Loving Dublin Life

Friday was filled with classes in the morning. In Dan’s Gaelic class, students learned the Irish for left=clé, right=deis, red=dearg, blue=gorm, yellow=buí, and green=glas-all in preparation for Twister. It was savage-to quote the words of Edel. Deadly, said Fiona. In Irish history, students learned more from the 1798 Rebellion up to the Famine. Reeling in the Years is a fantastic DVD that Taryn showed in her class to give the students a perspective of what Ireland was like in the early 1990's. It showed highlights that were significant in Ireland a few years before most of our ILE'ers were even born. Taryn will tie this DVD in with her class on Saturday to how Ireland has evolved over the past 20+ years. Irish American history was spent imagining what it would be like to emigrate to America during the Famine. Students pretended to be emigrants and write letters back to their families in Ireland. Dan said that Sasha Fierce wrote a brilliant and heartfelt letter. Raizel/Prunes said she enjoyed this activity in class a lot. During the afternoon, Dan and Edel taught the students how to play Gaelic football. They went over the rules and scoring procedures, then practiced the basic skills of kicking and passing the ball. All of the students picked up the sport very quickly. It was then time for a quick scrimmage. Molly expressed that she really isn't much of a "sporty" person, but she really enjoyed the workshop. She said she can't wait for the football match at Croke Park. Zoe said that it will be great to know all of the rules, before Sunday as well. Ryan said that it's been great to learn so much about the national sports of Ireland and that he is looking forward to following Gaelic football and hurling in the states. Drama was after dinner and both Edel and Levi said that the students are making great progress on preparations for their drama presentations next Friday. The students have been busy researching their assigned Irish historical figures, while writing preliminary scripts. The drama presentations should be very enjoyable, said Angie. She always looks forward to the creativity from the students. Dance followed drama and Edel mentioned how amazed she is by the students' enthusiasm. While they might not be ready for Riverdance, they are definitely picking up the fundamentals of a jig and reel very quickly. On Friday night for an evening activity, students had the option of going to the movies at the Liffey Valley Shopping Center-across the road from King's Hospital. Many of the students saw Transformers 2 in 3D. Many of the boys enjoyed the movie and said that it was better than the first Transformers. Alyssa said it was entertaining, but recommended waiting until it comes out on DVD. All in all, it was a great day. The students are loving Dublin!

← All posts