Goodbyes

8 interviews. 283.5 minutes of interview audio. 88 pages. 58,266 words. 8 weeks of work. 4 days in a row of waking up at 4 AM to work. 2689780527862508 cups of tea consumed. 1 final report on divestment. Status: SUBMITTED!

It’s been an emotional whirlwind the past week – an overload of stress from frantically trying to finish the report in addition to too many goodbyes, too few tight embraces, not enough time. I felt like we were running from place to place, trying to revisit all of our favorite places while still creating new memories. Tears were definitely shed (or at least on my part) as I searched for the perfect parting words with every person I said goodbye to. It scares me to think that I, quite frankly, may never see these people again: Aaron and Nikki, our favorite bartenders at our favorite bar Tavern on the Green; all the separated minors; all my wonderful coworkers… But regardless, I’m incredibly lucky that I got to meet them and spend time with them. My experience certainly wouldn’t be the same without them.

Parting from my coworkers was the hardest part of the week. For the past seven weeks, we’ve eaten lunch together every day and have had hilarious conversations about everything and anything, ranging from stabbings and murder cases to movies and Father Ted (an Irish comedy TV series) to Michelle Smith and Katie Taylor (Irish Olympic athletes). They treated us like we were truly a part of their teams and never ceased to support us and put smiles on our faces. On Tuesday, Derek and I did presentations on our home states (or for Derek, the 8??? different states he’s lived in), which is an intern traditions this year, and afterward, they gave us parting gifts and said too many kinds words which simultaneously warmed my heart but also made me even sadder when I realized I was leaving them at the end of the week. We also celebrated Paul’s ten-year anniversary of becoming CEO of the Educate Together National Office, and it was inspiring to see how far Educate Together has come in just ten short years. Educate Together was undoubtedly an integral part of my DukeEngage journey and the experience that I most grew from. Aside from learning how to do qualitative research and figuring out how to use a Mac and discovering the type of office atmosphere I’d love to work in in the future, I’ve gained a stronger sense of self-confidence. I was initially intimidated by Derek’s confidence and always felt behind because I worked at a different pace and different manner than him. But after speaking to Bill and Suzanne, I realized that I wasn’t lacking anything; I just had a different skill set that actually complemented Derek’s skill set, so by combining both of our strengths, we were able to achieve our goals.

I am so blessed that I received the opportunity to be a part of DukeEngage Dublin. I made an incredible group of new friends and got to live in an amazingly beautiful country. But perhaps most importantly, I feel like I grew. I’m excited to see how my DukeEngage experience will mold the rest of my college years, but for now, I know that I’m coming out of this trip much stronger, much more mindful, much more confident, and most importantly, much happier.

It’s bittersweet day, but I’m feeling so grateful for everything that has happened over the past eight weeks. Ireland, it’s not goodbye; it’s see you later. I will definitely come back someday.

Smiles and so much love,

Anna <3

[edit: I probably won't use my blog regularly during the school year... haven't decided what to do with it yet. But I'll let y'all know whenever I decide! Thanks for reading. Y'all are the best <3]

Free and Alive

I feel so alive.

I don’t really know how to describe this weekend because it’s been a whirlwind of one breathtaking sight after another. You’d think by this point, I’d be numb because I’d already seen so much and wouldn’t find the sights as beautiful as they were when I first arrived in Ireland, but I almost feel like as my time here draws to a close, my appreciation and awe have grown deeper. I’m genuinely trying to make the most of these last several days.

I wanted to bottle up this Northern Ireland weekend trip, especially Saturday night after dinner, so I could relive it over and over and over again: the taste and smell of salt in the air, the sound of waves crashing against the rocks and the wind howling, the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair and of raindrops hitting my face and of my lungs expanding as I released a scream over the edge of the cliff, the sight of all this beautifully rugged, wild terrain taking my breath away… I don’t know how to describe that experience because nothing I say will ever do it justice. Talking under the dark night sky about everything: religion, the effects of technology, our emotions, our hopes and dreams and fears and desires… Laying on the grass, remembering that I am a mere, microscopic speck in this huge, huge world… Standing on the edge of the cliff at night, overlooking the Giant’s Causeway and screaming out as loud as I could, releasing emotions that I had pent up for months… I felt connected to nature and its Creator. I felt so free and alive. It was one of those moments that I seriously wished could last forever.

One week left. Seven days to finish our report, to go back to the places we want to go back to, to create new memories, to complete the last several items left on our bucket lists, to say goodbye. Seven days is a long time, and now that I’ve gone on this weekend trip, I feel completely reinvigorated and ready to take on this week with everything I have.   

CELEBRATION!!!

Yesterday, Wednesday, July 25, 2012 marked a milestone in both Educate Together’s and the Irish education’s history.  

Last year, the Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn announced that Educate Together was finally recognised as an official second-level patron. In the past, Educate Together only served primary schools, so Minister Quinn’s announcement last year was definitely a reason to celebrate.

This year, Minister Quinn announced the patronages of fourteen new second-level schools. After 24 years of dedication and hard work, Educate Together will be involved, officially, in the patron bodies of two second-level schools. In Clonburris, South Lucan, the County Dublin VEC is the patron and working “in formal partnership with Educate Together” (aka ET is not officially considered part of the patron body). In Drogheda, Educate Together and the County Louth VEC hold joint patronage over the new second-level school. But perhaps most excitedly, in Blanchardstown West, Educate Together has a second-level school to call its own. All three schools are set to open in 2014. For more information, check out the Educate Together official press release here: http://www.educatetogether.ie/media/national-news/educate-together-makes-history-first-new-second-level-patron-1930s

Derek and I went to the second-level announcement celebration yesterday, and I couldn’t believe that I was actually standing amongst this crowd of dedicated people who’d finally achieved their dream after so, so, so many years of hard work and perseverance. I was honoured to be standing amongst some of Ireland’s most progressive educational pioneers, including Áine Hyland, the founder of Educate Together. Words could not adequately express how lucky and blessed I was to be celebrating such a historic moment with such inspiring people, and it certainly served as a reminder than hard work really does pay off, and, as corny as it sounds, dreams really can come true.

Congratulations, Educate Together. I feel so honoured to be a part of such a great team, to play even a small role in such an inspiring organization. Thank you for playing such an integral role in my growth and development as a person and for constantly encouraging me to work hard to achieve my future goals. Here’s to hoping that Educate Together will continue to grow and establish more post-primary and primary schools in Ireland. Here's to hoping that all of Ireland can “Learn Together to Live Together.” And here's to hoping that Educate Together's mission and vision of “No Child an Outsider” will one day truly be fulfilled. It sounds idealistic, but hey, yesterday proved that, sometimes, dreams do come true.

Smiles,

Anna  

Six weeks down, two to go...

Hi everyone!

Where has the time gone? It seriously shocks me that I’ll be home in two weeks and back at Duke (my other home!) in three weeks. Our group has definitely been trying to make the best of the little time we have left.

Derek and I have been making progress on our report! We managed to line up and conduct three interviews this past week with a former principal of Blessington (one of the four divested ET schools), a person from NICIE (the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education, which has quite a bit of experience with transforming schools), and a former principal and a parent of the start-up group of North Bay (another divested ET school). We gained invaluable insight from each person and are starting to notice common themes. The report is really beginning to take form, which is exciting.

Aside from work, we’ve been around “Dub City,” as our group so affectionately calls it, quite a bit. On Wednesday, we visited the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) Google headquarters with the separated minors. Because our group was so large, they couldn’t give us a tour of the building, so we sat in a room and listened to their presentation. It’s amazing to think that Google has grown and developed so much in just my lifetime. With such an innovative staff, I can’t even imagine what crazy cool thing they’ll come up with next.

On Thursday night, we watch The Dark Knight in the cinema. They were replaying it in preparation for The Dark Knight Rises. After 2.5 hours of sleep, we woke up at 4 AM to walk to the cinema and watch the very first 5 AM showing of The Dark Knight Rises. The premiere was at 5 AM because we’re five hours ahead of New York and couldn’t show it before the NY midnight premiere. As exhausted as everyone was, we agreed that it was completely worth it. Speaking of Batman, my prayers go out to the victims and their families who were affected in the recent Aurora, Colorado shooting tragedy. All of the ET staff, Derek, and I had the live blog up during work and were following it very closely. It breaks my heart that so many innocent people were hurt.

Yesterday, we wandered around Dub City and attended the Street Performance World Championship in Merrion Square Park. I initially assumed that it would just be a stage with performers, but it actually was a fair that spanned the entire park with five different performance areas and a variety of other activities. Aside from watching some really talented street performers, we jammed out at the silent disco, hula-hooped, and essentially relived our childhood.

Lots of exciting things are coming up this week as well! We’re performing a bhangra dance today (more on that in the next blog post). We’re also watching Riverdance (SO EXCITED), having dinner with Christine’s brother’s kindergarten teacher, visiting the zoo, possibly watching Phantom of the Opera… but perhaps, for me, the most exciting thing is that the Minister for Education will be making an announcement early this upcoming week on secondary schools. Long story short, ET has never been a patron of a secondary school because of many complicated circumstances. However, it’s very likely this year that ET will be able to open secondary schools, which would be such a groundbreaking moment in Ireland’s educational history. We’ve asked to open three secondary schools, so fingers crossed that the Minister’s announcement will be in our favor.

Smiles,

Anna 

The past five weeks...

Hi everyone!

I have definitely noticed that the quality of my writing deteriorates more and more the more exhausted I am. Unfortunately, work is draining, and I feel like I haven’t posted an acceptably insightful post in… well, forever. Hopefully this one will be a little better than the previous ones.

This past weekend, we went to Kilkenny, which is a little town located about an hour and a half away from Dublin. We went on a walking tour of the city (with a giant group of students from Spain. One girl was translating, and Sra. Rodriguez, you’d be proud because I understood everything she said. And she forgot the word “pisos,” but I filled it in under my breath before she remembered. Score!), and we later went to the Smithwick’s Factory. It was sad because they talked about how much history the factory had, but explained that by next year, the factory will close and be given to the city, while production will move to Dublin.

The adorable town of Kilkenny

Black Abbey Church

Kilkenny Castle

On Sunday, the day was completely free. Christine, Anthony, and I went to church at St. Patrick’s in the morning, and the rest of the day was spent relaxing, walking around Trinity College, and cooking a family meal. After an exhausting week filled with work and planned activities, it’s definitely nice to be able to have a day to relax and just bond with the group.

Trinity College

So five of the most rewarding weeks of my life have flown by. In just five short weeks, I’ve…

• Learn how to execute qualitative research, through interviewing, transcribing, and coding
• Improved my ability to understand the Irish accent (well, sometimes. I haven’t tried listening to a Cork accent just yet)
• Had an article published in Metro Eireann, Ireland’s first multicultural paper (this is an assignment that Bill and Suzanne gave that both Derek and I worked on together)
• Been treated for the first time EVER as a coworker, an equal, and have gathered the confidence to honestly and openly express my opinions to my superiors
• Conquered Irish weather (it was pouring rain today. Derek and I were literally drenched from head to toe, but I honestly could’ve cared less. Guess I’m becoming more like the Irish!)
• Discovered how exhausting it is to work an eight-hour job and come home and cook dinner. I’ve always respected and loved my parents for everything they do, but I honestly feel like I definitely appreciate all of their hard work so much more now that I’m doing it myself. Thank you, mom and dad, and for all of y’all reading, make sure you show lots of love and appreciation to your moms and dads as well (:
• Learned how to use a Mac. Yes, this is extremely impressive, especially for my technologically-challenged self. But switching back and forth between my Mac desktop at work and my beloved Toshiba non-Mac laptop has been a struggle...
• Experienced true culture shock... and overcame it. I feel much more like a local now, and while I still don’t know everything, I’m happy that I learn something new every day.

That was only a tiny, tiny slice of my crazy life for the past incredible five weeks. Here’s to hoping that the next three weeks are equally, if not more, satisfying and eye-opening.

Smiles,

Anna

P.S. I will try my best to update more often! Much love!

Playing Catch-Up!

Hey everyone!

Yes, I’m still alive and well. It’s just been a REALLY busy week and a half. I can’t believe that this program is already halfway done. It still shocks me how much we’ve learned and how much we still have to learn.

So just to briefly fill you in on the past 1.5 weeks…:

·         Educate Together gave Derek and me the day off on July 4^th, which was extremely nice of them. They apparently do that for their American interns every year, but no one else in our group had the day off. Derek and I definitely took advantage of the free day and went to three different museums (all equally fascinating), walked along the Liffey (for about 1.5 hours total, I’d say), and had sushi in Merrion Square Park and ge-la-la in St. Stephen’s Green. So much fun. :) Later that night, all of us had a really nice dinner in Howth with Bill and Suzanne.

·         Sahil’s 21^st birthday this weekend! We surprised him with a cake and all sorts of festivities. We also had five extra people over (three of Sahil’s friends, and two of Derek and Mischa’s friends), so it was oodles of fun and excitement all weekend.

·         Spent the weekend in Dublin! Went to the Guinness Storehouse and sat around in Phoenix Park before all the crazy concert stuff went down.

·         Went to two hurling matches on Sunday with the separated minors. SO INTERESTING. Look up a youtube video of hurling. It’s literally like lacrosse-without-the-scoop-part + football + American football + field hockey + baseball. The Galway vs. Kilkenny championship match was SO good. They’re the two best teams in Ireland, and normally Kilkenny wins everything, but Galway completely owned them this time. The first half was 18-4.

·         Went to the National Gallery today with the separated minors and also went to a UNHCR photo exhibit about refugees. So powerful and heartbreaking. It was hard to focus and take in everything because there were so many people, so I definitely plan on going back to I can really absorb everything.

Anyway, work has been super super busy. Two research projects plus other things have definitely turned out to be much more than both Derek and I expected. I’m exhausted now, but here’s to hoping that a more insightful post will following in a couple of days.

Much love!

Smiles,

Anna

Glendalough

Hey everyone!

So apparently grocery stores don’t open until 11 AM on Sundays, and some don’t even open at all. Wish I had known that before I got up early to go grocery shopping. But I ran twice (once along the canal, and once along the Liffey) and sipped on some hot chocolate from Butlers Chocolate Café (http://www.butlerschocolates.com So ridiculously good. They always give you a piece of free chocolate too!) while watching the baby swans in St. Stephens Green to cure my boredom.

Anyway, today, we went to Glendalough, which is about 1.5 hours away by bus. It’s a beautiful hilly area with lots of hiking trails. The forest reminded me of west coasts forests, something you’d find in Oregon or Seattle. It literally looked like a scene out of the Twilight movie, gray gloomy rain and all. But it was breathtakingly beautiful -- tall green trees everywhere and a really fresh, woody smell that was like a scent that came straight out of an air freshener. I was so upset that I left my memory card in my computer, so I couldn’t take any pictures, but here's a beautiful picture of Glendalough that Caroline took:

As we hiked, we sang song after song after song after song. Bill and Suzanne explained that each group every year has its own characteristic that makes it unique. For example, several years ago, they had a “foodie group,” this group was constantly talking about food and where they wanted to eat. Caroline and I determined that our group was probably the “singing/dancing group.” Everywhere we go, we sing songs together and break it down in the middle of the street. Always. I feel like I’m living in a musical. It’s wonderful.

On the trail, we passed by a lovely waterfall and perhaps the most beautiful lake I’ve ever seen. We sat and admired the view for probably ten minutes, singing and reflecting simultaneously. Everything seems so small and accessible, but it seems so big at the same time. It’s really difficult to explain, but it’s something that still blows my mind. Even just the fact that we’re in Glendalough, actually hiking these trails and seeing these stunning sights with our own eyes is something that I still can’t wrap my mind around. We always turn to each other and ask, “Is this real life?” because it seems so surreal.

Tomorrow starts another busy week of work. Our individual project is taking form, and Derek and I are super excited to see where this goes.

Much love!

Smiles,

Anna

Howth and Terrible Service

Hello!

We went to Howth, a small fishing village, today with the separated minors. It was ridiculously beautiful. I know I use the word “beautiful” to describe every place in Ireland, but it’s not an understatement at all. I just can’t get over how green everything is here:

Because we were with the separated minors, we had to be careful to not take pictures of them (as I explained in a previous post), so most of us ended up taking very few pictures. Besides, Howth was really close by (about a 30 minute bus ride), so we could probably head over another day. The separated minors are always such a joy to talk to; they’re incredibly positive and hilarious, and I always find myself smiling after spending time with them. We walked on a trail from Howth Summit to a small harbor town and ate fish and chips before taking a bus back to the city. It was perfect, but I wish we had more time to appreciate the beauty surrounding us. I’m sure we’ll go back another day. I also wish that a bird hadn't pooped on me, but one of the separated minors from Cameroon explained to me that in her country, it's extremely good luck if a bird poops on you because "birds don't just go around pooping on everyone." Got to remain optimistic, right? :)

Later tonight, we went to Surma Indian Restaurant to eat. Sahil and Kiran had found a voucher online for Surma that was 29 euro for two starters, two main courses, and two glasses of wine. So we all went together, with vouchers in hand, expecting great things. Our first impression was good: the restaurant smelled delicious, and there were plaques lining the walls outside.

Unfortunately, it was perhaps some of the worst service we’ve ever gotten in our lives. Not kidding.

We waited for 30 minutes for a menu. We asked for water multiple times and didn’t get it until maybe an hour in (when our starters came out about 1.5 hours after we arrived. Mischa actually walked outside and bought a huge bottle of water for us because we were so fed up with waiting for them). We asked for three glasses multiple times but never got them, and when the waiter finally retrieved them, he put them out on the counter so we had to walk up and get them ourselves. We asked for the wine perhaps ten times, ten different ways and never got it (until our food came out… 2.5 hours after we sat down in the restaurant). A couple walked into a restaurant perhaps an hour after us and were served before us and received everything in a timely manner. It was literally just a terrible experience. And there were perhaps only about twelve other people in the restaurant, so it really wasn’t an overwhelming amount. And then they tried to charge us for something that they initially didn’t make clear. It was just a big mess, and everyone was really ticked off. Some of us felt bad for them because they did seem pretty understaffed, with two guys waiting the whole restaurant, but should it really take 2.5 hours for food to come out when there are only about 12 other people in the restaurant? We were actually there from 8 PM-11 PM. Questionable… But it’s whatever. We are thinking that part of it may be racism… but whatever.

Tomorrow, we’re going hiking in Glendalough. Expect more gorgeous pictures!

Smiles,

Anna

So much work!

Hey everyone!

It’s been a very busy several days. Work has definitely kicked in and has gotten significantly busier than it was last week.

So Derek and I will be contributing to team efforts, such as helping out with admin things (making phone calls, stuffing folders) and helping out the education team (testing online courses, which go live NEXT MONDAY!!!), but more importantly, we will be conducting our own research and working on our own project. We’re actually working on two separate projects.

One project, which I previously mentioned, will involve helping Dublin City College evaluate the Learn Together curriculum. Essentially, all schools are required to have a half-hour class dedicated to the religion of the patron body’s choice (e.g. Catholic schools will have a half-hour class a day that is dedicated to Catholic religious instruction). In Educate Together schools, they have the Learn Together curriculum instead, which is ethos, rather than religiously based. The Learn Together curriculum involves four strands:

·         Moral and Spiritual (self-development)

·         Equality and Justice (human rights)

·         Belief Systems (religion)

·         Ethics and Environment (environmental issues)

These four strands are integrated across various subjects and truly emphasize the importance of being a global citizen and respecting diversity. Thus far, Derek and I have been transcribing the interviews that have already been done. Afterward, we will look for overarching themes, and eventually, we will conduct our own interviews. Transcribing has been much more difficult and has been taking much longer than we expected (which is why I’ve been updating less; I’ve been trying to get some transcribing done outside of the office so that Derek and I can get to coding and finding themes as soon as possible). The Irish accent is difficult to understand, and it gets even more confusing when the interviewee doesn’t keep a steady train of thought when he/she is talking. And it’s the worst when they’re talking over each other. Just some things for y’all to keep in mind in case you’re recording and transcribing interviews in the future :)

Our second project is entirely our own product. We haven’t 100% decided on a solid topic yet, but we will most likely be looking at divestment. Divestment is the act of reassigning a school to a different patron body; in this case, it would be reassigning a Catholic school or other denominational school to be an Educate Together school. There aren’t very many of these schools that have been established already because the Catholic Church used to be very unwilling to transform their schools, but Derek and I received the opportunity to visit one reassigned school this past Wednesday.

Ranelagh Multidenominational School (RMDS) was established in 1988, making it one of the oldest Educate Together schools and the very first reassigned school. They actually have a whole book on the history of the school and its transformation. Derek and I received the book when we visited the school, and it’ll undoubtedly because a valuable resource for us. We chatted with the principal Padraic Mulholland briefly before he showed us around the school. Padraic was actually a parent at the time of the reassignment and later became the school’s third teacher, eventually working his way up to principal of the school. He explained that the reason why RMDS had such a successful transformation was because the parent body showed a lot of support and because the staff of the school (two teachers and one principal) were open to change. The principal at the time realized that, as a Church of Ireland school in a rapidly shrinking Church of Ireland population, they were not adequately serving the needs of the community. Anyway, it’s a super long but incredible story, so feel free to message me if you want to hear more about this amazing school. The school just had such a warm, welcoming feel and seemed to be a positive environment, perfect for fostering growth and development. I know I say this every time, but I truly feel that way about every Educate Together school I have visited thus far. And Padraic was just an incredibly nice man. Derek and I had light bulbs going off in our heads and ideas running around as soon as we stepped out of the school because he answered all of our questions very thoroughly and gave us a lot of unique insight (seeing as he was the only one left in the school that has been there since the very beginning). But I think what really amazed me was the fact that he knew most of the children by name and seemed to genuinely care about all of them; he stopped to talk to a little girl that felt sick and made sure to say goodbye to all the of the junior and senior infants by name. It was almost as if the disparity between the children and the principal wasn’t large at all.

Anyway, we’re both really excited to be doing research, but it’s also been draining. We’re always tired when we come back home, and for the past couple of nights, we always had events afterward as well.

On Tuesday, we went to watch one of our coworkers, Sarah, play in her band, Bitches with Wolves. She’s the backup singer/guitarist! They were really energetic and fun to watch, so make sure you check out their music!

Wednesday was probably our most exhausting day yet. Derek and I commuted for FIVE HOURS TOTAL. No, that’s not an exaggeration. One hour from the apartment to the office, 1.5 hours from the office to Ranelagh, 1.5 hours from Ranelagh back to the office, and 1 hour from the office back to the apartment. That’s worse than Ashrey’s daily three hour commute to and from school. Later that night, rather than going straight home and sleeping, Bill and Suzanne took us out to a three-hour play called The House in the Abbey Theater. The actors were incredibly talented, but we all agreed that we didn’t understand a lot of the jokes that were cracked because they were very “Irish.” The play was about emigration and harsh economic times in Ireland and offered us insight into why so many people formerly emigrated from Ireland, while the opposite is true now.

Anyway, as our project develops, I’ll definitely keep y’all updated! Hopefully I won’t be too tired to continue updating this blog during the weekdays.

Stay happy! Take care!

Smiles,

Anna (:

Harry Potter Cliffs!

Hi, loves!

It’s official: Galway stole my heart. And I don’t think I’ll be getting it back anytime soon. I’m actually devastated that we’re already leaving. I miss all of its beauty already, and I sincerely hope that I can return in the future. I’m currently writing this blog entry on the train, and my mind is still a little scattered and trying to register the stunning sights I just saw, so I apologize in advance if this entry is poorly written.

Today, we took a bus to the Cliffs of Moher. Along the way, we stopped at a family farm near the Burren Hills and got a beautiful view of the surrounding area:

At first glance, the landscape just looked like a bunch of grass and flowers and stones/stone walls with livestock roaming around and grazing everywhere, but the owners of the farm explained the history of the stony ruins surrounding us, bringing history to life before our eyes. For example, the walls running up and down the mountains were structures created during the Irish potato famine. The British gave the Irish people work in exchange for soup, to prevent chaos from exploding in the country. Interestingly enough, the walls served no purpose. The British didn’t want the people to do anything productive in fear that France or Spain may attempt to use Ireland as a means for attacking Britain. The British also didn’t want Ireland’s economy to grow and eventually surpass the UK, so they gave the Irish people meaningless, insignificant tasks to keep them busy. Additionally, some of the trees, according to Irish traditional stories, were deemed “fairy trees” that served as connections between the real world and the underworld. Sometimes, people tied objects to the tree to represent “leaving their problems behind”:

 Afterward, we drove to the Cliffs of Moher. These cliffs were actually featured in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie; they serve as the backdrop in the scene in which Harry and Dumbledore brave stormy seas in an attempt to find the Horcrux. We definitely got lucky and were blessed with beautiful weather once again, so the Cliffs were very visible. The Cliffs of Moher have been on my bucket list for years, so it was still difficult to believe that I was standing in front of them and seeing them in person, with my very own eyes. They were an absolutely stunning 650-feet of rock towering over restless seas. They were, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen:

I wish we had more time to sit and ponder and take in the beauty before us, but we unfortunately had to sprint to the train station to make it back to Dublin on time. I’m incredibly grateful for the wonderfully relaxing, breathtakingly beautiful weekend that we spent in Galway; we got to see a different side of Ireland, a more rural but equally beautiful part of Ireland. But it’s time to refocus our minds and prepare for work. Derek and I get started on real work tomorrow, and I’m excited to see where our research takes us!

Smiles,

Anna

YOGO (You Only Galway Once)

Hi everyone!

HUGE apologies for not writing for the past several days. It’s been an eventful and busy several days!

On Thursday, Derek and I went to this event for Educate Together all the way in St. Patrick’s College. The event was launching these courses for primary teachers that would teach them about Educate Together’s Learn Together curriculum, which is ethos-based rather than religion-based. We met the Minister for Education again and another senator as well! I’m still amazed by how approachable and friendly the senators and ministers are in Ireland. When talking to them, I don’t feel like there’s a disparity in power at all because they are so friendly and easy to talk to.

It also rained possibly the hardest it’s rained for the past several weeks. Derek and I had to go find dinner ourselves because everyone else had already eaten, and, being the extremely lucky people we are, we were walking outside when it was POURING outside. Our pants were completely drenched, so we literally ran into the first restaurant that we saw. I don’t think I’ve ever been so soaked before.

On Friday, Derek and I had a meeting in DCU (Dublin City University) with Emer (our supervisor) and two other professors. Derek and I will be helping the professors conduct interviews to evaluate the effectiveness of the Learn Together curriculum. I’ll explain this in more detail on Tuesday, when I talk about the research that Derek and I will be doing.

After the meeting, we took the bus to Heuston Station to take a three-hour train to Galway, which is on the west coast of Ireland. I was SO excited for Galway because I had literally heard only good things about it. The train ride over was absolutely stunning. Imagine miles and miles and miles of vibrantly green grass and oddly shaped stones with horses, cows, sheep, and little white and yellow flowers scattered about. You’d think that we would eventually get bored of seeing so much green grass and stone everywhere, but the sight never ceased to take my breath away. I could honestly stare, in awe, forever.

We arrived in Galway, and dropped our bags off in the hotel. The hotel was located in a very central part of the city, which was strikingly similar to Dublin. Strolling down the cobblestone street, we felt like we were back in Dublin, walking down Grafton Street. We noticed various street musicians and also realized that Grafton Street and the street we were currently on actually had many similar shops (including our beloved ge-la-la). This particular part of Galway didn’t differ much from the area of Dublin that we lived in, but perhaps the most noticeable difference was that traditional Irish music was much more prominent here in Galway. It definitely still felt like déjà vu.

Yesterday, we went to the Human Rights Center to hear a lecture about the history of migration in Ireland and some of the legal issues that refugees and migrants must face. Ireland, in fact, accepts and grants refugee status to the lowest number of refugees out of all of the EU countries. It was interesting to see when Irish laws took precedent and when EU laws took precedent, but it definitely was a very complicated relationship.

Later in the afternoon, we went to a horse stable about fifteen minutes away (by taxi) and went horseback riding! None of us previously had experience with riding horses, so we were pretty terrified and unsure of what to expect (especially since it was raining), but we ultimately had tons of fun and got to see a part of Ireland that we previously hadn’t seen before. Our horses walked down the trail in a single file line. Some people, like me, had people from the stable helping them lead their horses. I rode a really well-behaved, calm horse named Alphesio and got to talk to Ellie, who was leading my horse, at the same time. Ellie told me all about her favorite places in Galway and her school (secondary, all-girls school in Salthills) and her love for horses. Super sweet. But the best part was the scenery around us. It literally looked like pictures right out of a tour guide and is the epitome of what tourists think of when they think of Ireland. Long, green grass was swaying in the wind with various rocks and stone walls scattered between the blades of grass. I wish I were a better writer and could take the beauty from the scenery and translate it into words, but I simply can’t. I also couldn’t take pictures because I knew that if I let go of the reins, I would certainly fall off Alphesio and crash to the ground.

And the past two days were beautiful, but today was absolutely breathtaking. We took a bus and a ferry to the Aran Islands, which were about nine miles off the coast of Galway. We rented bikes and rode around the island, taking pictures and running through the grassy fields and digging our toes into the sandy beaches and climbing over rocks and watching seals. It was a beautiful day (sunshine and blue skies!), fit for an equally beautiful island. I feel like I said “this is so beautiful” so many times today, but I felt like there wasn’t any word that could describe the stunning scenery. A picture is worth a thousand words, so rather than attempting to describe the beauty I was blessed to see today, I’ll just show you:

Breathtaking, right? Again, I wish I were a better writer and a better photographer, but honestly, I feel like the best writer and the best photographer in the world wouldn’t even be able to do this beauty justice. All I can say is that I’m so grateful and lucky that I received the opportunity to see this beauty with my own eyes.

Tomorrow is our last day in Galway, and we’re going to see the Cliffs of Moher. This is an item that has been on my bucket list for a long time, and I still can’t believe I’ll actually be there tomorrow! I’m literally shaking with excitement! Anyway, I hope your summers have been relaxing and fun as well so far! Take care!

Smiles,
Anna :)

P.S. Shoutout to my APDA sisters who are competing in IDC this weekend. Good luck, my loves! I know you’re going to be beautiful onstage. I love y’all so so SO much <3

Viking ROAR

Hey everyone!

Work has been pretty draining, so this post will be pretty short. Today, we met the separated minors for the first time! Just to clarify, I know “minors” gives off the connotation that they’re all pretty young kids, but I believe most of them are between the ages of 14-17. They’re literally from all over the world: Zimbabwe, South Africa, Afghanistan, Bolivia, etc. I bonded with these two girls, one from Zimbabwe and one from Bolivia, who were both dancers! They were pretty shy at first, but they began opening up as conversation went out. I actually comfortably carried on a Spanish conversation with the Bolivian girl (Sra. Rodriguez, aren’t you proud of me :))!

We went on the Viking Splash Tour, which was incredibly dorky in the best way possible. We fully embraced the dorkiness and had way too much fun. We essentially rode around Dublin in a DUKW (which is pronounced “duck”), which were boats that were built by women back during WWII. They’re able to navigate both on land and water and were used in the D-Day invasion. We wore Viking hats, and the hilarious tour guide explained to us that we were Vikings, and everyone outside the boat were Celts, so we had to direct our loudest, scariest Viking roars to specific “targets” (aka tourists, for the most part) that the tour guide pointed out. As silly as it was, the tour was pretty informative. We drove around the streets of Dublin and even steered around in the water of the canal for a bit. He showed us parts of Dublin that I previously hadn’t seen/paid attention to before.

After eating dinner and parting ways, Suzanne introduced us to Murphy’s Ice Cream, which is located very close to our gelato (or as Derek calls it “ge-la-la”) place. Delicious homemade ice cream, yes, but I still think the ge-la-la wins by a ton. Unfortunately, a couple people disagree, so our group may have difficulty unanimously deciding where to get our cold sweet treats for these next 6.5 weeks.

Tomorrow’s another busy day of work ahead, so I should definitely head to bed now! Take care!

Smiles,

Anna (:

Sunshine and warmth! :)

Hello everyone!

Today’s weather: SUNSHINE AND WARMTH ALL DAY LONG! NOT A DROP OF RAIN AT ALL! I don’t think you understand just how happy this made me. I was literally glowing and beaming with happiness all day long. It also kept me in a good mood, despite the rather tedious nature of our work for this week.

Derek and I took the bus to the office for the first time today. We finally figured out what time we need to leave our apartments by to make it to work on time and not super early or late (which is good because we can both go running now! Not running for two days has definitely left me feeling a wee bit icky). Although both of us didn’t have our maps with us (bad idea…), we managed to make it to work on time and even got off at the correct stop!

Today was a continuation of the work that we did yesterday and will continue to do for the rest of the week. It’s definitely somewhat tedious, having to open all the links and estimate the amount of time a primary school teacher would spend reading each website, etc. etc. etc., but it’s definitely helping me get a feel for Educate Together’s curriculum. This understanding will eventually help Derek and me immensely when we start our individual projects next week!

I’m still amazed by how accepting and welcoming the entire Educate Together staff is. They treat both Derek and me like actual coworkers and have invited us to different events and school visits, which are incredibly opportunities. The power hierarchy in the office seems to be pretty linear; while everyone does have their individual places, everyone respects each other and sees each other on a pretty equal level. Paul, our CEO, works right next door to Derek and me and (apparently) will frequently step in, tell us to grab our bags and get ready to go, and spontaneous bring us along to meetings and events in which very well-known, highly regarded people attend. It’s also unbelievable how everyone in Dublin seems to know each other. Derek described the House of Parliament as “DC, except everyone knows each other.” It’s not an exaggeration at all. But working at Educate Together is seriously such a blessing. I’m incredibly grateful every day that Bill and Suzanne put me here because it really is such a perfect fit. I just hope that I can contribute as much as, if not more, than previous talented interns have.

After work, Derek and I made it home at a reasonable hour. (Didn’t miss the bus this time!) Kiran made salad and pasta, and we went out for gelato afterward (again. Yes, for the second day in a row. It’s that good. I got white chocolate today, but nutella is still my favorite thus far). It’s our last free night for a while, so it was nice to spend some down time with the whole group. Tomorrow, we’ll be starting on our group project. We’re working with separated minors, and they’re coming to different events, such as plays, around Dublin with us. After the event, we’ll eat together and have a discussion. The social workers at the Health Service explained that they don’t get very many opportunities to go out into Dublin and interact with older, university-level students who aren’t separated minors, so this is (according to them) a great opportunity for these minors :) Unfortunately, because there is a certain level of mystery surrounding the circumstances of these minors’ arrivals, we’re not allowed to take pictures with them or anything because there may be people looking for them (and not in a good way). Bill also told us that because of their circumstances, they don’t normally received top-notch education and aren’t able to continue to universities after secondary school. He told us to be encouraging but to also be mindful and not give them too much “false hope” about things (such as university) that may not necessarily be feasible. Bill’s explanation broke my heart, and I’m not really sure of what to expect. I’m nervous, but excited, and I hope all goes well.

Much love!

Smiles,

Anna :)

First Day of Work!

Hi, lovely people!

If I had to explain to you what the weather was like today, this is what I’d say: I woke up to beautiful, warm sunshine! But after about an hour, it disappeared behind the dark, ominous clouds, and the wind and cold temperatures came back. And then it was sunny again after a while! But literally three minutes later (while Derek and I were walking around outside), it started raining again. Pretty hard. Then the rain turned to a misty drizzle. Then it started pouring. Then it started HAILING (yes, in the middle of summer! Dublin has some pretty cray cray weather!). And then it was cold and windy once again. And then it was sunny. And then it was rainy. And then it was cold and windy. And then sunny. And then cold again. No, that wasn’t an exaggeration. It was 100% true. Really. I know I complain about the weather every day, but I really don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.

Anyway, today was our first official day of work! We got really lucky today and had the opportunity to visit Swords ETNS. After ten years, they finally moved into their permanent building. Today, they were celebrating this momentous move, so Paul invited Derek and me to go. Getting there was quite the adventure (as every journey to and from work appears to be). Rather than catching the 151 bus like we normally would, Derek and I had to catch the Swords Express Bus, which was located all the way across the river and over on Eden Quay. We made it in time for the 8:05 bus and stuck our hands when the bus approached, only to have the bus driver shake her head, sign “no” with her hands, and drive right past us. Confusing much? Because there was terrible traffic, Derek and I were able to follow the bus to the next bus stop, several blocks away. We thought she was telling us to go to the next stop, but she told us that she wasn’t taking any passengers because she was driving to Swords to pick up passengers from the opposite direction.

Dear Ireland, please make your public transportation clearer. It makes no sense.

Luckily, the bus was running a bit behind, and we were able to catch a ride and make it to the school just in time.

Swords is a rather large city in Ireland that is north of Dublin. The school was located next to this HUGE grass field that was perhaps the most vividly green grass I’d ever seen. Rolling hills and houses were in the background, making the scenery picture-perfect. I wish I could’ve captured it in my camera.

To celebrate the school’s move to its permanent accommodation, the entire school came out and performed for the mayor, the Minister of Education, and many proud parents. The talented students sang and danced energetically, which certainly made me smile. The theme of the event was about “building your own future,” and it was evident that the school encouraged students to pursue their dreams and passions. Once again, the schools and students and teachers never cease to amaze me with their positivity and cheer.

One difference between my elementary school and Irish primary schools is that my elementary school had six classes per grade, while Irish schools (or at least the Educate Together schools) normally only have eight classes per SCHOOL (junior and senior infant, and then first through sixth class). At most, they’ll have two or three streams per class (two to three classes per grade), making large schools that consist of sixteen or twenty-four classes. Crazy, right? The class sizes are normally about 30 people, which is pretty large for a primary school. On the drive back to the Educate Together office, Deirdre also explained to us that schools in Ireland enrolled students on a “first come, first serve” basis. While the system sounds fair enough, she explained that there was many challenges behind it. The FCFS system sometimes separated siblings and often was unfair to foster and adopted children or children who recently moved in. This is because parents can enroll in a school years in advance; in fact, they can enroll their children in a school as soon as their child is born. Now, many ET schools still enroll on a FCFS basis, but they also have exceptions for special cases, such as those mentioned above.

After Derek and I got to the office and ate lunch with our super kind and interesting coworkers, we got to work. Our task this week is to go through these two summer online courses that Educate Together has put together. One is an introduction to ET and its Learning Together curriculum, while the other course is encouraging teachers to make a difference. Going through these courses for primary school teachers serves two purposes: to familiarize ourselves with ET and their mission and vision and to help them catch mistakes, fix broken links and videos, etc. It was a surprisingly tedious task, but I suppose it will help us before we start on our own projects next week. Luckily for us, we don’t face the same technological challenges that our friends face in their placements; many complain of using Internet Explorer and really old PCs and extremely slow internet and even a physical appointment book instead of a computer program to record meeting times. In fact, ET is completely Mac-based, which is proving to be a little to tech savvy and complicated for my technologically-self to figure out at times. Thank goodness I have Derek sitting next to me to help me out if needed!

Getting back to our apartment was a struggle as well. Derek and I actually just missed the bus because we left late after saying bye to Emer and everyone else at the office, so we ended up waiting at the bus stop for over half an hour before the next bus came. Total travel time was about a little more than an hour (not including the waiting time). After we got home, we immediately dropped our stuff off and headed out to the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology to partake in some World Refugee Day events. We walked in super late but were able to catch a panel with six refugees/asylum seekers from various countries (Iraq, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Somalia, etc.) who were being interviewed by this guy. What I loved about this panel was that they didn’t focus on the hardships they had gone through (which, of course, are important and heartbreaking); they instead focused on the positive impacts they had made after coming to Ireland. They delivered messages of positivity and hope, persistently thanking the community for helping them (which is a very different view from other people we had talked to who seemed bitter and angry about the blatant discrimination that still existed in Ireland). These six people were all incredibly inspiring and uplifting, and despite how exhausted we all were, we were so grateful that we went anyway.

Tomorrow is going to be another long day! First full day at the office now! Here’s to hoping that Derek and I figure out how to get there, seeing as we’ve never taken the 151 bus there before, only back. I can feel another adventure approaching!

Smiles,

Anna (: <3

P.S. Nutella gelato is perhaps the most delicious thing I’ve tasted. Without a doubt. Also, Gino’s Gelato makes me SO incredibly happy (I think this is our third trip there). It, surprisingly, has better gelato than the gelato I had in Italy last year! It’s literally happiness in a cup! http://www.ginosgelato.com/

Dancing, Cooking, and Capturing Beauty

Hellooo, everyone!

This is Day 6 of seeing the sun for no more than a couple of minutes, enduring cold temperatures and strong winds, and attempting to stay dry and avoid the rain (to no avail). It’s been a delightfully exciting weekend! Normally, we’ll work during the week from Monday to Friday, and on the weekends, we’ll take a trip to another part of Ireland. However, Bill and Suzanne didn’t plan many activities this weekend when gave us time to relax and wind down before we begin work tomorrow.

Friday night, Bill and Suzanne took us to a suburb of Dublin to learn Ceili dancing, a form of Irish folkdance. Although the steps weren’t taught too clearly, the eight of us had so much fun learning how to Ceili dance alongside people from Saudi Arabia, Spain, Italy, and other places all over the world. Many of the steps either took up two, three, or seven counts, which was interesting, but our group kept up really well!

On Saturday night, we had a group cooking lesson at the Cake Café (http://thecakecafe.ie/). We made our own cheese, onion, and bacon pastries and brown soda bread. We also learned how to make a butternut squash soup and these amazing brownies, but the best part was that we were able to eat all of the food and take some of our brown soda bread and recipes home! Aside from their delicious food, I also was impressed by how eco-friendly this café was. The cook explained that they used rainwater to flush the toilets and reused as many items as possible. They also frequently bought local, organic food products that were in season and made most of their own ingredients (such as vanilla extract, which is made by putting vanilla pods into vodka). Needless to say, our stomachs were incredibly happy (and full) last night.

Today, we took the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) to Dún Laoghaire, a suburban area along the coast of Ireland that contains several of Dublin’s favorite beaches. While we didn’t quite make it to the beach, we enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the Dún Laoghaire Harbor. The view was absolutely breathtaking. The water was a stunning dark blue-green, and the rocks lining the ocean were a captivating sight. As the rain faded and the sun came out for several brief moments, we took the opportunity to capture pictures. As beautiful as the pictures are, they literally don’t do the actual view itself any justice:

I honestly can’t believe that the first week is already over! While it seems like we’ve been living in Dublin for so much longer, orientation week passed by definitely more quickly than I expected. Just in this one week, we’ve grown closer, experienced culture shock, and learned so much about Ireland’s economy, history, and societal issues. Tomorrow is our first official day of work! I’m nervous about the challenges to come, but I’m also eager to learn and excited to grow.

Hope all of your summers have been filled with fun and relaxation thus far! Take care!

Smiles,

Anna