Hello all! I had no idea what to name this post so I just thought about telling you that I am starting to pick up on some of the irish. I learned the sign of the cross in Irish and I know my numbers up to ten!! YAY! haha Well things have been good for the last week! It has been rainy for the past four or five days but today was beautiful!!
Last weekend we stayed in Cork and took in the beauty here. We met a new friend that just arrived here from Columbus IN to teach also. She is here to teach untill June 23rd. Her name is Brittane and she is super nice. She is twenty five and also has a serious boyfriend at home. We hung out with Brittane a lot this week. Kyla our other friend has been sick with a Kidney infection.. yuck! I hope she feels better soon! ---> also hope she doesn't have the Swine FLU!!! HAHA everybody has been talking about this and how I am not going to be able to make it home because the US is going to close the border due to the flu. HOPE NOT!
Over the past feww days we have been meeting a lot of new people which some of them are very interesting!! Cork has to be the only place where a fifty year old man will just casually sit down with a bunch of twenty year olds and act like thats okay!! haha We went out to dinner tonight and I got steak for the first time since being here!!! Yummy it was so good and I have been missing my red meat! The place we went to was really good, it was called Amicus!
Okay sorry for jumping around but I haven't written in a while... School is going well, I am getting more and more comfortable with everything! Today we had a fruit and mini sandwich party to promote healthy eating. This all came about when we had a guest speaker in and she did a sugar demonstration. She was talking about how much sugar was in a coke and a bar of chocolate... uh 18!!!!! So she whips out this clear glass and starts spooning the tablespoons of sugar into the glass. She holds up the glass and says this is how much sugar goes into your body after eating just a chocolate bar and a coke!! AHHH that was a wake up call! Well I still can't give up the chocolate here, not even after that haha! It is too amazing!
Okay well I think that is enough info for today!! Hope I didn't jump around too much for you haha!! can you say A.D.D? well love you all ... ill be home in three short weeks... BITTERSWEET!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Hello Everyone!
Hi! I thought that maybe I should write becuase I haven't in a while. This week just flew past.. I cannot believe it is already Friday! Well I started off the week full time teaching Monday and Tuesday becuase my teacher was still on Holidays. It was a great experience becuase she didn't leave me any instructions or plans, I got to figure out everything on my own. The girls were great for me, which I was happy about!
Amanda and I have had a lot of nights in this week becuase it has been kinda of rainy outside. Last night we did go see a movie and get some dinner though. We went to see "I love you man", which was really good.. funny! Then we went out to Luigi Malones and I got a spicy chicken dish.. I know I know chicken again!
I got a package from my mom and pen pal letters from my class at home this week and I was so happy about both! I loved getting things from home! My mom sent me some dvd's and magazines. Also so put in some chocolate for easter.. yummy! I just had my girls write back to their pen pals the other day and I sent them back, so hopefully Lakeview gets them soon!!!
Well I think that is all I have to report for now... We are planning on visiting Kinsale this weekend with Kyla and her mother becuase she will be in town to visit!!!
Love you and miss you all like crazy!
Love you daddy!
...miss my boy!
Amanda and I have had a lot of nights in this week becuase it has been kinda of rainy outside. Last night we did go see a movie and get some dinner though. We went to see "I love you man", which was really good.. funny! Then we went out to Luigi Malones and I got a spicy chicken dish.. I know I know chicken again!
I got a package from my mom and pen pal letters from my class at home this week and I was so happy about both! I loved getting things from home! My mom sent me some dvd's and magazines. Also so put in some chocolate for easter.. yummy! I just had my girls write back to their pen pals the other day and I sent them back, so hopefully Lakeview gets them soon!!!
Well I think that is all I have to report for now... We are planning on visiting Kinsale this weekend with Kyla and her mother becuase she will be in town to visit!!!
Love you and miss you all like crazy!
Love you daddy!
...miss my boy!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Galway
Hi all! Sorry it has been a while since I have written! We just got back from Galway which was Beautiful!!!
Wel left on Wednesday and took a four hour bus ride to the city. We checked into our hotel which was nice then got some lunch. We went exploring around the city for the rest of the day and saw the coast. It was a little rainy and windy the first day so it wasn't the best but it was still so cool! I really liked being on the coast! The city was a lot smaller than Cork but it was really fun. We then went to dinner and went our to a pub for a little while. It was an early night though becuase we had to get up the next day (Thursday) at 7am.
The next day we scheduled a bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher and The Burren. We took off at about 9:30 am and the first stop was The Burren. This is an area of Galway with mountains and a very ricky surface. The rocks came from the ocean hundreds of years ago. It is so cool becuase the whole surface of the earth through these parts are just made of huge rocks. We saw a couple of "wedge tombs" which I have pictures of.
We then went on and stopped at a ton of "fairy rings", I guess the people here believe in these rings of trees that were formed a long time ago. They are supposed to be kind of like haunted and if you disturb the trees or stones at all you will have bad luck and probably die, haha! So they are all over Galway but no one disturbs them.. its a little odd and funny!
We then travelled on and saw some other things like castles and cemetarys but the big thing we were going to see were The Cliffs of Moher. These cliffs were HUGE!!! We walked around them for about two hours and took tons of pictures! It was probably the coolest thing i've ever seen! Ireland is applying for them to be in one of the wonders of the world.
After the Cliffs we took the bus back to Galway city. We freshened up and went for some dinner. We ate at a cute little pub, I got a cheesburger again haha. After that we went to a pub that was playing live traditional irish music! It was soo fun. We meet some nice people so that made us feel not so lonely.
We just came back today around noon... the plans for tonight are unsure but we may go out to eat again becuase we don't have much food here.
I miss home a lot but haveing a lot of fun here too!!! Be sure to look at the pics!!------->http://picasaweb.google.com/home or you can click on the picture of me and amanda at the left side of the blog and enter my infor
username: kmcardle@indiana.edu
password:123katie123
Friday, April 10, 2009
London
I just got back from London last night! Wheww.. We had a great time there! We pretty much saw everything that you could see while there. We left on Monday morning and took a bus to the cork airport. Our flight was at 12:55 and we arrived in London about an hour later. Everything went smoothly on the way there. Once we landed in the Gatwick airport we took a train to the city then took a cab to our hotel. The hotel was ok .. we each had a bed which was good. We started right then and there seeing things. We went to the eye, which is a huge ferris wheel. We got to see the city from the sky which was so cool! We then bought tickets for the river boat cruise which we did the next day. That first night we ate at a really cute Italian place with huge menus!
The next day we woke up early to go see Oxford street, which is supposed to be really good for shopping. It was a good place to shop but really expensive. We walked around there for a couple of hours then decided we had to go back down to the city center to catch the boat cruise. The tour was soo cool. It took us all through the city and described all of the buildings and bridges. We saw London bridge and tower bridge! After the boat cruise we went back to the hotel room to chill out for an hour. We then went to a fancy dinner at a resturaunt called the Island. Once again we all had pasta.
The next day was our final day so we really wanted to see a lot! We started out with Buckingham Palace! It was so cool becuase when we got there the changing of the guards had just started! It was really neat to see but there were so many people there it was kind of hard to see. From there we were trying to get to St. Pauls Cathedral which was a hard task I guess. We took the correct bus to get there but we had no clue what stop to get off on, so we asked the driver to tell us and he said he would. I guess he was just trying to see how stupid we are so he didnt tell us and watch us basically sit on the bus for about an hour untill we realized that we were in a terrible part of town. We just looked at eachother and said.. uh... I think we passed it! haha So we got off and got on the bus going the other direction and the lady driver on that bus was nice and helped us out!!
So we finally got to St. Pauls and it was BEAUTIFUL!!! We paid about 15 us dollars to get in and explore it! We went up these spiral stairs to the top of the center dome! Then we went up even higher to get to the top and go outside!! It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen, but you couldnt take pictures which was sad!
After the church we went to Trafalgar square which was nice but the fountains weren't working. We also went into the National Gallery for a little bit before it closed. That was really interesting. After that we decided to go back by our hotel and get some dinner. We ate at a little place called Med Kitchen! It was really good, I got a greek salad and French Onion Soup!! Yumm...
Ok... Now I am going to tell you the story about coming back to Ireland....
The night before we left, I was in the hotel room and I thought to myself I better check the flight information and thigns before tomorrow. I thought our flight was at ten am, but when I check I had 1:15 written down. I said to Amanda, oh our flight is at one not ten. So we woke up the next morning took a bus to the train and the train to the airport. When we went to check in for our flight, they could find my name but not hers. We went to the ticket desk and realized that we booked two different flights and hers was at ten and she had missed it. OH NO!!!! So they said all we can do is put her on this flight with you but the cost will be 215 pounds!! So of course we both freaked out! But we just had to do it, there was no other choice. So she paid the money and got the ticket. We take the ticket to the check in counter and they say, oh check in has already been closed for this flight I don't know why the lady sold you this ticket. Right as we start to cry... she says well let me try to call the flight control becuase the plane was delayed and we might be able to get you on. So then luckily get us on then we cant find the gate.. so were running around the airport in London for like 20 mins. We find out that becuase the plane was delayed there was not an assigned gate yet so we just had to wait. So we finally get something to eat and calm down.
We get on the plane and land in Ireland an hour later. We then take a six hour bus ride back to cork from dublin. We were in the very front seat and the driver had the heat on the whole way so we were sooo hot and sweating.. which just added to our frustrations. So we get back to Cork, walk to our house and open the door. We knew that the lady we are living with was gone and she had set the alarm for the security system, and we knew the code. So we open the door, try to put the code in and it didnt work!!!AHHHH... So the alarm goes off for about 30 mins. and everyone in the neighborhood could hear. So by this time we were SOOO MAD! We are trying to call the alarm people and all they are saying to us is we will call you back, but they would not turn the alarm off. So we call the lady we live with and tell her and she tells us how to trun it off. But then just when we are hanging up with her she says, well if you would have brought the code with you and done it right you wouldn't have disturbed me and all my neighbors!!! Ahhhhh that is not what we wanted to hear!
So I went up to my room talked to my mom, who always makes me feel better then called joe and I was okay!!! So it was a very crazy and FUN couple of days
miss home
The next day we woke up early to go see Oxford street, which is supposed to be really good for shopping. It was a good place to shop but really expensive. We walked around there for a couple of hours then decided we had to go back down to the city center to catch the boat cruise. The tour was soo cool. It took us all through the city and described all of the buildings and bridges. We saw London bridge and tower bridge! After the boat cruise we went back to the hotel room to chill out for an hour. We then went to a fancy dinner at a resturaunt called the Island. Once again we all had pasta.
The next day was our final day so we really wanted to see a lot! We started out with Buckingham Palace! It was so cool becuase when we got there the changing of the guards had just started! It was really neat to see but there were so many people there it was kind of hard to see. From there we were trying to get to St. Pauls Cathedral which was a hard task I guess. We took the correct bus to get there but we had no clue what stop to get off on, so we asked the driver to tell us and he said he would. I guess he was just trying to see how stupid we are so he didnt tell us and watch us basically sit on the bus for about an hour untill we realized that we were in a terrible part of town. We just looked at eachother and said.. uh... I think we passed it! haha So we got off and got on the bus going the other direction and the lady driver on that bus was nice and helped us out!!
So we finally got to St. Pauls and it was BEAUTIFUL!!! We paid about 15 us dollars to get in and explore it! We went up these spiral stairs to the top of the center dome! Then we went up even higher to get to the top and go outside!! It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen, but you couldnt take pictures which was sad!
After the church we went to Trafalgar square which was nice but the fountains weren't working. We also went into the National Gallery for a little bit before it closed. That was really interesting. After that we decided to go back by our hotel and get some dinner. We ate at a little place called Med Kitchen! It was really good, I got a greek salad and French Onion Soup!! Yumm...
Ok... Now I am going to tell you the story about coming back to Ireland....
The night before we left, I was in the hotel room and I thought to myself I better check the flight information and thigns before tomorrow. I thought our flight was at ten am, but when I check I had 1:15 written down. I said to Amanda, oh our flight is at one not ten. So we woke up the next morning took a bus to the train and the train to the airport. When we went to check in for our flight, they could find my name but not hers. We went to the ticket desk and realized that we booked two different flights and hers was at ten and she had missed it. OH NO!!!! So they said all we can do is put her on this flight with you but the cost will be 215 pounds!! So of course we both freaked out! But we just had to do it, there was no other choice. So she paid the money and got the ticket. We take the ticket to the check in counter and they say, oh check in has already been closed for this flight I don't know why the lady sold you this ticket. Right as we start to cry... she says well let me try to call the flight control becuase the plane was delayed and we might be able to get you on. So then luckily get us on then we cant find the gate.. so were running around the airport in London for like 20 mins. We find out that becuase the plane was delayed there was not an assigned gate yet so we just had to wait. So we finally get something to eat and calm down.
We get on the plane and land in Ireland an hour later. We then take a six hour bus ride back to cork from dublin. We were in the very front seat and the driver had the heat on the whole way so we were sooo hot and sweating.. which just added to our frustrations. So we get back to Cork, walk to our house and open the door. We knew that the lady we are living with was gone and she had set the alarm for the security system, and we knew the code. So we open the door, try to put the code in and it didnt work!!!AHHHH... So the alarm goes off for about 30 mins. and everyone in the neighborhood could hear. So by this time we were SOOO MAD! We are trying to call the alarm people and all they are saying to us is we will call you back, but they would not turn the alarm off. So we call the lady we live with and tell her and she tells us how to trun it off. But then just when we are hanging up with her she says, well if you would have brought the code with you and done it right you wouldn't have disturbed me and all my neighbors!!! Ahhhhh that is not what we wanted to hear!
So I went up to my room talked to my mom, who always makes me feel better then called joe and I was okay!!! So it was a very crazy and FUN couple of days
miss home
Friday, April 3, 2009
The first Prize Egg!!!!
Today we only had a half day so we only went till noon!! While on break the teachers were all buying raffle tickets, so I leaned over and asked someone, what are those for? They said that it was a raffle for the easter eggs. I had seen these eggs for the last two weeks on a table but I didn't know what they were for. So I thought okay Ill but some... 1 ticket for 2 euro and 3 tickets for 5 euro. I bought three tickets and I thought even if I didn't win at least the money would go to the school.
We went back to class and watched a little High School Musical and had an easter party. At the end of the day they announced the winners. The first one they called was the grand prize!!! They said and the first prize egg goes to the American student teacher Katie McArdle!! I was so excited... all the girls ran up to me and said I love you and gave me hugs. It was so cute!
It was rainy and I had a large egg to walk home with so the principal of the boys school gave us a ride home!! haha
well that was the exciting news for today!
HAPPY EASTER BREAK.... cant wait for England on Monday!
We went back to class and watched a little High School Musical and had an easter party. At the end of the day they announced the winners. The first one they called was the grand prize!!! They said and the first prize egg goes to the American student teacher Katie McArdle!! I was so excited... all the girls ran up to me and said I love you and gave me hugs. It was so cute!
It was rainy and I had a large egg to walk home with so the principal of the boys school gave us a ride home!! haha
well that was the exciting news for today!
HAPPY EASTER BREAK.... cant wait for England on Monday!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Updates!
Hey! I was talking to my dad last night and he said, "why aren't you writing on your blog?" So I thought I would update everyone with what we have been doing, even though it isn't a lot of info. The last couple of days we have been trying to plan for our easter break which starts friday at noon!!! yay! We are going to stay here for the weekend then fly to London for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Once we fly back to Dublin I think we might stay there for a couple of nights then maybe move on to Galway if we are not to tired! Next week will be so fun!
I am starting to love my students even more! They are so cute... also my teacher is really great! I have started teaching some lessons but I can't teach all day becuase there are so many things I don't know like Irish, Prayers, Religion, and Music. So I just observe and help with those things. Yesterday we had Irish dancing with the kids and their parents came to see them it was awesome! I actually joined in with a student that didn't have a parent. After that we went to the field across the street to do running races. We were trying to see who the top runner was to send to the city championship I guess. haha
Last night Amanada and I took a bus form our school to the city to do a little shopping. Neither of us got anything, everything here is kind of bringht and tight haha! Weird stlye. Then when you find a cute store the clothes is sooo expensive. Maybe London will be better???? After shopping we ate an early dinner at a place called SOHO. It was yummy!
So far all the resturaunts are american food... it is acutally hard to find traditional irish food and pubs with traditional irish music.. everything is American!!! AHHHH....
Thats all I have to say for now... I am getting ready to leave for school!
Love ya!
I am starting to love my students even more! They are so cute... also my teacher is really great! I have started teaching some lessons but I can't teach all day becuase there are so many things I don't know like Irish, Prayers, Religion, and Music. So I just observe and help with those things. Yesterday we had Irish dancing with the kids and their parents came to see them it was awesome! I actually joined in with a student that didn't have a parent. After that we went to the field across the street to do running races. We were trying to see who the top runner was to send to the city championship I guess. haha
Last night Amanada and I took a bus form our school to the city to do a little shopping. Neither of us got anything, everything here is kind of bringht and tight haha! Weird stlye. Then when you find a cute store the clothes is sooo expensive. Maybe London will be better???? After shopping we ate an early dinner at a place called SOHO. It was yummy!
So far all the resturaunts are american food... it is acutally hard to find traditional irish food and pubs with traditional irish music.. everything is American!!! AHHHH....
Thats all I have to say for now... I am getting ready to leave for school!
Love ya!
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