! I am in first class which means first grade here.
So we had stations where the girls learned different things about the Irish heritage and history. The teacher was only speacking in Gaelic which was really cool! They had Irish dancing and singing, it was so cool! We then had a 15 mins break which was in the teachers lounge. I thought this was lunch but it wasn't haha! I was trying to eat so fast! I didn't know that we would have another 30 mins break for lunch hah!

Also, I do not drink coffee or tea which is big over here. So on the short break everyone was offering me tea or coffee so I tried to make a tea which I didn't know how so I felt like an idiot haha!!!!

The girls are all really cute and nice. They love hanging all over me and they are always holding my hand! I think that is all I have to tell you oh and I learned some new irish words:

Rubbish- Trash
Footpath-sidewalk
there were other ones but I cant think of them right now!!!

more pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/home

St. Pattys Day

Hey!
Okay.. I know the pictures weren't working so this is what you have to do...

when you click on the link and it takes you to the google sign in page just enter my email and password and that will take you there. That is the only way I know how to make it work so everyone can see it. I trust you guys anyway haha!
e mail: kmcardle@indiana.edu
password: 123katie123

On to St Pattys Day...
We woke up today and got ready for the parade. We walked into town and on the way met a girl from the states!! She helped us out a bit becuase she had been here since january. We went to the parade which was okay... not too exciting. haha We walked around town for about four hours after that. We found some cute shops!! Yay! After going into town we decided that we should look for our school for tomorrow becuase anyone we asked had no idea where it was. While we were on our way, we stopped at a pharmacy and I asked the lady that worked there if she knew where the school was, and it turns out she actually went there! She helped us with directions and told us about a bus that goes there!!! She was soo helpful! I am ready for tomorrow now!

Irish words or sayings
rubbing alcohol = surgical spirits haha
can i have a ride= can i have a lift
pants= trousers
cell phone= mo "byle" haha

Oh and Amanda and I went out on the town last night which was a little scary at first but it turned out to be ok. All of the girls were realllly high heels and skirts? we looked a little out of place but it was ok. The pubs were really crowded, we could hardley walk!

I will try to post new pictures that I took today!!!
miss you alllll!!

Top of the morning!

Good Morning!
So last night went well! There are four other guys from New York living with us and the owner. Everyone is nice and helped us get setteled in! My fan broke last night so I am going to have to get another one! When I opened up my curtains this morning I saw the most beautiful view I have ever seen! I can see the whole city from a distance! It is awesome! We still dont feel like we are actually in Ireland yet, just feels like were on a vacation! We are getting ready to go to the graocery store now! I will update later....
Hope everyone has a great morning!

here are some of the pics that I got uploaded!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/home

so we are finally here...

After a lonnng 24 hours we are here! The first two flights in the us were fine untill we landed in the UK. When we were going through immigration they asked us why we were going to be in Ireland. We said we were student teaching untill may, so they told us to wait in the "asylum" whatever that is with another huge scary guy! An hour and a half later they told us they called ireland to see if we needed a work permit, which we knew we didnt but oh well! So nothing got accomplished becuase they couldnt get ahold of ireland and they just let us go after missing our flight! The next flight was at 12:15 so we waited four hours to find out if we could even get on this one because there was only one empty seat left. We found one super nice lady that helped us out and got us on the flight! Once we arrived in Dublin we then had to take a four hour bus ride to Cork City then a cab to our house! We just arrived and we are hungry tired and ready to shower..... were thinking about ordering pizza?

ill type more later! with pictures


by the way ireland is BEAUTIFUL!

Airport..

I am sitting here at gate B22. I just got through security and that was all ok! It was hard to say goodbye to mom and dad but Ill be fine!!! haha. I just wanted to take the time to thank everyone that has called and stopped by my house to say goodbye!!! I just hope I don't get sick on the flight.. you should see the airplane (super small) :(

HI LAKEVIEW AND MRS.MUEHLINGS CLASS!!!

MOM AND DAD I LOVE YOU!

Alright... I just woke up and its almost time to go! I'm not nervous yet but I'm sure I will be. My flight leaves at 3:43! First stop is Chicago then Manchester then to Dublin! We will see how it goes!!! Wish me luck! Love you all

Here is a picture of the house that I will be staying in... oh and by the way in order to make a comment you either have to have a google or yahoo id, so if you don't have one you can make one!

Six Days to go....

So it is the Sunday before I leave and I am super excited but also nervous. I don't really know what to expect in terms of teaching and everything else but I am anxious to find out! I will be teaching here in Bloomington at the wonderful Lakeview for five more days then off to Ireland it is! I will be traveling and living with another IU education major and friend named Amanda! We will be arriving in Dublin at 8:55 am (dublin time) on Sunday March 15th. From there we have to figure out if we want to take the bus or the train to Cork city then a taxi from the city to Wilton, which is the town in Cork where we will be living!