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