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

Rain, rain, rain...

Helloooooo, loves!

As predicted from yesterday’s exhausting scavenger hunt, I woke up completely sore from my waist down. And yet I still pushed myself to go running this morning. That was a terrible idea. I was rendered essentially immobile for the rest of the day, awkwardly hobbling around and mentally panicking whenever I had to go up or down a set of stairs.

Anyway, Derek and I visited the Educate Together office today and were able to meet all of our wonderful coworkers. A student who worked at ET last year certainly wasn’t lying when she described that the office was located “at the end of the face of the earth” (aka in suburban Dublin 12.We currently live in Dublin 2) The distance wasn’t too noticeable on the way there because Bill took a cab with us, but the journey back was quite the adventure. Let’s do some basic math: 10-15 minutes to walk from the ET office to the bus stop. Insert time spent waiting at the bus stop here; it felt like forever. 30-40 minute ride (maybe? I’ll watch the time the next time I get off) on the 151 bus from the Park West stop to a stop near St. Patrick’s Cathedral. 15-20 minute walk back to the apartment. Total trip time: Approximately 55-75 minutes, not including the agonizingly long time spent waiting at the bus stop. Oh, and then add in cold, non-summery temperatures in the low 50s, strong winds, and cold, pouring rain that was angled directly toward us, causing our pants to cling to our legs and our skin to freeze. ‘Twas a lovely walk.

But regardless of the distance, I was grateful that Derek and I were able to visit the office today and get a feel for the work environment and meet our coworkers. Everyone was hilarious and friendly, so we’re definitely looking forward to eating lunch with our coworkers every day and getting to know them better. Also, just like Esker ETNS which we visited yesterday, the office was a positive, supportive environment. Sarah (the lovely woman who picked up Derek and me yesterday) and Seonaid (the administration team leader) also explained to us that they wanted to give us the opportunity to work both as a team with the rest of the office as well as work on our own project together. They explained to us that we were always, always allowed to say “no” to a team task if we felt like we couldn’t handle it at the time. I was surprised by how much they trusted us to prioritize our own schedules and how highly they genuinely valued our opinions. We were treated as equals, as actual coworkers of the organizations, rather than inferior interns. Sarah, Seonaid, and Emer (our line supervisor) all explained that everyone in the office, not just the three of them, was dedicated to ensuring that Derek and I would have a positive experience and that we would grow and develop and take away much from our experience. I’m honestly so blessed to be working in such an encouraging office, and I simply cannot wait to start work on Monday!

After our long, treacherous journey home, I prepared for our next photo scavenger hunt. We were required to take five pictures of concepts that are found in Dublin but not in Durham. However, because Bill and Anthony were running super late, we ended up moving the photo scavenger hunt to tomorrow (to the relief of all of our sore legs). Instead, we went to a gastropub (a pub that sells nice food as well) tonight that was located in Temple Bar, a well-known area of Dublin that borders the Liffey River and has tons of pubs. The particular gastropub we went to was famous around the world for the hundreds of varieties of alcoholic beverages that they sold (I wish I could remember the name! I’ll edit the post when I find out.) Despite the cold and the rain, we ventured to this area because we wanted to watch the Eurocup game tonight between Ireland and Spain. Unfortunately (and sadly predictably), Ireland was crushed by Spain, 0-4. I’m pretty sure Ireland barely touched the ball for most of the game. The heavy rains, cold, and wind didn’t help our already somewhat disappointed moods as we trudged home. True story: I haven’t seen the sun for three days straight. I miss warmth and sunshine, but at least I have my friends’ crazy stories, arbitrary comments, and laughter to keep my days bright. (:

Hope everyone has been well! Happy Friday!

Smiles,

Anna :)

"What a Wonderful World"

Hi everyone!

Yesterday, I got my first taste of Irish weather. It’s been pretty chilly and cloudy, and rain has been spontaneously falling throughout the day. It’s incredibly unpredictable- sometimes it’s a misty drizzle, but other times, it is pouring so hard that you can barely see. I wish I could say that it’ll all be over by tomorrow, but, unfortunately, the weather forecast says that there’s a 70% chance it will rain every day until next Thursday. One thing is for sure: I miss my hot Georgia summers.

I also ventured into Northern Dublin for the first time yesterday. We were doing a photo scavenger hunt in which we had to find five things that you would find in Dublin but not in Durham. Each group was assigned to a different location, and Anthony and I got to stroll down Capel Street (which is located in Northern Dublin) and along the Liffey River. Finally exploring Northern Dublin for the first time, I can honestly say that I didn’t find many differences between the North and the South. The buildings were a little more worn, and the people did look a bit grungier and rougher, but the differences were extremely subtle. I also noticed that there was significantly more diversity (more immigrants and foreigners) in the North.

While yesterday was fun, today was an extremely eye-opening day. As I previously mentioned, Derek and I will be working at an organization called Educate Together. Essentially, 95% of Ireland is Roman Catholic. Unlike the United States, there is no separation of church and state in Ireland, and depending on what religion/denomination the patron establishes the school to be, a half hour class is taught, focusing on that particular doctrine. On the other hand, Educate Together schools are:

·         Multidenominational

·         Co-educational

·         Child-centered

·         Democratically-run

Educate Together defines multidenominational as denominations of all faiths. They are committed to ensuring that all children have equal rights of access to the school, and children of all social, cultural, and religious backgrounds are equally respected. For example, instead of teaching a half hour religion class, they teach a half hour ethics class instead. They teach religion in an effort to educate and expose students to the many beliefs found around the world, but they do so without establishing any one doctrine as the “correct” doctrine. 

Derek and I received the opportunity to visit an Educate Together school called Esker Educate Together National School (ETNS). Sarah, the volunteer services officer, explained on the drive there that today was a special day because an Australian ambassador was coming to visit the school. Esker ETNS is located in a pretty empty suburban neighborhood and a temporary building (since the school was opened as an emergency school in 2007 to give the large influx of immigrant children the opportunity for education). Upon entering the school, I immediately smiled. Despite their temporary accommodation, the school certainly looked like home with brightly colored pieces of student artwork and student projects lining all the walls. Sarah introduced me to Paul, the CEO of Educate Together, and Messina, the fundraising chair of Educate Together. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming; I honestly can’t wait to start working with these cheery, warm people!

The first thing that I noticed was that the school was extremely diverse, compared to the rest of Ireland (when walking through the Dublin airport, I saw headshots of several hundred Irish people that were part of an exhibit called “Faces of Ireland.” Almost all of them were white.). In fact, the fifth class I entered had only one Irish student out of the twenty-ish students that were in the class. The other children were from various areas of the world: Pakistan, Poland, India, etc. Sarah explained that because Dublin has several large companies in the area, such as Intel and Google, diversity has increased significantly in the last ten years. Sadly, much racism still exists in Ireland, but Educate Together schools have been working to combat discrimination by working towards equality and respect for all and giving children the opportunity to learn about other cultures.

While we were waiting for the other Educate Together members to finish discussing some matters, Derek, Sarah, and I entered the fifth class (fifth grade) classroom and got to interact with the kids and answer their questions! The children were extremely inquisitive and bright. They were eager to ask us questions about life in America. Favorite question of the day, “If you open your door, are there any dangerous animals that will come inside and kill you?” Apparently, this student Adam previous did a project on dangerous animals. I think he was disappointed when I explained to him that my neighborhood really only had deer and bunny rabbits and squirrels.

Afterward, we moved to a different room with third class and sixth class students. They were putting on a presentation for the ambassador and invited us to watch. The performances were absolutely lovely. An adorable rendition (complete with singing and dancing!) of Oliver Twist’s “Consider Yourself” opened the presentation by encouraging the ambassador to settle down, get comfortable and “consider [himself] one of us.” The third class proceeded to demonstrate how the school was multidenominational by putting on a “marriage ceremony.” They explained how weddings differed in various religions. It was literally the most adorable thing I’d ever seen, and it was beautiful to hear the teachers and students talk about how interesting they thought the different religions were and how much respect they had for them. Later, they raised the “Green Flag,” which is a flag that demonstrates that their school is committed to recycling and “living green.” Afterward, they sang their school’s theme song, which was Louie Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.”

Visiting the Esker ETNS put such a large smile on my face and brought me so much joy. I definitely realized how genuinely thankful and grateful I was to have respect and equality and diversity come so naturally at the schools I previously attended. The children were wonderful, and the teachers were all so cheerful and encouraging. It was a positive, supportive learning environment that truly celebrated every student’s individual identity and culture. I was so blessed to have received the opportunity to visit such an amazing school.

Later, because Derek and I didn’t have lunch plans, Paul took us to the Leinster House, which is where the Parliament of Ireland is housed. He was speaking at a panel in which various parents and supporters explained the growing demand for an Educate Together school in the area of Portobello. Even though there are currently 60 Educate Together schools, they only comprise 3% of the total schools in Ireland. The Educate Together staff has recently been interested in surveying areas that display a heavy interest in ET schools and possibly transforming the Catholic/religious schools in the area into ET schools. However, there is one major problem: even though the government funds 95% of the schools’ budgets, the schools are privately owned by the churches and religious institutions, the patrons. Thus, in order for a school to be turned into an ET school, the ET staff must negotiate and receive authorization from the patrons themselves (and most are unwilling to do so). It was an incredible opportunity that allowed Derek and me to meet various members of the Irish government (including this one really awesome senator who we later had tea with!) and begin to really understand the political issues and challenges behind opening ET schools.

Afterward, we were split up into pairs and sent on a scavenger hunt all around Dublin (literally ALL around both Northern and Southern Dublin). I’ll attach pictures once I receive them from him of all the places we visited, but one thing was for sure: we were exhausted at the end. 4.5 hours of jogging/crying/being-frustrated/falling/dragging-myself-across-the-Irish-cobblestone was probably too much for me. But the scavenger hunt allowed us to see so many notable and historic and beautiful places in Dublin and meet the super friendly, chatty local folk. They were always more than happy to answer our questions and point us in the right direction.

Tomorrow, Derek and I are officially visiting the Educate Together office (which apparently is located at the end of the face of the earth) and meeting all of our coworkers. I’m literally bouncing up and down with excitement, despite my inability to move my super sore, tired legs. I’ll definitely let y’all know all about it tomorrow! Take care!

Smiles,

Anna (: <3

Orientation- Day 1

Hi wonderful people!

So my internet was being pretty wonky the past couple of nights, so I’m starting to finally upload these posts.

Today was the first day of orientation, which essentially runs from 10 AM-1PM for the rest of the week. We met Bill and Suzanne in a conference room in a nearby hotel where they gave us a calendar for the rest for the trip. We began discussing our personal goals, and Bill talked about the different dimensions that he wanted us to interact with during our time in Dublin. He wanted us to not only interact with the community and each other and our placements but also be mindful. Rather than going through the motions and doing the bare minimum of what was required of us at work, he wanted us to really be mindful and keep the bigger picture in mind. This was more than going “above and beyond” with our projects; it involved us thinking about the goals of our placements and why we were doing what we were doing. We had to think critically about purpose and the impact we were making on the bigger picture.   

We also discussed how we were sometimes put down by other people in other programs because we weren’t going to a third-world country or living in impoverish conditions. While I think that these other programs are equally important and powerful and impacting, it was really interesting to hear other people’s perspectives. We found that people were much more likely to slip into the “working for/serving/helping” mindset that DukeEngage Academy wanted us to avoid when they were in those environments, rather than “working with.” We also found that it was more difficult for us to explain ourselves because other people had pictures and schools and tangible results to, I suppose, “prove their effectiveness,” but our goals were much more abstract. We were contributing to our organizations’ causes and making an impact in different ways, aside from bring clean water to impoverished villages and building schools. I commend others for their service, but I wanted them to understand that we were making an impact as well, and that meaningful “service” can occur in other non-third-world countries.

Aside from that, we talked about our personal goals and listened to a lecture about the Rise and Fall of the Celtic Tiger (aka the rise and fall of the Irish economic system). As an economics major, this lecture definitely piqued my interest. I was able to draw parallels between the Irish economic decline and the US’s decline as well. Dr. Vincent Hogan also briefly mentioned the Spanish economic crisis, which I got really excited about because I had learned about it previously in Spanish 105 this year (gracias Profesora Romero :) ).

The rest of the day was completely free. We grabbed lunch at a gastropub, walked to St. Patrick’s Cathedral (which is beautiful… but “it’s no Duke Chapel,” as Mischa commented), and ended up relaxing in the park beside it. 

St. Patrick's Cathedral

I noticed that Irish couples are extremely affectionate and are comfortable with PDA-ing in public, perhaps moreso than American couples. But perhaps that’s because we keep on walking through (romantic?) parks and seeing them there. Later that night, Kiran and Sahil made Indian food for us (so delicious!), and we grabbed gelato on Grafton Street together. Overall, it was a super relaxing day. Derek and I are apparently visiting one of the Educate Together schools on Wednesday and meeting our coworkers on Thursday before we officially start work next Monday. I can’t wait to start working at Educate Together! The more I read about it, the more excited I get.

Pictures hopefully to come soon!

Smiles,

Anna

Jails and Soccer Games

Hey everyone!

Today, we visited Kilmainham Gaol (Jail). Suzanne apparently is fascinated with jails because she thinks they say a lot about the society and history of an area. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and was literally spewing fact after fact after fact. It was difficult to take all the information in, especially in our still-jetlagged states. But it definitely gave us insight into the former tension between Ireland and Britain, especially since many rebels and important leaders who fought for Irish independence were held in the cells. The jail was initially founded on the idea that “silence, separation, and supervision” would change the prisoners, but the model failed time and time again because the jails became cramped and filthy after the Irish potato famine hit. People would intentionally commit petty crimes to land in jail, where they were fed three meals a day and had shelter (somewhat) from the cold. This is only a slice of their tumultuous history, but it definitely was a fascinating piece of their story. (If you want to hear more about it, message me, and I’d be more than happy to talk about everything I learned!)

Kilmainham Gaol

One of the original cells

Afterward, Bill and Suzanne dropped us off at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Hilariously enough, the IMMA was actually closed for construction, so we attempted to navigate our way back to the hotel on the bus without Bill and Suzanne’s help. We were successful. (But the bus systems are EXTREMELY confusing here. I miss how clear New York’s public transportation was).

Irish Museum of Modern Art

Later, we went grocery shopping and cooked pasta and salad for dinner tonight. We figured that cooking occasionally would be cheaper than eating out EVERY night, so here’s to hoping that I learn how to cook decently and don’t give anyone food poisoning :) Afterward, we dressed up in all the green, white, and orange we owned went to a local pub (which you can get into if you're over 18) to watch the Eurocup game between Ireland and Croatia, just as our taxi driver had suggested.. I never thought of Ireland as a huge soccer country, but the once busy streets were practically empty during the game. Although Ireland, sadly, lost, but it was interesting to watch the locals get fired up over the game. Once again, I noticed that it was surprisingly easy to talk to the locals. Another thing that I noticed is that it gets dark really, really late (especially since we’re so far up North). It didn’t turn super dark until about 11 PM, so my mind was tricked into believing that it was much earlier than it actually was.

Tomorrow, we begin orientation. I know I haven’t had very many insightful posts yet, but hopefully once orientation starts or once I start working in my placement, I’ll have more interesting things to say. :]

Smiles,

Anna

Jetlagged Loopiness

Hi, loves!

I’ve safely landed in Ireland! Yay! After 7 sleepless, exhausting hours on the plane, my energy significantly increased as I spotted Ireland below me. Because Dublin is on the East coast of Ireland, I got to see a large portion of Ireland’s beautiful landscape by flying over. The Emerald Island was, without a doubt, as green as, if not greener, than I had imagined. The clouds were also so thick that the horizon between the ocean and the sky completely disappeared. It was a breathtaking sight. Half an hour later, I’d landed and finally took my first breath of fresh (and cold) Irish air.

So much green everywhere!

I waited for Anthony to land, so we could share a cab back to the apartment together. Our cab driver was boisterous with a loud, hearty laugh. His accent was extremely thick, so it initially was difficult to understand what he was saying, but he happily pointed out various sights and “places where gangs hang out” (aka places to avoid). He pointed out the Liffey River, which divides North and South Dublin. Bill and Suzanne explained to us that the North side was rougher compared to the posh South side, but driving by, the economic disparities weren’t noticeable. But perhaps that was because I was trying to not have an anxiety attack by watching the driver zoom down on the left side (just like the British drive) of the complicated streets, which were filled with too many roundabouts and signs that made absolutely no sense. Thankfully, we made it to the apartment safely.

Upon arriving to the apartment, the person sitting at the front desk informed us that our rooms weren’t ready and that the other members of our group who’d arrived earlier may have gone to Beweley’s Café on Grafton Street. In order to get to Grafton Street, we had to walk through St. Stephen’s Green, a beautiful park. We unfortunately didn’t find them (because they had gone to a different café) and it was SUPER cold outside, so we headed back into the lobby to wait for everyone else to return.

The rest of the day passed in a super jetlagged, exhausted blur. We got bus passes and phones and had dinner together before heading back home. Despite my super loopy state, I did try to remain engaged and observant and noticed some characteristics of Dublin:

·         Grafton Street is brimming with talent and entertainment. While walking down the cramped shopping district, you can find musicians, balloon artists, spray-paint artists, human statues, people dressed up as leprechauns, etc. all performing for people’s change. I have yet to find any street dancers though…

·         Irish people are extremely talkative. Even if you aren’t asking for a conversation, Irish locals will come up to you and start talking to you. Maybe it’s because it’s evident that I’m not from Dublin. But they’re always more than happy to present fun facts about their country and point out their favorite places.

·         Green, white, and orange can be found EVERYWHERE. I don’t know if it’s just because the Ireland vs. Croatia Eurocup soccer game is coming up soon, but everywhere I turn, I see Irish flags. They seem to have tons of national pride, even more than Americans do.

I’m exhausted, but hopefully the next several days will be better and less scattered as I slowly overcome jetlag.

Smiles,

Anna