My trip to Ireland

Hi, I'm Petya from Bulgaria. Our trip to Ireland started on 13^th of October. We flew from Sofia to Frankfurt and then to Dublin. Áine, the principal of Irish school, and the teachers from Spine and Norway were waiting for us at the airport. We were the last arriving group. I was nervous because the other students had a chance to know each other. Our first night in Ireland was in Kilkenny, County Kilkenny. I stayed with Lisa, norwegian student, in a room. Our tour started of Shee Alm House. Now the house is used as a tourist information center. We looked at sites like Grace's Castle, Black Abbey, Rothe House. We also visited the castle in Kilkenny.  The beauty of the castle and garden thereto impressed us greatly. We had extra free time for walks and shopping after the tour of the town. We took a lot of pictures together. And we slowly got to know each other.

We were in Dungarvan at the end of our first day in Ireland. We arrived at school’s ground. There I met the girl I stayed in- Cherene. Her family was really nice to me. They were amazing. On our second day we visited two villages which were near to Dungarvan- Lismore and Ardmore. We visited St. Carthage’s Cathedral, we experienced “The Lismore Experience”, and we went to Lismore castle. We didn’t have a chance to go inside the castle, because it was a private property. We had a long walk in the village of Ardmore. Our guide told us about St. Declan. We visited St Declan's church, a round tower and the grave of St. Declan. We walked coastwise and climbed on cliffs. We saw a lot of breathtaking views.

Then the bus took us to the school. There we had a dinner. I happened to be with the Spanish group on one table. After that we danced Irish dances and listened Irish music. The Irish dances look easy to dance, but they are not. They are full of passion and rhythm.

On Sunday we we went to the football field. There we were taught how to play Hurling. Students from the school were our teachers. There were and teachers too. They explained us the rules. They also taught us how to hold the stick, called camán. They showed us how to strike the ball, called sliotar. Then we played a game similar to baseball. We played it with tennis racket instead of bat.

When we end the game Cherene’s mother came to take us. The whole family took me to a lighthouse. There we met Ian, his mother and Kim, a norwegian student. The keeper of the lighthouse knew Cherene’s father, so we had a chance to go inside the lighthouse. We were at the height of 87 meters above the see level. Me and Cherene walked around the near forest. Then we went to the cinema. Everybody were there.

On Monday we went to school with the Irish students. First we had a cooking classes. We cooked traditional Irish bread and Irish soup with vegetables. Then we had Music, Art and Irish classes. We learned how to play Bodhran, a celtic drums, during the Music class. And we learned few words and phrases in Irish language. We done our project work, of course.

Kim had a birthday on that day. So we gather together in Briane’s house at Monday night. Not everyone were there. But we were from all nations- Norwegians, Irish, Spanish and Bulgarian. We watched a movie and we talked till late at night. There were no borders between us. We were just students at the same age.

On the next morning we left. It was really difficult to say goodbye. I become attached to everyone. I miss all of them.

We flew back to Frankfurt and then to Sofia. There Hristo’s and Rosen’s parents were waiting for us.

 I’m thankful that I had a chance to meet so many great people and to feel Ireland and Irish history for real. Thank you!