What you Give is what you Receive

This blog is about the send offs I've received in the last couple weeks from various places

Dunbrody
Last Tuesday was my final day at the Dunbrody, and I was almost done for the day when Aunt Carol, Lily, and Jane (my next door neighbor) walked in for a tour. I was so excited to give them the tour because I was going to to do most of it by myself, with some help from my superior Jason of course. When finished the tour, we went upstairs to have our tea (dinner). I enjoyed my favorite meal from the cafe; California spring roll, and brown soda bread, which is the best soda bread ever. As Lily and I were enjoying a piece of celebratory chocolate cake, Sean Connick, the Dunbrody manager came over and said that he was very pleased with my work and has a small presentation down stairs. So, when we did come down the stairs, Jason, Frank and Peter, the three people who were at the Dunbrody the most while I worked there were standing around and one by one said what they appreciated about my work. I was so shocked that they all had very different and nice things to say. All I could say was “thank you” over and over again. And then they all professionally shook my hand, and Sean Connick offered me a selection from the jewelry stands. I looked them all over and found a celtic cross necklace that I asked Peter about, “It used to have Bible verses and kind of acted like a tour guide,” before he finished I made up my mind and asked for the cross. I couldn’t have asked for a more interesting and fun place to spend my work experience.

Camogie

My camogie team held what I thought to be a mandatory meeting, but was something more. When I arrived all of the girls on my team were standing around in the club house, and the coaches were all talking. I was having a chat with my friend Laura who was in the other transition year class, when her mom, Yvonne came over with an H&M bag and said, “Well we all know that Aoife is leaving us and we’d like to just give her a little goodbye gift.” She handed me a blue sweatshirt out of the bag as well as a bright green envelope, and I hugged her with a “thank you.” When I opened up the sweatshirt, it had the team’s colors, but on the back it had my name embroidered! It was so unique and I know that I’ll be wearing it nonstop. Then we were all ushered to some seats where I sat in the middle holding my new jumper up and the team and coaches surrounding me. A man came over with a professional camera and snapped our picture for the local paper, then more and more people wanted the picture on their phones. After, we all stood around talking, but then I noticed Aunt Carol writing something down, and when I came over to thank the coaches, she said that she had written a bit about my experience. I just thought that it would be in the sports section, but no, there was going to be an article about my experience! It was truly very thoughtful and I appreciated it so much that I was going to be able to share my trip.

School

At school, we had an open night where parents could come and view our projects and we would also receive certificates for everything we’ve participated, in as well as a certificate from our classmates. In the day, we had to set up each class’s table and stay after school as well. We also had to turn in a page about our greatest achievement of the year. During one class, Ms. Pilkinton was checking each of our certificates to make sure she had everyone for every project they did. It took along time, and I was one of the last people so I actually began to fall asleep, as I was sitting in the back and covered by people standing. When Ms. P called my name, I shot up and stood as fast as I could, a little shaken. She didn’t have to go through many activities as I had missed half the year. However, when she finished, she started saying that she didn’t receive as many “My Greatest Achievements” as she had hoped, but received one that really stood out and really summed up Transition Year, and she was wondering if I could read mine out. It took me a minute to put two and two together, but I then realized that my paper was the one she was referring too. I took my page from Ms. P which was laminated now which meant more than I expected it to. I started slow because I really didn’t want to mess up, even though I knew I was already red in the face. My paper, titled “Trying New Things” left a couple people in tears and everyone was clapping when I finished. I really didn’t mean to have that type of reaction, or for my paper to be inspirational or anything but I guess when I wrote about my experience, it was shocking to people how much it changed me and affected me. Then Ms. P asked me if I would like to read my paper at the end of the night. I agreed, but I was a little nervous because I didn’t really want my paper to sound like a pity party for myself to some people, but I was also reluctant to be more apart of the night. 

After school, my friend Niamh and I finished setting up tables. Then for dinner we ordered take out and while others ordered Chinese, we ordered pizza, because no offense to Ireland, but the Chinese food sucks. So when our food arrived, we met the other girls in the class room, and while we started to eat, my friend Aoife (yes I know), began pulling our crisps, soda, and jellies. Then my other friend Cloe plugged her iPhone into the speakers. I didn’t think twice about all of this, I just thought we were going to celebrate the end of the year, but then Aoife turns to me and says, “Aoife, this is your going away party.” I honestly was so happy I just jumped up and hugged her, she then told me that it was from the whole class, soI turned around and said “Thank you, thank you!” I was just really touched that people I had just met 5 months ago were now my friends and felt the need to give me a good send off. Cloe then turned on some “disco music” and we all danced for a good hour, and we jumped up and down so much that the floor boards actually started to bounce! 

We accidentally lost track of time that when it was just 30 min to the open night, we were still having a party and when Ms. P told us it was time to get going. We all began running around, throwing our jumpers back on, fixing our hair, scurrying up and down the stairs and hallways carrying projects around and chairs to bring them to the hall for presentations. The open night started with our skits from YSI, and a slideshow, and the a break to look at our projects with our families. Lily and Aunt Carol were really impressed with all of our hard work, as was I when I saw all the amazing things people in my class accomplished before I came. Some people also found humor when they read my ‘Irish Slang Dictionary’ which was basically a guide to understanding people from Ireland, once you get past the accent. After the break, the certificate ceremony started. Before the student went up for her certs, Ms. P talked al little bit about the girl, and we all clapped and cheered for everyone that went up. It was really thoughtful how everyone had a different introduction from Ms. P, showing she really paid attention to the girls, and funny how everyone had a different cheer, some people even had a chant. Before I went up, Ms. P said that they’ve had a lot of international exchange students but I’ve fit in the best, something I was very proud to hear. Then when she said my name, she couldn’t pronounce my last name, and everyone said it really loudly all together which made me laugh because it’s the exact opposite in Orinda, everyone can’t pronounce “Aoife.” I stood up and walked up stage and I could cheering and clapping which was really nice to hear but when I turned around, my whole class was on their feet clapping for me. They didn’t do that to anyone else, just me. I have never received a standing ovation, that’s something you see when someone has performed in a play as a character or when someone practiced a music piece over and over. But a standing ovation for just being you? I don’t think I’ll ever get that kind of support again. I had to turn around because I knew that if I looked at them I would just burst in tears. Ms. P said that she was impressed by how well I had fit in and that I was a very strong student as well. She then announced that my class gave me a “Certificate of Irish Slang.” My certificate book was much thinner than everyone else’s, but I didn’t mind, also my last name was spelled wrong, which was kind of funny and I didn’t say anything because it was just like when Ms. P couldn’t pronounce it. As I was going down the stairs again, I just had to say “This school is so nice to me!” When I sat back down, I hugged Aoife and just looked around saying “Thank you” to everyone I made eye contact with. After the certificate ceremony was over, the whole teaching staff gave two people an award for the best student all around, which was given to an Aoife in the other class and Aoife (not me) in our class, which was really well deserved because Aoife also got the “Mammy of the Class” certificate earlier which she really is, very caring and makes sure there is peace, and she also is a very good student. Then, Ms. P finally asked me to come up to read my paper saying that it really summed up Transition Year. I was really shaking now but I got up anyways and read my paper very carefully;

“My Greatest Achievement: Trying New Things

In the short time that I have been in Transition Year, I have learned to always try new things. At the start the year I was a little hesitant to come to Ireland and wasn’t sure if I had made the right choice to leave the comfort of my own home, town, my friends, my family, my school, basically everything that I was familiar with. Not only would I have to leave everything behind, I would also have to try and make new friends, go to a new school, and get accustomed to a whole new life. I was very scared and worried but I told myself that I just have to keep moving forward, don’t stop to think, because if I did, I would think of a million reasons why not to go on this great opportunity. And I’m glad I didn’t think about it, because now that I have been on this new journey, I know that I have such a broader life experience than I had when I left. Also, I would have never have known if I would’ve liked my trip so much if I never went. So, now, with every new thing, I just think, “If you don’t try it, you’ll never know.” And because of that saying, I have tried new foods, expanding my palate to a variety of delicious recipes; I’ve tried camogie, a sport that I just found out about last year and now really enjoy it and it has gotten me interested in a different kind of sport; I’ve tried working as a tour guide for the Dunbrody Famine Ship which has shown me that I know more than I think I know and that I just have to be confident in what I do in order to achieve greatness; I’ve tried to speak Irish, a language that confuses me but once I started piecing small phrases and words together I am now able to comprehend some of a normal conversation in Irish. I believe that my greatest achievement this year was learning to try new things without hesitation, and I will carry this view with me so that I will never fear the unknown, because if you don’t try, you might be missing out on an opportunity of a lifetime.”

I finished with thanking the teachers, but especially the girls who included me right away as if I had known them for years. At first, silence, then everyone stood up once again, clapping and cheering. Then, Michaela, Ellen, Niamh, and Aoife all came up on stage and handed me a little gift wrapped box, and an envelope that was really thick. Now, I had tears. I just hugged all four of them and thanked the rest of the class because the whole of them had given it to me. I came down the stairs, wiping my tears and hanging on to Aoife who was also tearing up. I hadn’t even opened up the gift, just the fact that they had given me one made me cry. The card seemed normal at first with some animals on the front saying “You’re leaving?!” but when I opened it up, it folded about 4 times and everyone had written a little blurb to me, each one being very thoughtful and personal. The small box had a necklace with a little celtic knot on it inside. It was so perfect it was unreal because they remembered that I don’t like really big, flashy jewelry and it was also a knot that showed how tight we all were. 

On Friday, our last day, Ms.P came in with two cakes that was bought by the staff, for which I thought was for the whole class. But then I realied that Ms.P was staring right at me and that the cakes in fact for my going away. I was a little surprised but very thankful that I had also made a connection with the teachers. Our class spent the rest of the day eating the leftover jellies and cake and watching movies, as well as remembering all the fun times we had, a really nice way to end the year.

I have to say, it’s really pleasing to see that I have made such an impact in the places that I’ve been apart of. I am really proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and to receive this kind of feedback was just so overwhelming and showed me that whatever you give, you’re really going to get back. 

Dublin and more

So this past weekend I went to Dublin to visit my friend Naimh and her family. Naimh stayed with my family for a week in April doing work experience with my mom and other police departments. On Friday I traveled on a two hour journey to Dublin with Aunt Carol's friend Dara, desperately trying to finish the last book to the Divergent series as Naimh was the one who convinced me to read. I was unsuccessful and only made it about 150 pages when I met Naimh and her mom, Paula, however Naimh saw it in my hands and smiled but then she said I better brace myself because the last book is tragic (I finished it last night, thank God Naimh told me that or else I would've been more upset than I  already was). When we arrived to the house, Naimh took me upstairs to her room, which was very cool because her room was an attic room and had drawers and shelves and a dresser that perfectly fit the slanted roof. Her room was filled with books which I was so amazed at, because I think I probably only have about 5 books total. Then Naimh and I started talking about each other's schools, as she had visited mine on her trip. She said it was kind of weird seeing everyone in their normal clothes at a school, and also mentioning that it was very cliquey, which we both assume is because of the whole no uniform thing. During that conversation, Naimh started putting on make up for a fashion show her class was doing. I was very excited to see it and at 5:30, I was able to go to her school to help set up. As soon as we got there Naimh, being the coordinator of such an important event, was greeted with problems and questions she needed to tend to. So I stuck with her friend Aislin who was very sweet and interested in my trip. Up until 7:30 when the show started, I walked around and saw all the fantastic work her class put into the show. This fashion show was no ordinary one, it was a junk couture fashion show which means that all the dresses that the girls made were made from ordinary house objects. It was incredible. The girl that modeled the dresses had a whole choreographed routine and had so much poise. One girl had a mermaid dress completely made out of the negatives from a camera. another had a dress mad from maps that stuck out on either side but swooped down by her knees, another had a romper made out of subway wrappers complete with a big headdress. Naimh and Aislin made their dress out of teddy bears; with a top made from the bear's body, a skirt from the legs, and a coat from the bodies again, and the collar as the heads wrapping around the front. It was all very very cool to see. We finished the night by watching Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging, which our favourite line from it was when the really cute boyfriend says to the main girl, Georgia, after they've made up after a fight. He says sweetly, "I wrote a song about you." And she turns all smiles to him and giggles with glee. He looks deeply into her eyes and says softly, "It's called Bitch in a Uniform." Georgia's face instantly just drops, and then he says, "But I still really like you!" It was referred to a lot throughout the weekend.

On Saturday, we went to a very cool, homey restaurant for breakfast. None of the plates nor the cups matched each other and everything was organic and homemade, to top it all off, it was cleverly called Ur"bun". I had a delicious scone and a big bowl of yoghurt and berries, which I couldn't finish at all! After that, Naimh and I were dropped of at Dundrum which is a huge shopping centre, and it has all the stores that the rest of Ireland doesn't. We walked around and went into different stores and tried to find the most ridiculous things for sale. Naimh took me to Hollister, which I've never been in, and she was very surprised to find that a Californian had never been to Abrocrombie either. Then we went to H&M where I bought two dresses and Naimh bought a shirt for just 4 euro. To end our shopping experience, we went to Build a Bear and made matching bears, hers was white and mine is light brown, Naimh found a cute bunny hat for hers and I found a bow tie shirt and also some glasses because both Naimh and I suck at seeing so its only fair if my bear does too. When we were making our bears' birth certificates, we awkwardly had to admit that we were above the age of 13 and buying it for ourselves (but who cares!) and I named mine Dubby, after Dublin and she named hers Cali, for California. After that, Naimh took me to her favourite restaurant, Nandos. Nandos is a chicken restaurant where you can choose what type of cut you would like, how much, what spice, how spicy and your side. I got the Lemon and Herb, which Naimh laughed at when I ordered because I didn't pronounce the "h" in herb.The chicken was so delicious and I guess I realize now why she likes it so much! While we waited for Paula, Naimh and I mosied around a really big toy store, entertaining ourselves for about half an hour with toys for small children. When we got into the car, Aislin was there ready for the movies. We were heading to see Divergent, finally! The movie theater was quite small, the screen was average size, but there were only 5 rows of seats, and they weren't even filled up, only about 15 people were there, including a group of boys who sat in front of us, and one of them was a little gassy. We heard it like 3 times, loud and clear, and Naimh, Aislin and I could not stop laughing, because each time he was very proud of himself and went for a high five or fist bump from the others. The movie was fantastic but of course, having read the books first we were annoyed the director left out certain parts. Later, Naimh's friend Chloe arrived for a sleep over. We watched the Eurovision finale, which is a big singing competition where amateur singers from each European country send one group or single singer to compete. Ireland didn't get to the finals, so we put each country in a hat and we all drew until it was empty so we had a country to root for. Then we all picked one really good act theat we though wouldn't get a lot of votes and Naimh and Chloe sent in votes for them. One of my countries, Sweden was second for a while, after Austria (Aislin's country) which had a transgender woman with a beard and won in the end. However, Chloe's country, the Netherlands came in second really fast towards the end. Naimh's France came in last, so we had to doggie pile on top of her. But, she redeemed herself when we played chubby bunny, a game where you stuff as many marshmallows in your mouth and say "chubby bunny" each time you put another marshmallow in. Naimh stuffed a total of 8 marshmallows in, and I was laughing so hard I was done at 5. We went to bed at about 2 in the morning and woke up at 11 when Aislin and Chloe had to leave. I really enjoyed hanging out them because they all like the same things as me, and not every thing was about California, which is the topic of basically every conversation I've had with someone since I've been here. 

On Sunday, after  the girls had gone, myself, Naimh, and her parents went to the Dublin zoo. We saw both Naimh and my favourite animals in baby form. There were baby giraffes, elephants, monkeys, and ducklings there. We also saw lambs, baby turtles, a calf, and we were supposed to see baby piglets, but they weren't there. For dinner, we went to Eddie Rockets, a restaurant designed to look like a fifties diner, and it really did! There were those plush red and white booths, old photos of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, the waitresses dressed in the white out fit and boat-like hat, and the menu was packed with various burgers and milkshakes. Everyone ate some form of a burger, but I was the odd one out who ordered a salad...but totally made up for it with a Reeces milkshake, which didn't only have Reeces bits in it, but the ice cream also tasted like Reeces! 

On Monday, my last day in Dublin, I went to Naimh's school. Her school is all girls, like Our Lady of Lourdes, and also had a similar uniform. It was much bigger than OLOL, and there's much more diverse classes, such as fashion studies, Chinese, Spanish, and animation. I really enjoyed Spanish because the girls had to introduce themselves to me in Spanish, and I surprised myself when I was able to understand them, and talk to the teacher in Spanish, and participate in activities. All of her classmates were so welcoming and helpful. One of them pointed out that Naimh not only had the exact same lunches, but ate the same things at the same time. After school, Naimh and I enjoyed the movie Sydney White with pre-meltdown Amanda Bynes, and ate a wonderful Irish roast dinner, Naimh's favourite, from Paula. Sadly I had to leave at 7, so Naimh and I listened to High School Musical with our bears all the way to the meeting point at which we would meet Aunt Carol, a perfect ending to a perfect weekend... Oh my God, could I have picked a more cheesy way of saying that?! Whatever, I'm leaving it in!

Okay so, this isn't about Dublin, but I want to add it in! So on Tuesday, after work, Aunt Carol and I took a little road trip by ourselves towards Fethard. We were heading to Aunt Carol's weekly Irish group where they only speak Irish but took a few detours along the way. First, we stopped at where we had the best 99 cones; vanilla ice cream, swirled on a wafer cone, with a chocolate Flake stuck in. You have to push the Flake down so that when you go to eat the cone, you eat the chocolate as well! Then we went to a beach where everyone drives, for a little driving test, however, after learning how a stick shift works we got stuck in the sand and a man had to come and push us out. (Embarrassing!) So, I didn't get to drive because the sand was too wet. As we were driving out, we saw this weird looking thing in the sand, so we stopped and got out only to find a huge jelly fish bigger than my head washed ashore, it was so freaky! Then as we were heading on, we stopped at Dollar Bay, a little, hidden beach, and had a walk around, picking up different shells and sea glass along the way. When we finally got to the pub where the Irish group is held, I brought in my book, thinking I would be so bored and confused that I would just be better off reading and not paying attention. However, with the little Irish I've picked up, and knowing how a conversation works and what questions are normally asked, I was able to understand and even speak a little bit! I borrowed a woman named Aisling's Irish-English dictionary and jotted down a few phrases and words that I could use later in life. I was really impressed by this one woman, Grace, who despite knowing far less Irish than the rest of the women, still tried to communicate and wasn't afraid to ask when confused which is something most people are so afraid to do. When the meeting was finished, Aunt Carol told me I could take a spin around the empty parking lot. Now, I am probably the most clumsy person to live, and I get really nervous on bikes, because of an accident that happened a while ago, so I was a little shaky getting into the driver's seat of a stick shift. However, I hopped in, and surprisingly, it's just a patter you have to follow, so it was actually easier than I thought! Even though we jolted forward the minute I stepped off the clutch and onto the accelerator, I was abled to make a full circle around the parking lot and put on the brakes without injuring any necks. We finished the night by making Irish soda bread, hoping this one doesn't turn out like the last which tasted like hay! All in all, it was "a very productive evening," and Aunt Carol put it.

Holidays

I've been on holidays for about a week now and I'm having a blast. I have gotten the chance to hang out with my cousins which I always love doing because I never get to see them since I live in America. And my cousin Danny just came back from a trip to Spain, doing exactly what I'm doing, but I have so much more respect for him because he was able to go there with only school spanish and force himself to speak it, and now he's fluent. I also worked in the Bake House down town which is owned by a relative of ours (I know shocker right?), Sean Sutton. Sean is probably about 75-80 I'd say, and still works in the bake house. He has the funniest sense of humor ever, making jokes, saying, "Aoife my Darling," and being very sarcastic but in a very humorous way. His daughter, Barbara was extremely nice and she helped me learn different tips and tricks at making life easier when I bake. I also loved that se was very laid back and she allowed me to help her make a new batch of biscuit cake, which I love because I had never had it before I came over here, and try and find a new recipe because she didn't like how theirs always turned out dry. So I also had the chance to experiment with different ingredients and see the results.
Oh, and I went to University of College Cork last Thursday and had the BEST day with my friend Naimh! We rode on the bus together and talked about everything and then when we arrived to UCC we walked around the campus, and she talked about all the different places and Universities in Ireland that are worth while to go to. Then at CIT (Cork IT) we were chatted up by two college boys who mistook us for college students (well Naimh probably sold it because she's so tall and gorgeous) which led to me saying I work with the police (as a "hey your kinda creeping me out and I'm going to let you know that I'm not really digging this convo") and then we frantically ran away. And so then in a shopping centre we ran through the mall, across the road, through a parking lot all in 2 minutes just to get a Carmel Frapp at Starbucks for the first time for me in like 3 months, and it was SO worth it! And basically that day was a blast and ended with my friend Michaela braiding my hair in a fishtail like she does a lot which I am okay with because she does it so perfect. I normally don't like people touching my hair, but since I've had so many young children pull on it and play with it since I've been here, I'm just used to it.

And just an update on my camogie-ing, I've been getting pretty fed up with how the team handles communication. The way they tell you your practice is cancelled is by saying every one else's is on. So you get a text message right before practice is supposed to be on, and then you have to read all of the teams that are playing and if yours isn't listed then its not on, instead of just telling us that practice is cancelled. Also, on Monday I made plans to go stay overnight at my cousin Jane's house for Wednesday. Then I went to play a camogie game later that day (only the last 5 minutes but I don't mind) and then the coaches told us we also had a game on Wednesday, a little too late don't you think? And then I went to the pitch on Tuesday for practice, only to find out practice had been cancelled, then I sat around for a half hour and then decided to just go and practice with a younger team. Then my coach came over to where I was practicing and asked if I was coming to Wed's game, I tried to tell him that I couldn't come on Wednesday because I had prior engagements, but he just said to have Aunt Carol call him, not listening to me. We did and he was upset. Then today, Aunt Carol called the same person to ask him for a number, only to be shamed for not making me go to the game because they needed more substitutes. I am very upset because I didn't come here to just play camogie. I came to get the whole experience, and the coaches know that. Wouldn't that upset you?!

I would also like to give my Aunt Carol a shoutout for finishing her term doing a college course for Irish. It's really been stressing her out these last couple of days and I'm so happy she's finally done!! Woop Woop!! Now she can take us places, go out for a bit, and just be energized instead of studying all the time. I'm so very excited!

Aoife

UCD

On Thursday, I went to Dublin to visit UCD (University of Dublin) with my class. The campus is the biggest in Ireland and has the only veterinary course in Ireland as well. Before we went on the trip, our teacher asked us to look through the website and see what interests us and what would be a good future course for us to take. I know what I'm going to do with my life just as much as I know how to properly play the bag pipes. So I didn't even know where to start, however I decided to look in the Arts division and see what it offers. I didn't see really anything that jumped out at me however I did see a couple that i had interest in which were English with Film, Spanish, and English with Drama. I felt that they were very basic choices so it might be a gate way into various careers, seeing as I have no clue what I'm going to do.  So when we arrived, we had a brief introduction about the school and then a student Ambassador took us around the campus. The college was really big and there was a lot of sculptures around and a lot of the buildings were painted bright colors which made it really appealing. The school had an olympic swimming pool, a gym, a radio stain, two newspapers, a 3D movie theater, several restaurants, super markets, pharmacies, cafes, and much more. I really enjoyed the school and actually consider going there when I'm older!
I also wanted to mention that I got invited to my friend Naimh's birthday dinner on friday and had a blast. I'm really happy that I found a good group of friends to hang out with and I can also visit them when I visit ever 2 years or so!
Aoife

Simalarities and Differences

Hello! For today's blog, here are some things that I've experienced at the Holy Faith that are a bit different compared to Miramonte!
My Classmates:
The girls in my class seem to get along more than most of the girls at Miramonte do. There's no real tension (that I know of) and everyone is very friendly and joke a lot with each other. There also so seems to not be much competition to be better or more popular at the Holy Faith. All the girls seem to be friends and if not, just friendly. We all wear uniforms which is also great because it helps make us feel like equals, and also saves us the hassle of picking out our outfits every single day!! However they do like boys a whole lot more than we do and I think it's because of the separation of the genders, whereas we see the opposite gender everyday and don't get excited. We also have 6 grades in the school, so the age ranges from 12-18, which is weird because I'm not used to seeing such young girls in school.
Academics:
Transition Year is very focused on projects and using what we learn in school in the real world. In English we are doing film studies and when we watch a film, we analyse the movie and write about 3-6 pages on it. In Maths and Science, we will do work sheets but we also do a lot of projects and presentations. The school doesn't have a Spanish class so during French I do online quizzes and study from a vocab list to just try and keep up my Spanish. We have home-ec which is fun because I've never taken it and it's not offered at Miramonte, and Religion which is kind of a weird class for me because we have to pray before we start class and that would probably cause a lot of angry parents if we did that in Orinda! We also have business, P.E., Irish (which I don't take, just sit and listen), computer classes. And every Thursday we go and do some sort of activity in or out of school which is normally really fun (i.e.. road safety, film making, going to a chocolate factory, trip to Dublin, etc.)!
The Actual School:
Our Lady of Lourdes is very small with only about 360 girls in it. It is all inside and instead of laid out like Miramonte, where all the classrooms are spread out and on the ground, the classrooms are all stacked so there are a lot of stairs and I get kind  of lost a lot. It is also very old and a little old-fashioned compared to Miramonte (we still use chalk boards!). There is also no cafeteria, only a refectory which has hot water, tasters, microwaves, and a sandwich heater. So, I have to bring my own lunch every day and if it isn't enough, I can't go buy something else.
I do really like the school and I think that there is good and bad in both schools, and I'm very excited to go back to Miramonte and see how different it is.

School, Hurling and St. Patrick's

So a lot has happened school wise, we've been doing a lot of traveling around and doing all sorts of different activities which is very cool, and is something I would never do at Miramonte. This is because Transition year (the grade I'm in) is basically a year to take a break in between 3rd year and 5th year, the two toughest grades, and TY (transition year) is optional. We do a lot of charity events and do activities that teach us about different careers and such and also just to have fun! For instance, we went to a cinema to learn about road safety (boring!) but after, we went to a place called Leisure Max where there was bowling, sumo wrestling, rock climbing, hover archery, a big play set, a thing where you are strapped to a bungee and run as far as you can and then fly back, and giant hamster balls that you climb into and run around into each other! We do have homework and tests, though, just not as much. Next week we will be going to a Chocolate Factory, then the week after that, Dublin, and after that, horse back riding.

On Saturday, my cousin and I hurled. Lily hurled first and I thought I would too, but I hurled about an hour after her.  It really took a lot out of me and I was sore for days. I think I should start eating a little better and that might help. Just thought I'd add that in!

Later on Saturday, we went to the Celtic Weave, and no that does not mean we watched people weave the Celtic knot for two hours. Instead we listened and watched the New Ross world champion bag pipe band play as well as other groups including three sister who played the guitar, fiddle, and an Irish drum which was so cool and amazing that they were able to do that.

On Monday, Patty's day, we put green milk in our cereal and tea (which was a little more gross than expected). Then we went out side and irish danced in the garden, however I believe mine was more of a skip and jump, to be honest. Then we tasted our treats that Lil and I had spent 3 hours making the night before for this very special day- cupcakes, peppermint creams, and green rice krispy treats. We decided that all three were not as great as we'd hoped but decided that no one would be cruel enough to tell us, so we brought some to Aunt Carol's boyfriend, Dara, and to Aunt Annette's house for the big party. At the party, there were probably about 20 of us there, enjoying a traditional Irish breakfast with rashers (bacon), spuds (potatoes), sausages, tomatoes, eggs, beans, toast, and pudding (I really have no clue how to describe it, but it is not anything like the dessert). We all were trying on these crazy wigs and hats and laughing about it to each other. Then at one o'clock, Lil and I went (with our cool matching glasses) to line up for the parade! We were going to be in the parade for the camogie team. We waited for about 30 minutes until the parade started. We marched all around New Ross, waving to people, chanting our team's cheer, and having a great time. Then after we were done, we watched the rest of the parade which was filled with people painted in green and wearing big hats and lots and lots of old cars and tractors. After that, we went back to Aunt Annette's where I became a play set for the younger kids, and I also sent my mom a (fake) drunken text and picture to which she promptly replied "Haha very funny...guards are on their way." oops! 

Okay back to the hurling thing, I know a lot of you reading this are probably thinking of some thing more gross than what it really was about! Hurling is a sport that is played here that is similar to lacrosse but much more difficult. It is considered the fastest game on grass and instead of having a net to hold the ball and pick it up, all you have is a stick with a flat end, much like a hockey stick. To run with the ball, you have to balance it on the end and to pick it up, you have to kind of scoop it up...and there's a lot of running!! I actually play Camogie, the girls' version of hurling, and to be honest, I like that name better!! (see link for video)

Aoife

Irish Breakfast (those circular looking things in the corner is black and white pudding)

Here's a link to a video of a hurling match:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgEMvRrOCRI

 a hurl and ball (sliotar)

Pancake Tuesday!!

Tuesday was Pancake Tuesday! Every year on the day before Ash Wednesday, or Lent, everyone in Ireland eats pancakes for breakfast lunch and dinner! I are my pancakes with lemon, sugar, and lots and lots and lots of berries!! My aunt Carol had two types of pancakes- sweet and savory. The sweet had whipping cream and strawberries and the savory had mushrooms, and rocket, and green peppers. Lily packed her pancake with tons of Nutella, Hershey's chocolate syrup, marshmallow fluff, and mini marshmallows, quite a difference per person, huh?! On Wednesday, Lent started. I decided to give up sugary sweets and drinks and adding sugar to items to make them taste better but boy was it hard because we made eclairs in home-ec and I couldn't put sugar in my tea or my cereal! Also, it is traditional to have the priest put a cross of ash on your forehead on Ash Wednesday, however, I've never done it. And what was weirder was the nearby priest came to the schools to put the ash on our heads. Now, if that was in America, you could sue the school for potentially forcing the students into a religion. Also, our school is right next to a church (we can actually see a graveyard outside our window, creepy right?!), religion is a class, and classes will sometimes attend mass on a Thursday, these would all be profoundly frowned upon in America!! I find it really interesting how much religion is apart of peoples lives here.

This week I also got two letters in the mail! One from my grandma and another from my brother. I've gotten a couple letters from my grandparents and I love it because it means so much that someone would take time out of their day to sit down, and write a letter and then I can actually hold it, as apposed to a text or email. My brother's made me laugh and a little worried because he described in great detail how he would turn our rooms into a big room for himself. I miss him so much because Lilyanna is so much different than Tighe and isn't even close to how it is living with him (which is stressful and fun at the same time). ;)

-aoife


Below are some pictures (they go from dinner pancakes to morning)

aunt carol's pancake

uncle richard's pancake

lily enjoying her pancake

aunt carol's savory pancake 

uncle richard flipping a pancake

me flipping a pancake

my pancake

aunt carol and lily having a laugh when the pancake didn't quite make it back onto the pan

 "huh? what do you mean too much chocolate?"

Lily and her masterpiece 

 my morning pancake

my first pancake!

 the table and ingredients

quick update #1

Hello everyone! So remember how I mentioned that there are a lot of Aoife's in Ireland? Well almost every other girl on my bus has that name and they all sit near me. So right now I'm going back home and I keep getting confused because normally if someone says "Aoife," they're talking about me! This was just a quick random update, and you will see a lot of these.
Aoife TEJADA
(I put my last name in case you were confused which one I am)

Work Experience

Every Tuesday, instead of school, I go to the Dunbrody Famine Ship to work as a tour guide and cashier from 10-4. The Dunbrody was a ship that carried passengers from Ireland, Co.Wexford specifically, to America because of the famine in Ireland that started in 1845 and lasted about 6-7 years. So, on my first week there I met two tour guides that I would work with, Jason and Frank. Jason is very eccentric and lively and does all of his tours differently, and he reminded me few times on my first day the "every tour is different because every person is different." Frank is a little older and does his tours by the book and all of his tours are the same. Both of them are excellent tour guides but with completely different styles. I met another person-Kevin. Kevin is the son of Sean Reidy, the manager of the Dunbrody, and his brother, Peter is also a tour guide. Kevin looks a bit like a pirate, and talks like one too, but he has a good heart and works really hard. On my first day, Kevin walked in and said "what is Pocahontas doing sitting' on my stool." Then Frank then said that he christens everyone with a new name, Frank is "big boss man," and Jason has a new name everyday. So then Frank properly introduced me saying "This is Kevin," to which Kevin said, "I'm not Kevin," to which I said, "Hello Not-Kevin," christening him right back.
These past 3 weeks have been really slow which is good for me because every big tour is scheduled, s and all the unscheduled tours are small groups or couples. This is really good because I'm able to learn how to give tours and ring people up step by step. The first day I was given a sheet which will act as my script for the tour, and  just tagged along as a tourist on the tours. However, by the second week, I was able to pitch in at times to give bits of information to the tour. And this last Tuesday, I gave almost half the tour! Jason was really impressed and said that we must "toast with toast" up at the Dunbrody cafe that sits above the front desk and souvenir area. I really enjoy working at the Dunbrody because I love learning about people's lives, and I'm a bit of a show-off if I know something someone else doesn't, so I can have the opportunity to show my knowledge without being rude :).
Aoife

The Dunbrody

 Me at the desk where people buy souvenirs and tickets for the tours

My interview for the job with Sean Reidy, who was very interesting and had a lot of stories about when the Kennedy's came to New Ross last year.

New Ross? More like Venice!

Today I experienced my first Irish storm while going to school! It was "lashin'" as they say here; extremely windy and rainy. When I left to go wait for the bus, it was so rainy my aunt offered to drive me there, even though its only 30 seconds away. and when we got to the bus stop, there was only one girl from my school waiting for the bus (and also trying to brace herself from the wind), so we offered for her to stay in the car once the bus arrived.  So, once both of us were on the bus, there was literally nobody on it, and the driver said it's going to be quite the trip trying to cross the bridge.  As we headed to school, the roads started to look more and more like a river, buses had their own wakes, and people were stranded on sidewalks that turned into islands. Being the new girl, I didn't want to seem too in shock, as I secretly took pictures, but I noticed that girls who have lived here their whole life were just as, or even more amazed than me by the intense floods.

A lot of girls got off the bus, after we sat in traffic for about 20 minutes, trying to walk home or get a ride. However, many came back, as their parents forced them to go to school, or it was impossible to go back home. Nevertheless, the number of people shrunk a third in size. When we could finally at least see the bride, it was about 9:15, and was nearly underwater, but still crossable, so Stevie (the bus driver) pushed on. At 9:30, we approached the bridge and the traffic worker told us to turn around, but Stevie told him that we've already come this far, and he is going to get us to school. So, after some persuading, we were let on the bridge! We sat in that bus for about half an hour on the bridge waiting for the tide to go down so we could physically get off the bridge. We were even able to get off the bus and go to a shop on the Wexford side and get some snacks and hot cocoa. Finally, when a girl named Leona and I got back from the shop, the bus had moved to await its last obstacle. The street to the hill my school is on looked like a canal in Venice; cars were half-way submerged and a workers helped try and carry kids trying to get to school.
 
So, we slowly rode in the the "river" and drove ever so carefully to the hill. Water came in through the door and we could feel the current pushing the bus. And at last, we touched dry land and made the slow trek up the hill on wet wheels. We arrived to school about an hour and a half late, but we still made it. Stevie said to us as we left "It's my job to get you to school, rain, hail, or snow." (Which kind of reminded me of my grandpa back home who used to take me to school and back every single day no matter what.) School was pretty boring because there were only about 6 people there in my class and 2 of my teachers, but man, was that morning exciting!

Some pictures to keep you busy until I finish my next post and the family tree

 Uncle Neill and I













Megan and I

 Lilianna and I

Aunt Carol and my mom

My grandma's first cousin

My Aunt Carol, myself, and my mom, 10 years between the pictures














Some of my cousins; John, Sean, Dean, and Monty the weird dog that's flying.

 Getting on the plane to Ireland


Me saying goodbye to my dad for 6 months

My First Week

Hello all! Well I apologize for not posting in a week but I've been busy figuring out my normal schedule (which isn't that blog worthy). However a few things were: On Monday, I took the bus for the first time ever to school. Which was kind of awkward because I didn't know anyone and sat in a two seater by myself, but it was okay because I was able to just look at the town and embrace it all by myself. I do continue to ride by myself, but I don't mind. There's also a store called Hanrahans that I can go to before the bus arrives for a warm croissant for breakfast. Tuesday was pretty boring, but on Wednesday, I have Home Economics, a class I've never taken, nor had the opportunity to take. So, like the food addict I am, I was so excited to spend two periods making a delicious meal (My partner Naimh and I made a butternut squash, carrot and potato soup-it was so good I almost forgot to save some for my mom to try at home)! Thursday and Friday were just normal school days that consisted of me just learning more about how the girls all interact and the way they speak and their society than the actual subject. On Saturday,  I met two of my cousins- Aine (Anya) and Fionn, who are absolutely adorable at the ages of 3 and 5. They're my first cousin Jane's children and my second cousin Danny's (who I used to play with all the time when I was younger as he is just a year older than me) siblings. Danny is away in Spain for about a year, with only his school Spanish to speak with, which makes me feel as tough it's my duty to keep going on my trip, and not even think about giving up. Anyways, Jane, Aine, Fionn, Fergal (Aine and Fionn's dad), Lilli, my mom, and myself all went to the new Swim and Gym center, fully equipped with a sauna, a kiddie pool, lap lanes, and a water slide that goes out side the building! It was super fun hanging out with all my cousins and helping them learn to swim. After a few spins on the waterside for us kids and a good relaxation in the sauna for the adults, we took our showers and headed home. Now, this part is going to get a bit hard to follow, but stay with me. We had two parties to attend (my mom and I); a dinner-dance for the Pantomime, and my cousin Anthony's 40th birthday party. Lilli was so excited for the dinner-dance, she couldn't stop talking about it and making sure I was excited too. I was, but also nervous because I'm not a great dancer, and I wouldn't know anyone. All four of us (my mom, Aunt Carol, Lilli, and I) coincidently dressed in all black dresses and shoes, we were "like a clan of witches" as Aunt Carol said.The dinner-dance was actually quite fun! The food was delicious and during a little award ceremony for the cast and crew,a very close friend of Grandpa Tony spoke welcomed my mom and I over the microphone and spoke bait about my grandfather, even getting a bit choked up which of course made my mom tear up. I am a little upset that I never had the pleasure of meeting the famous Tony Stacey, but I know I will someday. Anyways, after the ceremony, there was lots of dancing and I requested California Girls and dedicated it to my mom, and I even led a conga line! So later my mom and I headed to The Bullet, a pub my grandparents owned, for Anthony's 40th birthday party. And at that party I met some more cousins, and chatted with my Uncle Neil who is a really really funny guy. And I mostly hung out with Megan, Neil's daughter, who was really really nice to me the entire time which I appreciated a lot. So, after a full night of dancing and meeting a whole bunch of people, our night was finally over and I could rest. On Sunday the only thing that was notable was a little get together for some of my cousins so I could say hello to everyone. I met Liona and her daughter and saw Dean, Megan, and Samantha and was able to meet her daughters Keeva and Kelsey. Tomorrow, I will post about Tuesday's work experience and I will try to post a family tree so those of you who are so overwhelmed by all these names, as I am, can stay on track.
Aoife

First Day of School

The night before my first day (Friday the 18th), I cried myself to sleep. I was so jet lagged that I was not only really tired, but extremely emotional. every time I thought about my dad, I broke into tears, I missed him so much. However, in the morning, after 11 hours of sleep, I was refreshed and ready to go. Our home was a mad house; everyone was running around with their uniforms, and had toothbrushes in their mouths, and everyone was looking for socks. I met two more of my cousins (remember, I have a big family), Bobby and Josh who were very sweet and they were going with Lilyanna (the cousin I'm living with) to their school. 

When I arrived to my new school, Our Lady of Lourdes,I was so nervous I had to keep asking my mom where the front of the school was over and over just to make sure I didn't embarrass myself. Our Lady of Lourdes is a very small school, as I mentioned before, and is a tall building rather than laid out flat like my old school, Miramonte. Anyways, I walked into the office and the assistant principal took me up to the classroom. All of the girls were very excited to see me, with took some of the pressure away. The first person to talk to me was a girl named Niamh (pronounced Neev). She told me all about the school and introduced my to all of the girls as we headed to our first class in the computer lab for YSI, or Young Student Innovators. She explained that YSI is a part of their curriculum where the class must start a charity and raise money for it throughout the year; ours is to help the elderly. Once we arrived in the computer lab, I met another Aoife! I had never had another Aoife in my class before and I was always confused when someone called my name, but was talking to the other Aoife. Then after two hours of YSI, we headed to maths, however, we spent the whole class introducing everyone and then the girls asked me questions about my school, what my home town is like, what I like about Ireland, and telling me about New Ross. Then we had Study Buddies, which is when we go to the nearby Primary school and help the little kids. When I arrived, a girl named Sarah explained what we needed to do and introduced me to all the children as the new Study Buddy from San Francisco. Three girls all immediately gave me hugs. The boys were different, they were pretend shooting each other and shoving each other around. One boy was actually named Tadgh, which is my brother's name (except he spells it T i g h e), they even had the same coloring! We helped the teacher photo copy some test packets and then watched over the kids so they didn't cheat. It was interesting because most of them tried to even though it was a very very simple test. After the Study Buddies, we had lunch and all the girls were telling me how to were my uniform and that they all go to the disco. From what I learned, the disco is like a club for underage people; i.e. no alcohol or drugs and there is supervision. However if a girl sees a boy they think is cute, their friend will walk up to that boy and say "shift her," which means the two of them need to go off and make out. However, when I heard this, I was a little disgusted because that is way more provocative than the kind of stuff kids in Orinda do, so I think I'll keep away from the discos. Anyways, alter in the day, when we had Irish class, and since I've never taken Irish before, and I can't really start now, I will only study the cultural part of the class, not the language. So, my first assignment is to color in the counties of Ireland by their official colors and then write a page for 6 of the counties. 
After school, I went home and later we went to the theater to see Lily in a Pantomime, Hansel and Gretel. A pantomime is a type of fairytale play where there is musical numbers, lots of jokes, a lot of slapstick comedy, and breaking of the fourth wall (talking to the audience). At the end, they sang "What does the Fox Say?" and brought a bunch of audience members on stage to dance. I real didn't want to go, but a guy recognized my mom and I and dragged us on stage. It ended up being really fun! Well that's all I have, I will keep blogging but probably only once every few days unless something really exciting happens.
Until next time,
Aoife

Getting Settled

So on January 16th, (yesterday), my mom and I arrived at the Dublin airport at 8:00 am exactly and were greeted by my Aunt Carol and cousin Lillianna shortly after. Then we headed back to New Ross, which is 2 hours away, so it was quite a long journey. It felt so good to be back, everything looked and even smelled the way I remembered it. Once we got back to New Ross, we headed straight to my aunt's house, the same house my grandmother lived in for the last few months until her passing. Then we headed to my new school, Our Lady of Lourdes to meet with the principle. The school has about 365 girls and is very small, with about 15 girls per classroom. The principle talked extremely fast and with her irish accent, it was almost impossible for me to understand her! However I did make out that I will have a certain number of classes each day, and not the same each day. We normal stay in the same room and the teacher comes in to teach us. On Tuesdays we have the day off to work in a field we'd like to pursue and on Fridays we go to a primary school (like elementary school in America) and help out the little ones. Now, I'm going to take a minute to describe a bit about my family and the town I will be staying in. New Ross is a small town with about 8,000 residents. My mom has 5 siblings, which all have children, and then even some of those children have children. My grandmother and grandfather also come from a big family, so you can just imagine the amount of cousins I have. Also, everybody knows everybody. After the school visit, we left to go downtown, where about 10 different people recognized my mother as a Stacey (her maiden name) or just from growing up with her! Can you imagine not knowing some one, and them recognizing you just because they know what the rest of your family looks like? Anyways, we went to a shop where we bought my uniform and p.e. clothes  (see picture). Then headed to a shoe shop to grab some navy AV8s for my uniform, which are like Sperrys topsiders, and a book store called Nolan's for some school supplies. Finally we went to my favorite chipper (or burger joint) called the Penguin, for some chips (fries) with salt and vinegar. Lastly I wrapped up the day by decorating my side of the room, and putting away all of my things, and finally going straight to bed.
Aoife