Ivan's trip to Ireland

My name is Ivan. I’m student from Bulgaria. I was in group witch traveled to Ireland.  Third meeting on the project for minority languages ​​in Europe, Comenius project, took place in the town of Dungarvan, Ireland. 

Our journey began from Sofia airport. We changed the plane in Frankfurt, Germany. We were in Dublin at 18:00 p.m. Students and teachers from Norway, Spain and Ireland were waiting for us at the airport. 

Our first stop was in Kilkenny. In Kilkenny we stayed for first night in a hotel. On the next day we looked around the town. It was nice and clear. We walk around the town and we saw a lot of beautiful buildings and sites. We visited places like Shee Alms House, Grace's Castle, Black Abbey, Rothe House, Kilkenny caslte. Tha castle was a unique building with large gardens. It was completely preserved inside and outside. It was surrounded by a river which once stopped the enemy armies. Across the street was design centre of Kilkenny. It is place for handmade jewelry, pottery and other products.

 

After the interesting walk we headed for the town of Dungarvan.

We arrived at school’s yard in Dungarvan. There I met the family of Mikayla Hickey. Their house is located about 15 minutes from school. We had a dinner and had fun with her family.

Kayla's parents took me to her school on Saturday. Once we gathered all students, we headed to Lismore by bus. There we visited cathedral "St. Carthage ". Our last destination in Lismore was the impressive castle from 12th century. 

We headed towards Ardmore. We reached the cemetery and cathedral where are the remains of St. Declan. He is an accomplished Irish saint. After the long and entertaining walk we were hospitably greeted by Áine and her students in their school. We dine there and everything was prepared by the students. Áine taught us Irish dances. All of us had a lot of fun. 

After the breakfast on Sunday Kayla took me to place with friendly horses. From there we headed to the castle which was abandoned. It was overgrown with vegetation and it was very beautiful. We went down and we ended up on the shore of the Irish Sea. Keila's mother drove us to the hurling pitch (their national sport) after the walk. We were given instructions by the trainer and students how to play hurling. And we played a little hurling and a game close to baseball. 

On Monday we went to school. Our first class was cooking. They gave us an explanation of how to make Irish bread and Irish soup. They showed us the necessary equipment and products and we started a collective work.

 

We started to work on the project at 11:00 am. The norwagians were first. We, bulgarian group, were next. We were prepared three videos- ”Educational System in Bulgaria”, “Minorities and minority languages ​​in Bulgaria“ and “Art -a common language for all minorities”. The spanish were after us. The Irish students showed us a video with the history of the area around Dungarvan and historical sites associated with the Celts. Principal closed the project meeting by awarding to all guests with a certificate from the school and gifts. 

After the meeting we had time in which to enter in other classes. We had Irish classes. We learned first Celtic alphabet and wrote our names. They taught us of old Irish songs.  Then we had music class. Teacher gave us Bodhrans and we started with the lesson. Teacher liked us and he was impressed by our skills. And that is how ended our day in school.  Keila's family sent me to the school on Tuesday morning. We left by bus.

Norway in Ireland!

Hi, this is Maria from Norway.
I had a really good time in Ireland and I miss you all!
I found Ireland very interesting, because of the history and the culture.
I hope I can go back to Ireland one day, or even study there :)

I enjoyd staying with the family and the irish dancing made my heart warm because of all the joy.

With love ~ Maria Ellen Lyngmo Seppälä!

The trip to Ireland :)

When we came to Ireland, the weather was great and warm. We went on a trip to Knowth with the Spanish people. The trip itself wasn’t so very interesting, but the buildings there were extraordinary. Later that day, when we had picked up the Bulgarian people, we went to eat dinner. We got to know each other a bit better, which was fun! The day in Kilkenny was long and filled with a lot of history and many churches to see, but the town was nice, and I liked.... and I liked the free time where we got to shop and go to a café.

Grace’s family was really nice, and I really enjoyed the time with them. Grace and Emma (the Spanish girl that also stayed at Grace’s place) and I went on a walk to a “secret beach” which was very nice. We also got to see all of their animals; ducks, horses, donkeys and dogs.

Saturday was time for some more history lessons, this time in Ardmore and Lismore. When we came back, we stopped at the Irish language center for an half an hour, before we went to the school to eat dinner, dance and hear some really great Irish singing and music. The Celtic dancing was such a blast; we laughed, stamped on each other’s feet and tried our best, and in the end we felt like we managed it pretty well.

I really enjoyed my time in Ireland, and I hope to come back someday to meet all our new Irish friends J

- Kisses and hugs from Elisabet!

Kim's trip to Ireland

The trip to Ireland was really exiting. All the places we visited and the people we met were so nice and I felt really welcome over there. Also to be able to celebrate my birthday in Ireland were also really exiting. We ate much cake and sweets at the school, and home where I lived during the trip.

The things I will miss the most during the trip will be without doubt the people we met, especially the family whom I lived with. They took me into the family with open arms. I would never be hungry during the trip, because they always offered food, but I’d like to try all kinds of different food.

The trip was fun, and was a big success. I really want to travel back to Ireland and meet the family who took good care of me.

IRELAND 2011

My name is Jaume Lladó and I'm one of the Catalan students who take part in the Comenius Project and one of those students who went to Ireland.

 

On Thursday the 13th October we met at Vilassar de Mar's train station at 7:45am and went to the airport.

Our plane left at 10:30am, and when we arrived at Dublin's airport we met the Norwegian and three of the Irish students.

 

After that, we went to have lunch and to Knowth, an ancient monument.

Then, we went back to Dublin's airport to pick up the Bulgarian students, and we went all together to the hotel in Kilkenny where we slept the first night.

 

On Friday morning we went for a walking tour around Kilkenny, and we visited Kilkenny's Castle and Rothe House, a historic house, and then we had some free time until we went to Ring and there we met the families.

 

On Saturday, we went to visit Lismore Castle's garden, and we also went to a church where we saw some people preparing for a Harvest Festival.

Later, we went to Ardmore, a fishing village where we had a tour in which we were told about that village's historical facts.

That night, we went to the Irish school to have dinner and after that we practiced some typical irish dances.

 

Saturday was a quite different and funnier day. We woke up late and we went to play hurling all together. I found it really interesting, but, unfortunately, we had only one hour to play it.

After that, Rosen and I went to see a hurling match with Eoin, which was great.

Later, we all met in Dungarvan's cinema and went to see Jhonny English, a really funny movie.

 

On Monday, we woke up early and went to the school, where we had some cooking class, we made our presentations and then we went to History and Irish class.

When school finished we went shopping at Dungarvan's shopping centre.

After that, Eoin, Rosen and I went home and played cards with Júlia, Andrea, Lise, Muireann, Maria and Ríoghnach.

 

I was kind of sad on Tuesday because it was my last day in Ireland and it went all worse when the bus broke down and we had to say goodbye to everyone earlier than what we had planned.

The day didn't really get better, because we had to stay for a long time in Dublin's airport before we could come back to Spain, and when we were able to, I was really tired.

 

I really think this has been one of best experience I've ever had, Ireland is a precious country, even knowing that I've seen just a little part of it, and that's one of the reasons why I'd really like to go there again.

Mi Irish experience

Hi, I'm Júlia and I'm one of the Catalan group's girls who went to Ireland. First I was worried about losing the subjects while I was in Ireland but when I arrived there all my fears were forgotten and I enjoyed a lot.

Our plane to Ireland was at 10:30, so we had to meet at 7:45 to go to the airport. The flight was really well and we arrived there at 12:30 (Irish hour, which is one hour before). While we were waiting for the Bulgarian group, we visited the Knowth ruins and then (with the Bulgarian group, too) we went to have dinner and to the hotel.

I especially remember the moment when Andrea (another girl of the Catalan group) played the piano in the hall of the hotel. It was amazing!

On Friday, we went to the Kilkenny's castle and I really enjoyed the tour because it was all furnished with traditional things and pictures and it made you feel like a queen. At night we arrived at our host families' house.

On Saturday we visited Lismore, where we went to a garden's famous castle but we didn't go in because it was for hosting rich people and not for visits. In the afternoon we visited Ardmore and then, we went to the host's house. My host, my Norwegian house mate and me went to Eoin's house (who is the cousin of Muireann, my host, and Jaume's host) to play cards. It was really fun.

On Sunday we played hurling, the typical Irish game and then, we played baseball, too. After all the sport, we went shopping and we went to the cinema to see "Johnny English 2".

On Monday we went to school and we cooked some brown bread and a vegetables soup; I didn't know cooking but I learned there and it was interesting. After cooking, we had lunch and we did our presentations. I was really nervous because of that because there was the TV and unknown people. When we finished the presentations, we did some classes: I did art (I'm really bad at drawing) and Irish class, I learned how is "goodnight" ("Oíche Mhaith"). After this two classes, all of us learned how to play the bodhrán (a typical Irish drum). When we finished the music class, we went shopping and we went to a youth hall which had computers, Wii, and some other cool things. At night, we went to Eoin's house to spend the last night and we played some cards games.

On Tuesday we got up at 6:30 and we said goodbye to our host's families. They are so nice and I was really fine in their house. We were supposed to go to Dublin by bus, but it was damaged and the Bulgarian and Norwegian groups had to go to the airport by bus because their flight was at 12 and 12:30. It was a pity because we wanted to spend the last hours of the trip together, but I hope we can keep the contact.

Well, we had to wait for another bus because we had time (our flight was at 18:30) and when we arrived at the airport, we waited there until the flight arrived. While we were waiting, we went shopping in the airport.

The flight was nice and we arrived at Spain at 22:00.

All the trip was really great and I hope we can meet all of us another time because I enjoyed all those days!

Julia Suriol (Spain)

Ireland 2011

If i had to explain my trip in one word, i wouldn't know what word i should choose.

Our ways had met in Kilkenis' hotel. Maybe the luck wants we to met.
I was on the livingroom, with bulgarian, spanish, and irish people, talking and laughing; we knew them since 2 days, but it looked like we know eachother since a lot of time.

Suddenly, i heard the grand piano, a beautiful, and wonderful one. I began to listen some notes of a song, very slowly, a song which i knew a lot..."Fur Elise".
I thought i should go there to see who was playing it, but I didn't move.. in a few minutes later, i woke up to see who was playing, but the music stopped and the man who was playing leave the room. I walked fast, i sat on the piano's chair, and I began to play the same song, and I put all my feelings on it.

He came back and he was listening to me. I finished, and i looked at him; he was a gentleman.An old and elegant man. We were talking, he explained me he had lerned by ear. He was with her wife, she was very refined.

I realized that music can join different souls, it doesn't matter the ages, the race or the gender.

I felt happiness.

I'm very glad to have travelled there, Ireland is a magic country.

Andrea Mayordomo (Spain)

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!

IRELAND

Last 13th of October, five students of the Comenius project went to Ireland to make a presentation: the Catalan as a minority language.

When we arrived at Dublin airport we met with two Irish and five Norwegian students. We went to visit Newgrade and at the evening we returned to the airport to join with the Bulgarian students and the first night we slept in a hotel. At the evening of the next day we met with our host. I stayed at Conor's house with another Bulgarian student. The family was very kind and the stance was very comfortable.

During these days we visited a castle, a cathedral, a church, some villages, went shopping and went to a party. They also taught us a typical Irish dance.

The last day we went to Saint Nicolas School, the Irish students showed us the classes and they taught us how to cook some Irish food. After that we did the presentations about minority languages and we attended to some classes.

This has been my first exchange trip and I am very happy because I have had the opportunity of meeting new friends and getting to know another culture. In my opinion the Irish students are very friendly and kind and Ireland is a beautiful country. I wish I had stayed there for a few more days.

Alex Copetudo (Spain)

Emerald Island

Our trip to Ireland started rather early, the 13^th of October, 07:30. We left Kazanlak, me, Ivan and Mrs. Ljubenova, with my mother driving us, to the Sofia airport. There, we met up with the rest of the group and waited for our plane to arrive. The flight to Frankfurt was okay, no delays and such. We changed flights and set off for Dublin.
 

We arrived at Dublin late in the evening, everyone was waiting for us. The first ones I saw were Ian and Maria. I just didn’t know the other’s names. Then, we went to the bus, where the rest of the Spanish and Norwegians were. Then, we had dinner at some restaurant, and talked with each other. After that, we went to our hotel in Kilkenny. I was in a room with Alex, from Spain. We talked a lil’ bit and went to sleep.

The next morning, we had breakfast, and set off to see some of the famous sights in the city. First, it was the tourist information center, which was stationed in a XV-th or XVI-th century building. Then, we went to see a cathedral, and even went inside. After that, we got to the Kilkenny castle. There, we took some group photos. After that, we had lunch. We got to know each other better then. And then, we went to see the Rothe Hause, a XVII-th century building. After that, we had some free time. I was with some of the Bulgarians, and Maria, going around town- and a crafts shop. Later that day, we all gathered at the hotel, where Andrea played the piano and Maria sang for us. Then, we got on the bus and went to the school, where all the Irish were waiting for us.

There, I met Eoin and his mother. They were really kind people, as well as his father, brother and sister. That night, we didn’t really talk to each other, because me and Jaume were tired and went to sleep rather early.

The next morning, all of us went to Ardmore and Lismore. Sadly, Eoin couldn’t come. In Ardmore, we first watched a movie about the history of the local area. Then, we went to see the castle, from the outside- we were not allowed in because it was private property. We took a lot of pictures together!

Then, we had lunch. Some of the people went for a walk along a picturesque path. After that, we went to Lismore. Some of us took a stroll along the coast, and then we all went to meet our guide, the Principal of the Irish college in Dungarvan. He told us about the history of Lismore, and mostly about St. Decklan. We went up the mountain, along the cliffs right next to the sea, along another picturesque path. After we reached the top, we went down to a tower, overlooking the village of Lismore.

Then, we went back to the bus, and got to school. There, we had dinner, and danced Irish dances, and listened to Irish music. After that, we went home, played some card games and went to sleep, after the long and tiring day.

The next day we went to the football field, so we could learn Hurley. We learned the basics- getting the sliotar onto the hurley and running, without dropping the ball. Also, we learned how to strike the sliotar. Then, we played a game, similar to baseball- our team won!!!

I don’t know what the others did, but me, Jaume, Eoin and his father went to a Hurley match near Waterford. We got home, and had dinner with the whole family. Later, we went to see a movie in the cinema.

On Monday we went to school. First, we had cooking, made traditional Irish bread, and a vegetable soup. Later, we had Irish, Arts and Music. We tried to learn how to play the Bodhran, which was not so easy! We learned a few Irish words, and displayed our skills in drawing. After school was over, we went home.

So, the final day arrived. I bid farewell to Eoin’s family, and to everyone that was at the school early in the morning. We got on the bus and departed for Dublin. On our way there, the bus broke down, so we had to get a taxi and go to the airport. We, the Bulgarians said goodbye to everyone with us there, and got on the taxi. Both the flight to Frankfurt and to Sofia were fine. At the airport in Sofia, Hristo’s family and mine were waiting for us. After talking with them for a few minutes, all of us went back to Kazanlak. A truly amazing experience at the Emerald island!

I took the photo so I'm not there! :D 

Rosen

TRIP TO IRELAND

On October the 13th, the students who take part in the Comenius Project about the minority languages went to Ireland during six days. We met at Vilassar de Mar's train station at 7:00 to go to the airport.

Our flight left Barcelona at 10:30 and we arrived at Dublin's airport at 12:30. We met the Norwegians and some of the Irish students and we went to have lunch.

Then, we visited Knowth; it was incredible! At 18:30 we returned to Dublin's airport to bring the Bulgarian people and we went to Kilkenny'sOrmonde Hotel.

The next day, we did a tour around Kilkenny; it's a beautiful town! At night, we arrived to An Rinn and we met our host. The first day it was embarrassing to talk with Grace and Elisabet, but they were friendly and welcoming, so I felt really comfortable.

On Saturday, we went to visit Lismore, a pretty town with a gorgeous cathedral and Ad More, a little coast town. At night we were really tired, so we had lunch at school and we danced all together typical Irish dances, called Céilí dances. It was really funny!

The forth day, we had free time in the morning, so Elisabet, Grace and I went for a walk around An Rinn with Grace's dog. After that, we met the other students and we played hurling, a typical Irish sport. We spent three hours in a kind of club where we played chess, billiars, darts and cards. At 18:00 we had lunch with the families and at 19:00 we met at Dungarvan's cinema; we watched "Johnny English".

In Spain, we had lunch and had dinner later than in Ireland, so it was strange for me to had lunch at 12:00 and had dinner at 18:00.

On Monday we went to school and we attended a cooking class, an Irish class and an art class; after that, we made our Comenius' presentations and we were playing a tipical Irish kind of drums all together. In the afternoon we went to Dungarvan to buy some souvenirs and we had lunch at home, because it was the last night.

The last day, we met at 7:30 to go to Dublin's airport; our flight left Dublin at 18:30 and we arrived to Barcelona at 22:30.

It was a great experience, I've really enjoyed this trip and I will never forget it.

Back from Ireland

Hello everyone, and thanks for some great days with all of you in Ireland. I had a blast!

We from Norway started our journey already on Wednesday, when we took the bus from Nordreisa til Tromsø, where we stayed the night. Thursday morning we went by plane from Tromsø til Oslo, and then another plane to Dublin.

During our time in Ireland, we heard a lot about the history of churches, castles, places, etc. We got to see the country and learn about the culture. We also got to learn some Celtic dances. It was fun, we had a blast.

We also got to know all the people, not only from Ireland, but also those from Bulgaria and Spain. I think I’ve got some good friends, and it was a bit sad to go back to Norway. I felt I was very lucky with the family I lived with. I’m sure that all the families were very nice, but I began to really like the family I lived with. I felt almost at home.

As you may understand, I had a great time in Ireland, like many others. So again, thank you all for some wonderful days. I hope we may meet again someday.

Hugs from Lise

My trip to Ireland!

As I write this, it has been one week since I came home from Ireland. I can feel that I really miss everyone that I had the chance to get to know there. I will never forget my trip to Ireland!

The week before the trip, I wasn’t feeling nervous at all. But on the day we were leaving, I felt that this is it; I’m finally going to Ireland, a country I have been planning on going to for a long time. The language, the culture, the nature, everything I knew about Ireland interested me.

The plane left very early from Tromsø, but I managed to sleep a little before we arrived at the Dublin airport, only six hours later. The heat stunned me. We Norwegians had to change to lighter clothes behind the bus because it was too hot for us. The Irish said it was cold though.

It took a while before the bus ride started to where we were supposed to have lunch. It was fascinating to sit in a bus that drove on the left side of the road. After a week in Ireland, I got used to it though! After lunch we went to where the hobbits and Bilbo Baggins live. Well, it wasn’t exactly like that, but the buildings were very similar to the hobbit houses!

After picking up the Bulgarians, we went to eat dinner just outside Dublin. I ordered a very funny dessert: ice cream with jelly. The taste was normal, but the jelly was kind of strange.

After a long day driving around in many directions, I was pleased to arrive at the hotel in Kilkenny. It was a really good night’s sleep, and eating hotel breakfast in the morning made it even better.

I must say: Ireland has a lot of churches! I think I saw five in Kilkenny, and I bet there were several others there that we didn’t get to see. The Kilkenny castle was beautiful! The great hall with all those paintings! Too bad we weren’t allowed to take any pictures, because then I would have taken many.

In the evening we went with the bus to the school where the parents were to pick us up. Simona and I were to stay at Brianne’s place, and I am really glad that I got the opportunity to stay there! I learned so much about everything, and the family was wonderful! They just gave and gave, and I felt that the only thing that I gave back was a little bit of dried reindeer meat. Now I have memories for the rest of my life (and the school’s sweater that I have already used a lot!) J Thank you so much!

The next day (Saturday) we went to Lismore and Ardmore, two towns that weren’t far away from Ring. In Lismore we saw a historic film about Ireland, and learned a lot. I still remember that the famous Robert Boyle once lived in Lismore’s beautiful castle.

In Ardmore we learned more history, and the man who told us the history made it sound so interesting. The scenery in Ardmore was so wonderful. Here they also have Rapunzel’s tower (from the fairy tale Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm). People must have been in Ireland when they wrote all those stories.

In the evening we went to the school to eat dinner and dessert. We also learned how to dance some Celtic dances, which were really fun to learn. In the end I was really exhausted, but I had a great time with everyone. I also got the chance to listen to Irish music live, and I love Irish music!

On Sunday Simona, Brianne and I went for a walk. Well, I would rather say that we climbed a mountain because that hill was really something! But when we got to the top, the view was stunning. We could see Dungarvan and the sea and tiny houses many kilometers away. Why do people say Ireland is flat!? It’s a lie!

Afterwards we learned how to play hurling with the rest of the group. Our team won! We also played something similar to baseball, which was fun too.

In the evening we went to the cinema to watch Johnny English: Reborn. The Irish don’t like the man who plays Johnny English (also known as Mr. Bean). Maybe it is because he’s English, because the Irish do NOT like the English. Ha-ha.

On the final day in Ireland we had a real Irish school day or something like that. Every morning they have to stand up in lines before they go to their classes. We don’t do that at all in Norway.

The first two hours or so we made soup and Irish bread. We got to taste it later and it tasted good, especially the bread!

After the cooking we had lunch and then our presentation. I really hope people understood everything and learned something! The other presentations were really good.

What I noticed when I was Ireland, was that the Irish are really kind! They made and decorated a birthday cake for Kim AND sang a birthday song for him. That is really generous because we Norwegians would maybe, and I say maybe, have sung a birthday song for the person who had his birthday. We all got a present from the school: a diploma and a flute.

After the presentation, we had the chance to learn some more Irish history in Brianne’s history class, and Irish in the Irish class. The Irish Á is pronounced the same as the Norwegian Å.

We had a music class after the Irish class where we learned how to play some kind of Irish drum. It was interesting and it was really a look-alike to the Sami shaman drum.

The school lasted until half-three (15.30), and then we went home for dinner. While we were eating dessert, some of the others from the Comenius group came over to our place to watch a film. We saw Step Up 2 and it seemed like everyone had a really good time and people didn’t leave before after twelve. I hadn’t started packing my bag yet, so I was kind of nervous. In Kilkenny we had discovered Dunne’s Store. Seriously, that store has everything! I bought so much there that if I had bought one more thing, I would have had to leave it in Ireland. I bought shoes there for 3 euro, and that is how much a 200 g chocolate bar costs in Norway.

The good byes the next morning were tough. Would we ever meet again? Hopefully, we will. I felt that going back to Norway wasn’t that tempting. School… Well, if it wasn’t for the school and the Comenius project, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go to Ireland. So thank you so much for giving me memories for life!

<3

A work in progress!!

This sunday the Norwegian team is working hard on completing one film for the Ireland rotation. It's an interesting interview with Astrid Solhaug at The Sami Language Center in Kåfjord. We are looking forward to present it in Ireland. The main problem at the moment is cutting it down, so it won't be too long. What to delete is the object of discussion here now.
Best from a hard working Norwegian team.

Hey there!

Now we're close to departure to Ireland, and I just wanted to say that I'm looking forward to it! I hope I'll get to know you all, and get to know Ireland.

I think we'll get some great days together.

Can't wait! See you soon!

Going to Ireland!

Maria from Norway here. Looking forward to the trip to Ireland. Hope I'll get some inspiration while I am there to make some new music. The teachers have been asking me to sing my Finnish song, with which I won the Kven Idol contest, so there might be some Finnish music! I hope I'll meet some new friends too, and also have fun :)
Okay guys, can't wait to meet you in Ireland!

Maybe it is time at last to write a little summary about my experience when I had two funny girls from Spain, Mireia Castellà and Queralt Puig Mas, living at my house.

We had some contact on Facebook before they came to Norway, but not much. The day we were going to Tromsø to meet everyone from Spain, Ireland and Bulgaria, I knew many of us were very excited. How are they? Will they be very different from us Norwegians? We couldn’t know before we met them.

When we arrived at the airport to meet everyone, we were a bit modest. It took some time before everything loosened up, but when we finally broke the ice on the bus, everything went fine. There were some language problems, though.

After a long bus trip, and for the visitors a long trip from their home country, was it good to just go to bed and sleep.

The next morning we ate breakfast. I got the girls to try “brunost” (brown cheese), which they didn’t like at all.

At school they experienced how our Math was. Many of things that we were learning that year were things that they had already learnt many years ago, and we were having the “hardest” Math at school. I showed them all the classrooms and where the toilets were. They were surprised over all the buses, and that the students had to travel so far (many have to travel over 70 km from their homes to school).

After school all the students from the Comenius project + others went to Storslett’s café, Bios. We ate ice cream and had a really good time. We talked about what we liked to do in our free time and about our culture.

Later that day, we went to Nordreisa’s sport hall where boys and girls were playing at a football tournament. I was also playing, along with some of the other girls from the Comenius project. We won the tournament, and that was really cool!

The next day, Saturday, we woke up early so I could show Mireia and Queralt around Storslett. I thought that it wasn’t much to show them, but it seemed like they had a good time. I remember Mireia was very fascinated how we Norwegians could drive our cars when it was ice and snow on the road. I just laughed and showed them the spikes that are stuck on the tires. We went with the others to Kronebutikken (Krone store) where they sell a lot of Sami and Kven (Finnish) stuff.

Later in the evening we went to our school to meet the others and eat dinner, finnbiff, which one of our teachers had made. To dessert we ate cloudberry cream. We, from Norway, taught the others how to count to ten in Norwegian and Sami, and they taught us to count to ten in Spanish. Many of us already knew how to do that, but maybe not all the way to ten.

When we came home that evening, the sky was clear and there was a possibility that one could see the Northern lights. Me, Mireia and Queralt went to an open plain where it wasn’t so much streetlight. We could see some Northern lights, but I wasn’t impressed and I think that they weren’t either, or I don’t know. It was kind of sad, because it seemed that they were really looking forward to see the Northern lights. But I must say that we were lucky! J

The next day, we went with the others from the Comenius project to a place called Manndalen. On the trip we played games and listened to the “guide”. In Manndalen we visited the Sami language center where we ate bidus (the Sami “national” dish) and learnt a little Sami.

At the evening we planned to have a movie night at my place. Almost everyone from the Comenius project was there, and it was really fun. We had rented the movie “Alice in Wonderland” and watched it. There wasn’t room for everyone, so some had to sit on a mattress on the floor. I don’t think I’ve ever had so many people in my basement at once.

Next day was Monday, and it was time for everyone to leave. It was really sad. That day we were divided into groups. We were supposed to make sentences in English from different occasions.We ate a last lunch together in the school’s canteen.

I had a really good time, though it lasted for only five days. I am looking forward to see people from the project again later some day. J

The trip to Bulgaria

When I was on the trip to Bulgaria April 8-13th, I had one of the best times ever. It is a memory for life, and I will always remember the good persons a got to know when I was there. All the people from Ireland, Spain and Bulgaria were really nice, and I have good memories from them all.

The first day most of us were nervous, and we were shy to talk to the people from the other countries. But it did not take so long before we got to know them, and then it was easy to talk with them. All of the social time we had together down there was really fun! Many things were very different in Bulgaria from what I was used to in Norway, but I liked it. The trip was a nice experience for me, in many different ways. The food was different, the climate, the school, really everything.

To be allowed to stay with an unknown Bulgarian family was incredibly exciting. I must admit I was a bit skeptical initially. But after I had come home to them, I was very happy, they were very nice people. They welcomed me with open arms. There was only the small problem that none of them spoke English so well. Yet it went well, and we started to communicate in our own way.

The boys in Bulgaria were very nice; they opened the doors for us girls and bought things for us, even if we said no. Slightly different from the Norwegian boys! ha –ha-ha.

Most likely we will not meet again. It is sad to think about since it was such a great bunch of people. One can hope that you will suddenly meet again; I heard some rumors that some students would study in Norway. That would be fun. Maybe we will meet again, who knows?  The world is not so big after all. Luckily I took lots of pictures on the trip that I can look back on when I get old and gray. Then I will think back on this trip with a smile around the mouth. I feel lucky to have been allowed to participate.

Hugs from the Norwegian girl, Maren



A great bunch of people



J



Luben and Me