You can procrastinate just about anything…

Surprise, surprise! My procrastinating skills are through the roof because I didn’t know you could successfully procrastinate something as enjoyable as writing a blog, but I sure can. As was to be expected, I have fallen behind with this blog. I never understood why people who started blogs while they were abroad always stopped writing about halfway through. Well, all it took was for me to be abroad for five weeks and bingo, it happened to me too. In the hopes of resurrecting my blog from the dead, I’m going to go back in time 3 weeks and give you a brief overview of my weekend trip to Dublin and then hopefully London and Galway will follow shortly.

Lets just say in Dublin we felt like kings and queens. This had little to do with anything beside the fact that we stayed in a hotel (no, I didn’t forget the ho”s”tel) where we had a free, full breakfast every morning. We were living the life thanks to IFSA-Butler.

Saturday was our first full day exploring. IFSA-Butler again came through and provided us with Hop On Hop Off tickets to allow us to fully be the tourists that we are. This meant we had our transportation for the weekend figured out and all we had to do was explore. The highlights included:

Kilmainham Gaol – This was our first stop for the day and allowed us to learn about the history of the Republic of Ireland. Since we are studying in Northern Ireland, I was more familiar about their lack of independence than how Ireland gained their independence. On our short 45-minute tour, we learned about how this jail held and executed many of the individuals who led the fight for their independence.

Yard where the executions took place

Guinness Storehouse – This place is massive and you could spend all day in there. It was definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip. You make your way through the building, which is shaped like a giant pint glass. It starts with the four main ingredients, leads you through the different smells, learn how to properly taste it, and then go through a training and how to pour the perfect pint. Let’s just say if teaching doesn’t work out, I think I’ve found my alternative profession. You eventually end on the top floor, which provides you with a 360 view of Dublin with your complimentary pint in hand. Not bad for a Saturday afternoon.

I’m a natural!

Trinity College – We mistakenly left this one for around four o’clock. You might be asking, now why Mary is this a mistake? Oh yeah, because it gets dark at like 3:30 these days so although we were able to walk around and see the campus. It was hard to get the full effect. So to make up for it we made our way to get some dinner and the Christmas market.

Christmas markets are a huge thing in Europe and although I wasn’t overwhelmingly impressed with Dublin’s, I do love Christmas. The atmosphere of little shops, food stands, Christmas music, and the hustle and bustle of people is just perfect. I’ve heard nothing but good things about the Belfast market so it’s definitely on my list of places to explore before I leave.

Sunday was a little more laid back. We had the chance to walk around and look at the cathedrals, explore Temple Bar, and even pop our head into the Jameson Distillery. Elyse and I broke off from the little bit bigger group and did a little bit more of the hop on hop off tour, explored the grounds of Dublin Castle and even did a little bit of a walking tour.

Before we knew it another weekend was in the books. Overall, it was a great (“free”) trip. We got the chance to explore some of the Republic of Ireland, spend some time as a group, and even managed to learn a few things in the process.

Cheers,
Mary

I like giants…and not just because I am one!

This past weekend was one of my favorites yet in Belfast. On Saturday I cheated on Des Moines. Even though I very rarely buy anything other than a mouth-watering breakfast burrito, I love going to the DSM Farmer’s Market. I love the live music, cute little shops, and the overall atmosphere. Not to mention my breakfast burrito…I mean who wouldn’t like this.

 So when Elyse, Brooke, and I had the chance to head to City Centre and explore St. George’s Market I was skeptical. I mean this market wasn’t even outside and they probably wouldn’t have breakfast burritos. This indoor market (thank goodness considering it was pouring rain…per usual) was not even going to come close to comparing, but the Irish kept talking about it so we thought we would check it out. I was pleasantly surprised. It was a combination of a Farmer’s Market complete with fresh fruits, veggies, and fish and a Craft Fair. There was enjoyable live music, lots to look at, and even some decent food. My Panini was no breakfast burrito but it did most certainly hit the spot and there is a good chance I’ll be making my way back to St. George’s Market before I leave.

Sunday we had our entire day planned for us. Stranmillis arranged for all the international students to attend a day trip to the coast to see the Carrick-a—Rede Rope Bridge and Giant’s Causeway. The stop at the bridge was just a short stop. It was long enough for the mile walk to the bridge, to cross the bridge, take some pictures, and return to the bus. I, unlike others in the group, do not have a fear of heights or rope bridges so greatly enjoyed spending as much time as possible standing over the ocean on the bridge made of plans of wood on a rope. The views were absolutely breathtaking and the pictures do not do them justice.

Allow me to jump across this slightly unstable bridge!

After the rope bridge we made our way North to the Smuggler’s Inn for lunch before heading to our main destination point for the day…the Giant’s Causeway. The Giant’s Causeway is the name for the cliffs and coastal area along this far north area of Northern Ireland where an ancient volcanic eruption has led to about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns. However, according to the legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant, Finn McCool. The Irish giant was challenged by a Scottish giant to build a causeway between Ireland and Scotland so they could have an area to meet and potentially fight on. Take your pick whether you like the legend or geology more, but I think I’ll take the legend.

The two main things to do are to climb and explore the cliffs and beach or to hike around the cliffs. I chose to mainly spend my time climbing the rocks, having photo-shoots, and just taking in the incredible views around me. And for those of you who know anything about my coordination ability, you will be pleased to know that this did not happen…

…not even on the wet, slippery rocks…not once.

Shocking, I know. My favorite part of the day is when the other Mary and myself decided to climb up to one of the taller overlooks. We had 30 minutes to get to the bus and if we were going to go had then and we had to commit. We made the hike in about five minutes and when we got to the top, we were both speechless. There weren’t many other visitors up on top and were able to take it all in. We truly felt like we were on top of the world. The trip down was even easier thanks to the spongey, trampoline grass. There must be so much rain and constant moisture that the grass felt like you were walking on clouds. As soon as you made contact with the ground your foot was already springing up for your next step. I need to figure out how to make all ground like that, because if I were to have fallen it would have made the face plant much more enjoyable.

Marys run the world!

She was taller for once in her life!

What I initially thought sounded like a pretty boring day comprised of looking at rocks and hiking ended up being full of memories and one of my favorite things thus far. It definitely has me looking for ways to see more of the coast and the countryside in the next couple of weeks!

Cheers,
Mary

“Miss Stang, can we have some craic?”

In case you were wondering, I do actually go to school and do some teaching around here too. This is my second week of teaching lessons at school and let me just say, it is definitely different than my previous placement.

For starters, prior to teaching in Northern Ireland I never had a student come up to me and ask if we were going to have craic while I was teaching. My immediate response would have been something along the lines of…”uhm, excuse me?” However my response to this ever so innocent question was more similar to “as long as you listen and follow directions.” For those of you thinking what I think you’re thinking, no, I did not tell a student I was going to give them craic. I just told them that as long as they behaved that we were going to have fun. That’s right, in Irish lingo craic = fun.

So hopefully the 30 students in my P5 (3^rd grade) classroom are having some craic while I’m teaching. The curriculum is noticeably different and not being in the classroom five days a week has proven to be a challenge. However, I’ve managed to teach a few lessons about time, life cycles, and even worked with some reading groups. I’m trying to make the lessons as interactive as possible and use the limited resources I have wisely. It has been challenging to gauge the ability level of students but I adapt as I go and we make the best of every lesson! And the assessments are proving they are learning something, so we’re going to chalk it up to a success.

Other noticeable differences:

• All students wear a uniform.
• Christmas is not only celebrated at school, but pure mayhem ensues. It’s only November 11^th and the hype has already started. I have already purchased a lovely Christmas jumper (sweater) for the occasion.
• Even though it is a public school the students have Religion class, pray, and sing hymns in school.
• General education teachers teach ALL subjects. Dundonald Primary is exceptionally lucky to have a music specialist, but my mentor teacher teaches both PE and art.
• Instead of the curriculum being broken down by grade level, it is broken down into Key Stages, which are comprised of 3 or 4 grade levels. This makes it incredibly hard to know where the students left off and where to start teaching.
• Lesson plan expectations are different and are much more time consuming.
• I have to teach the 24 hour clock…uhm what?!? Add 12…I think?!?
• But most importantly, Fun Fridays still are taking on a whole new meaning. During my eight days in the classroom I have seen Aladdin, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, James and the Giant Peach, The Tortoise and the Hare, and The Lion and the Mouse.

Thankfully we still seem to have plenty of time to explore Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Ireland. We visited the Giants Causeway this past weekend and are headed to Dublin this coming weekend. This blogging is harder than I thought…especially with schoolwork for Drake, lesson planning, homework for Stranmillis, and trying to have some craic. 🙂  But stay tuned for blogs on both weekend adventures!

Cheers,
Mary

Working hard or hardly working?

We’ll Figure it Out When we Get There…

This past week was half term in the primary schools and reading week at Stranmillis so we had no excuse to not see more of Europe! Elyse and I, after taking forever to commit, decided to venture to Prague and Berlin. Two vastly different, yet incredible cities. With only transportation and hostel plans and minimal money in our possession (broke college students at their finest) we took the how hard can it really be to navigate two cities where they don’t speak English attitude and went for it. We boarded a bus from Belfast to Dublin on Saturday morning and then flew into Prague. Once in Prague, Elyse held the maps, I held the money, and we lived by the we’ll figure it out when we get there motto.

Prague was breathtaking. For those of you reading this who know my lovely roommate Taylor you will know that after returning from her semester abroad that she never stops talking about Prague. Confession time…after a while I just started tuning her out. I mean, how can a city be that great? Well let me just say this, Taylor, you were right. Everywhere we walked there was something to look at. The buildings were gorgeous, the scenery is impeccable, the history is fascinating, and the paninis were to die for. In the three days we spent there we managed to accomplish a walking and castle tour, while still having time to just walk around and explore. Some of the notable things we saw include the Astronomical Clock, Charles Bridge, Old and New Town Square, the Jewish Quarters, and Prague Castle. I’ll let the pictures do the talking, but there really are no words are pictures that can do this unbelievable city justice.

Astronomical Clock

And we ate paninis…lots of paninis!

Cathedral in Prague Castle

Bye…

John Lennon Wall – Perks of waking up at 5:45 am…being the only ones there!

I kept her around for her map reading skills!

After leaving Prague we boarded a bus that was going to take us to Berlin. This was about as far as we got in the planning process (unlike my typical type-A, itinerary self) so we were pleasantly surprised (okay, I thought Elyse was going to pass out) when we had hot chocolate and movies on the bus.

Once in Berlin we navigated some public transportation and the Subway took us directly to our hostel. Berlin could not have been more opposite than Prague. Having been primarily destroyed in WWII, they had to rebuild their entire city. This means that they were one of the first preplanned city and it has a much more modern feeling than Prague. There were times that apart from the German being spoke around us I felt like I could’ve been walking down the streets in Chicago. We again took a free walking tour to figure out our surroundings and maximize our time in the city. We walked by and learned about the Brandenburg Gate, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, site of Hitler’s former bunker, Berlin Wall, and Checkpoint Charlie. On our second day we also had time to go to the Holocaust Museum and Checkpoint Charlie Black Box before embarking on our long day of travel back to Belfast.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

What’s left of the Berlin Wall

Berliner Dome

Television Tower

Brandenburg Gate

I would say that despite our vague plans that the trip was a success. We saw a lot, did a lot, and most importantly didn’t kill each other! Although we were craving some serious social interaction with someone other than each other and were happy to have our other American friends return to Belfast.

Unfortunately play time is over and we actually start teaching this week. That means there are lesson plans to be written and a portfolio to be completed. So until next time please enjoy the song that is played everywhere in Belfast!

Cheers,

Mary

First Weekend in Belfast

This past weekend was our first full weekend in Belfast. It’s seriously crazy to think that we’ve now been here only a little over a week. It’s becoming more and more natural to walk everywhere we go (and I mean everywhere). I wish I could say this means I’m going to come home in better shape than I left, when in reality it just means I can eat more potatoes. I mean I am in Ireland…they don’t call it the potato famine for nothing.

Since we were feeling more comfortable and at home with Stranmillis and the surrounding area, on Saturday several of us decided to venture to the Titanic quarter. Our weekends are going to start disappearing quickly once we start doing more traveling so we wanted to go see what put Belfast on the map, the Titanic.

Yes, the thing that put Belfast on the map is a ship that crashed and killed hundreds of people. Fortunately the ship was only built here and the construction of the boat had nothing to do with it sinking. Instead it was the idiotic captain that ignored the warnings from other ships and ran into an iceberg. Having never seen Titanic (yes, I know..how dare I? Well, sorry I have the attention span of a goldfish and it’s a really, really long movie) I didn’t truly know how much I was going to get out of it or how interesting the museum was going to be.

I was actually pleasantly surprised. The museum was jam-packed with information. Every wall, movie, and display had more information than I could possibly commit to memory. I, as usual, started out very ambitious. It reminded me of the beginning of a new semester where I begin with doing all the reading, but as the semester progresses I begin to skim the readings before I start solely looking at the pictures. There were 9 galleries within the museum. It started with some background history on Belfast and their shipbuilding industry and progressed past the sinking of the ship to myths of the titanic, and where Belfast is today.

We spent over 2.5 hours making our way through the museum, ride and all, and after were ready to relax for a little bit. Fortunately we were the water where there were several different shops. We made our way to The Dock, a coffee shop that is run solely on donations. There are no prices on anything. You simply order what you’d like and make a donation in the honesty box. I seriously think I’m going to turn in to tea and scones at this rate considering we have a break at least once a day for such indulgences. In fact, Sunday we spent the majority of our day at a local cafe to catch up on our portfolio’s for Drake, blogging, and e-mails.

This week includes more time at Dundonald Primary school, preparations for half-term in Prague and Berlin, and a few campus events in between!

Stay tuned!

Cheers,
Mary

Titanic Museum shaped as the ship

Over the Shipyard

Friends at The Dock Cafe

First Day of School

Did you know that even if you’re from America you don’t know what’s common in America? I was told, well more like adamantly informed by an eight year old, that green garden snakes are everywhere in the U.S. and you see one on every corner. When I pleasantly responded that I try to avoid the slimy creatures at all costs and don’t frequently find myself running into them as I gallivant through fields Harry was not impressed. And I mean desk flipping not impressed.

Although this visual might be slightly extreme, he definitely shoved his desk and scoffed at me. I don’t know how I could be so stupid. But just like at home, eight year olds are all knowing.

Other than this slightly aggressive start to my day, the first day of school was fairly painless. I will be spending the next nine weeks at Dundonald Primary School. This primary school is located about ten miles east of Stranmillis University College, my home for my time abroad and the teaching school of Queen’s University. Dundonald has about 750 pupils and four sections of 30 students in almost all grade levels. I will be spending my time in a P5 classroom, the equivalent of third grade.

After my first day, I now have a brand new definition for “Fun Fridays.” Apart from taking their weekly tests in the morning, there was very little actual instruction that I observed. The morning started with an assembly and was immediately followed by P.E. (taught by none other than the classroom teacher – guess I better brush up on my P.E., art, and music abilities). I also continued to live up to my stupid American status when numerous kids asked me for help tying their uniform ties after P.E. and I was worthless to them (thanks for nothing dad).

They ended up being able to fend for themselves and got their ties on, just in time for break time. Yes, you read that correctly. Break time, as in a break from playing. At this point in the day the classroom assistant was responsible for the kids while the teachers all made their way downstairs to the staff room equal to the size of my entire apartment. Here teachers are able to have their tea/coffee and scones in peace and quiet while kicking back on the numerous couches that have foot rests and all. Coming from my placement where I didn’t even get to eat lunch in the staff room, I’m looking at you America to implement this new found peace and quiet. We eventually made our way back up to the classroom and actually did a few academics before lunchtime and recess out in the spitting rain that I’m quickly become accustomed to.

I assumed being my naïve self that the real learning was going to take place after lunch, right? Wrong. Friday afternoons are known as golden time in my classroom. This essentially means game time. Students had the choice between Legos, drawing, board games, dominos, or football cards. For not one, but two hours. On the plus side I got some drawings given to me to make my prison cell of a room a little more visually stimulating.

I’m slightly anxious to see what a non-Friday looks like in the school because my mentor teacher does seem to know what he’s doing. There’s classroom management plans in place, learning targets on the board, and lots of references for students around the room. So I think there is actual learning that takes place or at least there’s going to be once I’m in charge. But until then, I plan to avoid having any more desks thrown my direction, become slightly less of a stupid American, and hopefully in the mean time explore a little more of Belfast.

Cheers,

Mary

Settling In a Wee Bit

The past 48 hours have been quite a blur thanks to a combination of jet lag and the excitement of exploring a new city that I get to call home for the next 10 weeks. There is a group of twelve of us: three others from Drake and then nine from University of Virginia. We are slowly but surely getting to know each other. Commence Welcome Weekend round two. We are known as the “Special Americans” and travel in a pack. Not to mention that I’m back to asking your standard first-year questions: What’s your name? Where are you from? What’s your major? Well I’m 21…and still an awkward freshman…I mean first-year.

We all flew out of Newark around 9 pm on Saturday night and arrived with no issues in Belfast on Sunday morning at 9 am with the full day in front of us. After ditching the luggage in our new room/home we set out to explore Belfast’s City Centre (yes, I spelled it correctly) and buy some of the essentials. We made stops at PoundWorld (dollar store) for toiletries, Primark for “household” items, and Carphone Warehouse. I am now the proud owner of a brick phone where my only form of communication is T9 texting. Somehow I found everything I needed and didn’t pack, made it through lunch, shopping, and a coffee break, and navigated the bus back to my new humble abode.

Welcome Weekend round two continued today with meeting after meeting, getting lost in a building, and dining hall confusion. We met faculty and staff, received a campus tour, and met some of our student buddies. I ate breakfast and dinner in Chanz dining hall. It felt like Hubbell day one all over again. Everyone was starting at us and I had no idea where or what anything was, how to pay for my food, or how to clear my dishes. The food is, well…dining hall food. I also sat through, well dozed in and out of, my first Northern Ireland history and culture class.

Despite the jet lag and overwhelmed feeling, I couldn’t be happier. The weather has been beautiful (50s and sunny). The people have been nothing but welcoming, nice, and incredibly helpful. And the accents don’t hurt either. Slowly but surely starting to learn the vocab — hence the use of wee in this title — and settling into a routine. And who knows, maybe the longer I’m here the less of an awkward freshman I’ll become. But then again…who am I kidding?!?

Cheers,
Mary

Home sweet Home – Dunseverick Hall

T-Minus 24 Hours

It’s somewhat surreal to sit here writing this first post knowing that in less than 24 hours I will be in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It seems like just yesterday I was anxious and getting ready for my first day of student teaching at Crossroads Park in West Des Moines. Now I’m all packed (one suitcase – under fifty pounds) and ready to fly across the pond and enter into an entirely new adventure.

People keep asking me questions about my upcoming experience. The reality behind it is I know very little. I don’t know what grade I’ll be teaching. I don’t know what my schedule is going to look like. I don’t know much about Belfast. And I don’t even know what this trip entails outside of student teaching. However, what I do know is that every step of the way is going to be a learning experience. I’m going to learn about an incredible city and country. I’m going to learn ways to become a better, more effective teacher. And most importantly I’m going to learn about myself as a person.

I am truly looking forward to going with the flow and making the most of this life-changing experience. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to pursue this opportunity and for helping me make my dream of teaching abroad a reality. I am truly blessed to have so many people supporting me at home and at Drake.

Stay tuned for what I’m sure to be are some funny stories and crazy adventures!