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.