Settling In

Soo much has happened since last I blogged, I don't know where to begin!

As the St. Patrick's Day festivities began, more and more tourists begin to enter Ireland.  Also, I was informed that many of the Irish Countryfolk come into Dublin for the festivities as well.  The festivals are  celebrated much more often by foreigners than Dublin locals.

 On Wednesday, I hopped on the Luis (a train) and took it into St. Steven's Green, Dublin.  The weather was lovely and the energy was even better. Upon exiting the train I met up with some friends, only to see a huge stage setup in the middle of the street.  For the next four hours professional dancers and musicians performed as people danced in the streets of Ireland.  This Irish dancing event is known as a ceili and was some of the most fun I have had, thus far.

The following day I woke up early and traveled into Dublin to see the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Swarms of green tourists stretched as far as the eye could see. Initially, I met a group of people outside of Trinity College (beautiful architecture!!), but later we decided to move to a more vacant location.  We were thrilled to find that a friend had a studio which overlooked the Leffy River and the Parade, so after pushing our ways through the masses we settle to watch the parade from there.  The parade, itself, was a little random at first.  It was themed Brilliance, but it really didn't seem too extravagant.  There were a lot of people on stilts, dressed up as strange creatures and a giant black dog.  I was a little disappointed, until I found out that the parade was supposed to represent each chapter of the Roddy Doyle children's story, Brilliance.  It was also supposed to embody the hard time that everyone is facing currently in Ireland.  This little fact made the parade a little more interesting.  Overall, Ireland on St. Patrick's Day reminded me a lot of Americans and the Superbowl.  The people here are just extremely passionate about there culture and excited to celebrate with friends and family.

Other Places I have visited:

The coast at Bray is just lovely.  This cute little town, while expensive, runs along the water and is very pretty.  The beaches here are comprised of small, smooth stones.  I have yet to see sand on any of them.  If you look off in the distance you can see rolling hills, small towns and a cross, high up on a hill. This town was also host to a carnival.  It reminded me very much of the portable games and rides seen in a traditional carnival in PA.

Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland is another lovely town.  I came to this location to see the gardens at Powerscourt, which were absolutely beautiful!! http://www.powerscourt.ie/gardens I was fortunate enough to have excellent weather for this day trip and had a wonderful day simply exploring the estate.  I was also interested to find that a lot of films are made at this location.  Following the gardens, we went into town to get a bite to eat.  Poppy's was a delicious eatery in town.  While the town is very  small, the food and people were extremely homey and welcoming.  This is an excellent location to get traditional Irish food, and one of the best I've experienced so far.  My lunch consisted of soup (broccoli and cauliflower) and a scone, which was actually very filling and delicious.  They also had a lot of hearty pastries, hearty pies and a whole slew of desserts.

DunDrum Shopping Centre- When here, I feel like I am back in the states.  This location is essentially a gigantic mall.  They have a store called Penney's, but do not be fooled, it is not J.C. Penny's.  It does however, have fantastic deals, but be careful, the quality is not always too great.  Other stores in this mall include Urban Outfitters and Forever21, along with a supermarket, hair salons, and a while mess of designer stores.  A cinema is also attached to the mall.  Essentially, if you need something, you can get it at this location.

The Cinema- While similar in many ways to our movie theaters, when you are buying your ticket here, you buy them where you buy your food and drink.  I would imagine that this would allow the theater to make more money.  Also, there is an ice cream stand in the theater!  Ben and Jerry's is very popular here.  There is also an area where you can mix and match any candy you want, and pay by the pound.  If you've ever seen this in a supermarket before, it is essentially the same thing (I think this is a brilliant idea).  I have yet to actually go to the movies, but I have been told that a ticket is approximately 8 euros.

The Upstairs of the Mall-  Johnny Rocket's, Pizza Hut, KFC... I was shocked... apparently American food influences all corners of the world

Update on School- School is going really well! Friday we took a field trip to a poetry festival and then went toe the swimming pool, which is done every friday.  Furthermore, we had an open house in the middle of the week which had an excellent turn out, 88 people showed up! It was a LOT of hard work to prepare for, but it paid off in the end.  Next week I will still be bouncing around classrooms a bit, but I will be teaching a few lessons as well. Wish me luck! Hope the weather is nice in the states!

Note:
-If you want a beautiful scenic ride to your destination, take the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transport). It runs along the Irish Sea
-tipping is not customary
-if you see a sign that looks like V in the street, that is not an arrow...it is a yield sign. You are still driving in the right direction!
-bikes get stolen a lot
-buses don't give change, but you can get a receipt and get change elsewhere
-rain all the time is a misconception here in Ireland, it rains a LOT during winter months, but since I have been here it has only rained once, it has been chilly tho
-fox run around all the time (I have seen 3)
-wild goats cross the street and climb mountains