Monday, 12 June:
The bus driver Michael welcomed us at Dublin airport. Then we headed down to Carrigaline, Co. Cork where the host families were already waiting for us. As we arrived after 11pm everyone fell asleep quickly.
Tuesday, 13 June:
After a good night’s sleep we were full of energy today. Our host families are very kind and friendly – we’re happy they take care of us as if we were their own children. :-) Today was the first day at the language school. We met our teachers Lucy and Colin, who encouraged us to speak English only. The lessons started with a placement test, and we were then split into two smaller groups. We did some fun games, role plays and entertaining tasks - all focusing on communicating in English.
In the afternoon we headed to the city of Cork for a guided tour. We stopped at St Finbarr‘s Cathedral, the university campus and the English Market, which is famous for the fresh display of local produce. Afterwards we had some time to explore the city ourselves.
Wednesday, 14 June:
Lessons today covered Irish culture, “similes” and idiomatic expressions. We also analysed advertisements and played a lot of speaking games. After school we went to Blarney Castle. It is an old fort well-known for its famous “Blarney Stone”. Of course, we were all brave enough to climb more than 100 steps to kiss the stone and gain the “gift of the gab”, meaning the ability to speak eloquently. There is also a beautiful park in the castle grounds with old trees, waterfalls and places such as “the witch’s kitchen”. During our walk we could get a wish granted after climbing up and down the “Wishing Steps” with our eyes closed. In Blarney we also did some shopping for souvenirs at the world’s largest Irish gift shop.
Thursday, 15 June:
After the lessons we learnt Irish dance with the help of a dance instructor from Cork. It was an exhausting, but fun afternoon! After dinner with our host families we went to see the Greyhound dogs racing at the Cork Greyhound Stadium. Nearly everyone took the opportunity to bet on their favourite dog, and some of us (for example, those that had bet on a dog called “Slowdown Suzie”) were really lucky!
Friday, 16 June:
Everyone was very sad that today was our last day at the language school. Lucy and Colin handed out our student reports and certificates in a “Farewell Ceremony”, in the course of which some of us presented some really fun sketches, magic tricks, … Our English teacher was especially happy since Lucy and Colin both said that our level of English was brilliant. :-)
In the afternoon we went to a museum, the “Titanic Experience”, in Cobh, a lovely seaside town with colourful houses and a nice cathedral. Each of us received a “boarding pass”, which had the details of one of the 123 passengers who came to the White Star Line Ticket Office on Thursday April 11th 1912. At the end of the tour we found out the fate of “our” passenger.
Saturday, 17 June:
In the morning we had a typical “Irish breakfast” with our host families. At around 1pm Barry, the tour guide for Kinsale, met us at Charles Fort and introduced us to the exciting history of this little fishing village. We went for a stroll around town and learnt about ghosts, giants, pirates and the “White Lady”. Then we had some free time to check out an enormous cruise liner carrying more than 3,000 passengers that was in the harbor that day and to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea. Michael, our bus driver, then took us to the cliffs at the Old Head of Kinsale. The weather was sunny so the view from the cliffs onto the coast and beaches from there was stunning! The day ended with a stroll at the sandy beach of Garrettstown. It was such a hot day that most of us even went into the Atlantic to cool down! :-)
Sunday, 18 June:
How time flies! In the morning it was time to say good-bye to our lovely host families as we headed to Dublin, the capital, where we had a guided one and a half hour-tour by bus and on foot. We stopped at Phoenix Park, Europe’s largest city park, passed Christ Church, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the “Spire”. After a lovely picnic in St Stephen’s Green we visited the Museum of Archeology – a welcome refuge since it was really hot outside! In the evening we all had dinner together at the Hard Rock Café.
Monday, 19 June:
Our last day in Dublin was very eventful. At 11am we went on a tour on board the Jeannie Johnston, a replica of a three masted barque that was originally built in Quebec. It is now a living history museum on 19th century emigration. At 2pm we did the famous Viking Splash Tour. We were encouraged to wear Viking helmets and ‘raid’ the city by roaring at ‘the Celts’. Afterwards we had three hours to do our final shopping - strolling along Grafton Street with its famous buskers, searching for souvenirs and stopping at some popular fashion stores. In the evening we all went to the pub The Auld Dubliner to have a bite and then saw the new “Baywatch” movie at Cineworld.
Tuesday, 20 June:
After a quick breakfast at the hostel (which was less ‘adventurous’ than the hostel we had stayed at on our first night ;-) Michael took us to Dublin airport. We all had a wonderful time in Ireland and will always have fond memories of our trip together.
