Day 9: Cork and UCC

Today we woke up at seven in the morning, took the bus, and waited about ten or twenty minutes at the school until the other bus arrived. They took us on a three‑hour trip all the way to Cork.  When we got there, the weather was nice , sunny, then cloudy, then sunny again, then cloudy… but that’s just how the weather is in Ireland.

Once we arrived, they brought us to UCC in Cork, the university. There was a guide who explained the history, how the university started, and things like that. That lasted about an hour.  After that, they took us to the city centre, to the shopping streets, so we could have lunch. We ate, spent about an hour going around the shops, and then we headed back.  

I had a great tim!  but i wish we had more time to see Cork.

Here are some pics:

Day 8: Cultural nights

During the cultural days, one night we went to a cultural night with our Irish girls. Maeve’s mother drove us to the place, and at first there were mostly elderly and adult  people and some kids. When we arrived, there weren’t many people yet, but later more students from our school and other international students started showing up.

When it all began, they started showing us how the traditional dances were done, how they performed them, and they told us stories and everything. I had a really good time that day; it was really fun. We, the Spanish group, went up and sang a song in Spanish, and I think people really like it, and i had a great time.That was the first cultural night.  

The second one was at the school, and only the international students and the Irish students attended. They played music for us, like an orchestra with instruments, and then they taught us a dance that we had to learn and perform. It was also fun to watch them and see their culture, and to see how different it is from Spain.

Here are pics and video of those nights!

Day 7: School day

On Monday, I woke up around 7 and had breakfast with Isabelle and her family. Then we waited for the bus together. When we got to school, we had like 20 minutes before classes started.  Our first class was English. We read some short books and watched a little film about a lamb, and then we talked about it. After that, we discussed some things about the school and had a small break.  In biology, we talked about what project we would do if we had to make one. Then, in Irish class, the Irish students taught us some words and phrases. They even interviewed us and recorded how we pronounced everything, which was kind of funny.  For lunch, I ate the food Isabelle’s mom had prepared for me. Later, in Spanish class, we taught the Irish students some Spanish. We made a big poster about Logroño and the things you can find there, and it turned out really cute. At the end of the day, we had psychology, and I actually liked it a lot. We practiced a bit and it was super interesting.

Here it is the poster that we made: 

Day 6: Saturday

Today is Saturday, and honestly, it’s been a pretty relaxed day. In the morning, I went shopping with my family. They showed me a few things they thought I might like, and we just spent some time together before going back home. Later in the day, I decided to go watch a camogie match because I wanted to see how the game is played in person. It was actually my Irish sister , Eva who was playing, so that made it even more fun. I went with Isabelle, her mum and dad, and also with Maeve and Inés. It was quite chilly out there, but we had a great time and really enjoyed watching the match. It was a calm but fun day, and I really enjoyed spending time with everyone.

Here are piscs and video of the match :

Day 5: Surfing and the view of the Cliffs of Moher

We woke up at 7 a.m. and took the bus to school. After waiting for a while, we started a two-hour bus journey to the beach, where we were going to go surfing.

The weather was not very good because it was windy and cold. However, wearing a swimsuit helped us stay warm. I had a great time surfing with my friends and Isabelle, even though it was my first time doing it. It was a new experience for me, and I really enjoyed learning how to surf.

After surfing, we had lunch and then visited the Cliffs of Moher. They were absolutely beautiful and I loved the views. I would definitely do this again!

At the end of the day, we took the bus back home. It was a long but unforgettable day!

Day 4 : Ploughing Competition

We had to wake up at 5 in the morning, take two trains and a bus, and honestly I was already tired before even getting there. But the place surprised me so much because I thought the Plowing was going to be an actual plowing competition, like watching tractors and all that. In the end we just walked around the stores the whole day, which was not what I expected at all. And it was freezing, seriously. I bought a Limerick football T‑shirt as a little souvenir, so at least I didn’t leave empty‑handed. I had a very great time with Isabelle and the group!

Here are some pics:

Day 3: Differences

I am going to talk about the differences between my Spanish high school and the Irish one. In Ireland, students use tablets instead of notebooks, while we still use regular supplies in Spain. They wear uniforms there, but we don’t. Teachers are nice in both places, but Irish teachers are more relaxed and fun, and Spanish teachers are more serious. Transition Year in Ireland has no exams, just life skills, while we have exams. Also, to go to the bathroom, they have to get a teacher to sign their agenda, which we don’t do. And in Spain, if someone misbehaves, we write them up, but I’m not sure how they handle it in Ireland. If i had to choose , i would choose my spanish high school because i am already used to it :).