First snow in Kinsale - 10cm.
Who ever thought that 10cm are reason enough to close schools and make people get stuck in a town.
I certainly never did.
My first snow free day from school. It was so lovely.
When I went to school this morning cars couldn´t get up the hill. Only three other teachers made it to school and about 10 students.
Irish people definitely can´t cope with snow at all. Shane, my flat mate, couldn´t make it out of Kinsale as he couldn´t get up the hill, so couldn´t other people. A lorry crashed in a house and in the afternoon the supermarket was flooded by people buying tons of food.
I would love a white christmas, but if it means this chaos, cold christmas are good enough.
Montag, 29. November 2010
Dienstag, 2. November 2010
Alarm clock going nuts
I think my alarm clock wants to annoy me or is still on vacation or it didn´t quite understand the nature of timechange. As for the last two days I have been waking up on my own everytime in shock as I didn´t hear the alarm go off.
Waking up in shock and rushing to school is no fun at all. I really have to solve the mystery, it´s driving me nuts.
Somehow I get the feeling that Irish teachers don´t really care about being on time as much as German teachers do.
Waking up in shock and rushing to school is no fun at all. I really have to solve the mystery, it´s driving me nuts.
Somehow I get the feeling that Irish teachers don´t really care about being on time as much as German teachers do.
Sonntag, 31. Oktober 2010
The Nightmare before Christmas
The Irish might have invented Halloween, but the Americans perfected it. ;)
Halloween in Ireland isn´t quite what I expected it to be. Knowing how the Americans celebrate it I am actually a little disappointed. No Haunted Houses or other major Halloween decoratives throughout my neighbourhood.
Here and there are some pumpkins or Jack-o-lanterns, but that´s it.
Nevertheless, today, after sunday all the little ghost, skelettons, monsters, princesses, monkeys and so on came knocking on my door threatening me with tricks if I wouldn´t hand over some treats.
It was actually fun handing out candy and some of the kids where really sweet. The only thing missing was a poem or song to earn the candy.
As of today, I have seen both sides of the tradition and I have to say it is much more fun to dress up and go trick or treating than giving out candy to a million of kids. To bad I am to old for trick or treating.
Guess I am stuck with giving away candy! Well, next time the little ghosts and gobblins have to prepare a little poem or song!!
I hope you all lit a candle for the good spirits of your ancestors to find their way home
Happy Halloween
Halloween in Ireland isn´t quite what I expected it to be. Knowing how the Americans celebrate it I am actually a little disappointed. No Haunted Houses or other major Halloween decoratives throughout my neighbourhood.
Here and there are some pumpkins or Jack-o-lanterns, but that´s it.
Nevertheless, today, after sunday all the little ghost, skelettons, monsters, princesses, monkeys and so on came knocking on my door threatening me with tricks if I wouldn´t hand over some treats.
It was actually fun handing out candy and some of the kids where really sweet. The only thing missing was a poem or song to earn the candy.
As of today, I have seen both sides of the tradition and I have to say it is much more fun to dress up and go trick or treating than giving out candy to a million of kids. To bad I am to old for trick or treating.
Guess I am stuck with giving away candy! Well, next time the little ghosts and gobblins have to prepare a little poem or song!!
I hope you all lit a candle for the good spirits of your ancestors to find their way home
Happy Halloween
Mittwoch, 27. Oktober 2010
Back from Dublin
I m sick and tired of travelling by bus and I will never again drive 4 and a half hours in a coach from Cork to Dublin. I am glad to be back in Kinsale, but also sad that Luisa left.
I really enjoyed the time with her and it was nice to have a friend visiting.
No let me tell you about our trip to Dublin and the Wicklow Mountains.
Visiting Dubling a second time, I can´t still find anything charming about it. It´s just another big city with a lot of tourists.
We arrived at around 17 o´clock in Dublin and it took us about an hour to find the youth hostel. The map we had didn´t show anything outside the inner city. So we actually walked in a circle to find the hostel. One good thing was that we found a Starbucks on the way. It was the best to go double tall vanilla latte I had in a long time. The Irish might be good in brewing beer or making whiskey, but they still have to learn a lot about making good coffee.
The barista at Sbux wasn´t really helpful in giving directions, so we just called the hostel to guide as and siehe da we were just around the corner.
We stayed at the Times Hostel on Camden Place. If you ever need a hostel in Dublin this is the place to go. It´s close to St. Stephen´s Green, nice stuff and clean. We even had an ensuite bathroom.
A little tired from the travel, we refreshed and went to explore Dublin. We´ve already seen Grafton Street, the expensive shopping area, and decided to visit Dublin Castle, City Hall, H´Penny Bridge, Temple Bar and O´Connel Street. We endet our tour at the Temple Bar and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. You probably think that we should have gone into a tradtional Irish pub for dinner, but we planned on doing it the next night. Besides, we already had a traditional Irish breakfast with black and white pudding, sausage, bacon and egg.
And just so you know, the burger at the Hard Rock Cafe was delicious!!
The next morning, Luisa and I went on a WildWicklowTour into the Wicklow Mountains.
The Wicklow Mountains are southeast of Dublin and is the location of several major sights such as the monastic complex of Glendalough. Movies like Brave Heart, P.S. I love you or Leap year have been filmed in this region. The Wicklow Mountains are also called the "Garden of Ireland" and having been there I can understand why. The landscape is amazing, the variety of colours in particular.
It was foggy and windy in the morning, so we couldn´t enjoy the full view of the mountains.
Our first stop was the major ferry habour Dun Laoghaire where we picked up the last passengers, ayoung couple from Germany. From there we left the coast and drove land inwards towards the Mountains. Our next stop was hamlet of Avoca, where the Avoca Handweavers produce colourful tweeds in the oldest handweaving mill in Ireland, operating since 1723.
Leaving Avoca behind our tour went on on the Military Road through the mountains. The military road was built by British soldiers in the 18th century. Following the road we past a little piece of Germany - a grave yard with 138 German soldiers. The Irish government gave the piece of land to the German government so the bodies could rest in piece on German territory. We also passed the highest city in Ireland - Roundwood at 238m above sea level. Even Stühlingen beats that ;)
We stopped on a high point, looking down to the Guiness Estate. It was so windy you could ly in the wind. It felt like flying.
Before we arrived at our final destination - Glendaloug - we had lunch at an Irish pub. There was only one Asian person on our tour bus and I was almost missing them. Arriving at the pub for lunch a whole group of Japanese was already there eating all the Fish and Chips and taking pictures of everything.
Glendalough - the valley of the two lakes, harbours one of Ireland´s most atmopsheric monastic sites. The Monastery was established in the 6th century by St. Kevin. The settlement was sacked time and times again (28 times) by the Vikings, but nevertheless flourished for over 600 years. The monastery was built to educate the pagan.
Our driver and tour guide told us a little bit about the monastery and graveyard and than we had time to walk around the two lakes and enjoy the landscape. Coming back from the walk around the lake, everybody got a glass of Jameson Whiskey. The whiskey wasn´t the best one, probably a cheap sample.
From Glendalough we drove back to Dublin where we arrived around 4pm.
As we hadn´t seen Trinity College yesterday we went to see it today. After that we went for a little shopping spree and than went back to the hostel, where we enjoyed some crepes and ice cream.
The next morning, we got up around 8am as Luisa had to be at the airport by 10am and I had to be at the Heuston Station by 9.40am.
After a very short goodbye, the bus came earlier as expected, we both left Dublin.
I really enjoyed the time with her and it was nice to have a friend visiting.
No let me tell you about our trip to Dublin and the Wicklow Mountains.
Visiting Dubling a second time, I can´t still find anything charming about it. It´s just another big city with a lot of tourists.
We arrived at around 17 o´clock in Dublin and it took us about an hour to find the youth hostel. The map we had didn´t show anything outside the inner city. So we actually walked in a circle to find the hostel. One good thing was that we found a Starbucks on the way. It was the best to go double tall vanilla latte I had in a long time. The Irish might be good in brewing beer or making whiskey, but they still have to learn a lot about making good coffee.
The barista at Sbux wasn´t really helpful in giving directions, so we just called the hostel to guide as and siehe da we were just around the corner.
We stayed at the Times Hostel on Camden Place. If you ever need a hostel in Dublin this is the place to go. It´s close to St. Stephen´s Green, nice stuff and clean. We even had an ensuite bathroom.
A little tired from the travel, we refreshed and went to explore Dublin. We´ve already seen Grafton Street, the expensive shopping area, and decided to visit Dublin Castle, City Hall, H´Penny Bridge, Temple Bar and O´Connel Street. We endet our tour at the Temple Bar and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. You probably think that we should have gone into a tradtional Irish pub for dinner, but we planned on doing it the next night. Besides, we already had a traditional Irish breakfast with black and white pudding, sausage, bacon and egg.
And just so you know, the burger at the Hard Rock Cafe was delicious!!
The next morning, Luisa and I went on a WildWicklowTour into the Wicklow Mountains.
The Wicklow Mountains are southeast of Dublin and is the location of several major sights such as the monastic complex of Glendalough. Movies like Brave Heart, P.S. I love you or Leap year have been filmed in this region. The Wicklow Mountains are also called the "Garden of Ireland" and having been there I can understand why. The landscape is amazing, the variety of colours in particular.
It was foggy and windy in the morning, so we couldn´t enjoy the full view of the mountains.
Our first stop was the major ferry habour Dun Laoghaire where we picked up the last passengers, ayoung couple from Germany. From there we left the coast and drove land inwards towards the Mountains. Our next stop was hamlet of Avoca, where the Avoca Handweavers produce colourful tweeds in the oldest handweaving mill in Ireland, operating since 1723.
Leaving Avoca behind our tour went on on the Military Road through the mountains. The military road was built by British soldiers in the 18th century. Following the road we past a little piece of Germany - a grave yard with 138 German soldiers. The Irish government gave the piece of land to the German government so the bodies could rest in piece on German territory. We also passed the highest city in Ireland - Roundwood at 238m above sea level. Even Stühlingen beats that ;)
We stopped on a high point, looking down to the Guiness Estate. It was so windy you could ly in the wind. It felt like flying.
Before we arrived at our final destination - Glendaloug - we had lunch at an Irish pub. There was only one Asian person on our tour bus and I was almost missing them. Arriving at the pub for lunch a whole group of Japanese was already there eating all the Fish and Chips and taking pictures of everything.
Glendalough - the valley of the two lakes, harbours one of Ireland´s most atmopsheric monastic sites. The Monastery was established in the 6th century by St. Kevin. The settlement was sacked time and times again (28 times) by the Vikings, but nevertheless flourished for over 600 years. The monastery was built to educate the pagan.
Our driver and tour guide told us a little bit about the monastery and graveyard and than we had time to walk around the two lakes and enjoy the landscape. Coming back from the walk around the lake, everybody got a glass of Jameson Whiskey. The whiskey wasn´t the best one, probably a cheap sample.
From Glendalough we drove back to Dublin where we arrived around 4pm.
As we hadn´t seen Trinity College yesterday we went to see it today. After that we went for a little shopping spree and than went back to the hostel, where we enjoyed some crepes and ice cream.
The next morning, we got up around 8am as Luisa had to be at the airport by 10am and I had to be at the Heuston Station by 9.40am.
After a very short goodbye, the bus came earlier as expected, we both left Dublin.
Sonntag, 24. Oktober 2010
Walking around Kinsale and Sandy Cove
Today, I showed Luisa the beautiful town of Kinsale. The weather was great. It was really warm (22°C) in the sun, the perfect weather for a hike.
After Dublin and Cork, it was time for Luisa to see the real beauty of Ireland, so we went for a walk to Sandy Cove, a little assembly of houses at the coast 10km northwest of Kinsale.
Zsusanna, a friend I met through couchsurfing.com, joined us for the walk.
The walk itself wasn´t very interesting to write about it, the landscape was breath taking and if you ever wondered where the colours of the Irish flag came from look at the pictures.
In Sandy Cove we had lunch and watched crazy Irish swimming in the cold sea.
On the way back, it got quite cold and I am so glad I brought my cap.
Right now, Luisa and I enjoy a nice pre-cooked quiche and of course a Guiness. Luisa wants to take a picture of us drinking Guiness, but I don´t want to and now I spilt the Guiness instead. Bummer!!! ;)
Tomorrow, we are leaving for Dublin.
After Dublin and Cork, it was time for Luisa to see the real beauty of Ireland, so we went for a walk to Sandy Cove, a little assembly of houses at the coast 10km northwest of Kinsale.
Zsusanna, a friend I met through couchsurfing.com, joined us for the walk.
The walk itself wasn´t very interesting to write about it, the landscape was breath taking and if you ever wondered where the colours of the Irish flag came from look at the pictures.
In Sandy Cove we had lunch and watched crazy Irish swimming in the cold sea.
On the way back, it got quite cold and I am so glad I brought my cap.
Right now, Luisa and I enjoy a nice pre-cooked quiche and of course a Guiness. Luisa wants to take a picture of us drinking Guiness, but I don´t want to and now I spilt the Guiness instead. Bummer!!! ;)
Tomorrow, we are leaving for Dublin.
Samstag, 23. Oktober 2010
My first visitor in Kinsale - Midterm Break
Just in time for midterm break my first visitor - Luisa - arrived in Kinsale.
Luisa arrived on Friday evening. We cooked a delicious meal, enjoyed a pint of Guiness and talked about our plans for the week.
Today, Luisa and I went to Cork. We went on a walking tour of Cork as our guide recommended. We started from the Tourist office on Grand Parade where we got some useful info about Cork and a couple of brochures. Totally in Touri behaviour we made a lot of pictures of everything we saw and mentioned in the guide. This is why the first pictures you can see are from the National Monument, St. Finn Barre´s Cathedral, Holy Trinity Monastery and the South Channel of the River Lee.
The old part of Cork is build on a kind of island, surrounded by the North and South Channel of the River Lee.
Across the river we saw the spires of St. Finn Barre´s Cathedral, where the city began as a monastic school in about 650AD.
From the National Monument we headed up the Grand Parade towards St. Patrick´s Street passing Bishop Lucey Park and the Princess Street Market (English Market). Inside the park, which is the only one in Cork, we saw a fragement of the medieval city wall. After the park we walked through the English or Princess Street Market, an indoor food market where you can buy local specialities like pig heads and drisheen (blood sausage), but also yummi looking cup cakes. Which we didn´t buy, but I always love looking at it. Leaving the market we walked past a couple of stores who sell lovely hodgepodge. Luisa and I got a lot of crafting ideas from there.
After the market we walked along St. Patrick´s Street, the main shopping area of Cork. We didn´t go shopping yet, but enjoyed the Jazz music on the street for a while. As it was the October Bank Holiday weekend the Guiness Cork Jazz Festival took place and there were street performers all over.
From St. Patrick´s Street we walked past the Opera House, crossing the North Channel to head up to the Shandon Steeple. On our way to the steeple, we past the Firkin Crane Center and the Butter Museum. In the 18th century most of Cork´s wealth came from the export of butter. Due to the limited time we didn´t visit the museum. Instead we went on to St. Anne´s Church, whose steeple is known as the Shandon Steeple and well seen throughout most of the inner city.
We looked inside and despite that it wasn´t allowed to take photos Luisa did it anyway ;).
After St. Anne´s, we got a little confused with all those alley´s finding a way out to the next church. I have to say I reached my limit of churches for this months.
Luisa and walked around the Shandon quarter a little longer before heading back down the hill. It was nice and warm in the sun, but as soon as we came in the shadow temperature dropped by 5°C.
We walked back via the North Mall/ North Main Street and that´s were our sightseeing tour ended and the shopping started. Unlike in Germany stores close quite early at 6 or 6.30pm so we didn´t have a lot of time for shopping.
We had to go back to Kinsale anyway, as we were invited to a potluck dinner this evening.
The potluck dinner was fun. We made pizza from a stone oven and met some interesting people from all over the world (Spain, Columbia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland and Bavaria). The Columbian girl Carolina made a delicious Guacamole and Chili con Carne.
After the dinner we planned to enjoy some more Jazz music in Kinsale, but Luisa and are so tired from all the walking that we went home to sleep.
Luisa arrived on Friday evening. We cooked a delicious meal, enjoyed a pint of Guiness and talked about our plans for the week.
Today, Luisa and I went to Cork. We went on a walking tour of Cork as our guide recommended. We started from the Tourist office on Grand Parade where we got some useful info about Cork and a couple of brochures. Totally in Touri behaviour we made a lot of pictures of everything we saw and mentioned in the guide. This is why the first pictures you can see are from the National Monument, St. Finn Barre´s Cathedral, Holy Trinity Monastery and the South Channel of the River Lee.
The old part of Cork is build on a kind of island, surrounded by the North and South Channel of the River Lee.
Across the river we saw the spires of St. Finn Barre´s Cathedral, where the city began as a monastic school in about 650AD.
From the National Monument we headed up the Grand Parade towards St. Patrick´s Street passing Bishop Lucey Park and the Princess Street Market (English Market). Inside the park, which is the only one in Cork, we saw a fragement of the medieval city wall. After the park we walked through the English or Princess Street Market, an indoor food market where you can buy local specialities like pig heads and drisheen (blood sausage), but also yummi looking cup cakes. Which we didn´t buy, but I always love looking at it. Leaving the market we walked past a couple of stores who sell lovely hodgepodge. Luisa and I got a lot of crafting ideas from there.
After the market we walked along St. Patrick´s Street, the main shopping area of Cork. We didn´t go shopping yet, but enjoyed the Jazz music on the street for a while. As it was the October Bank Holiday weekend the Guiness Cork Jazz Festival took place and there were street performers all over.
From St. Patrick´s Street we walked past the Opera House, crossing the North Channel to head up to the Shandon Steeple. On our way to the steeple, we past the Firkin Crane Center and the Butter Museum. In the 18th century most of Cork´s wealth came from the export of butter. Due to the limited time we didn´t visit the museum. Instead we went on to St. Anne´s Church, whose steeple is known as the Shandon Steeple and well seen throughout most of the inner city.
We looked inside and despite that it wasn´t allowed to take photos Luisa did it anyway ;).
After St. Anne´s, we got a little confused with all those alley´s finding a way out to the next church. I have to say I reached my limit of churches for this months.
Luisa and walked around the Shandon quarter a little longer before heading back down the hill. It was nice and warm in the sun, but as soon as we came in the shadow temperature dropped by 5°C.
We walked back via the North Mall/ North Main Street and that´s were our sightseeing tour ended and the shopping started. Unlike in Germany stores close quite early at 6 or 6.30pm so we didn´t have a lot of time for shopping.
We had to go back to Kinsale anyway, as we were invited to a potluck dinner this evening.
The potluck dinner was fun. We made pizza from a stone oven and met some interesting people from all over the world (Spain, Columbia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland and Bavaria). The Columbian girl Carolina made a delicious Guacamole and Chili con Carne.
After the dinner we planned to enjoy some more Jazz music in Kinsale, but Luisa and are so tired from all the walking that we went home to sleep.
Donnerstag, 21. Oktober 2010
Mittwoch, 20. Oktober 2010
Almost Midterm
It´s almost Midterm in school and my third week at work.
My schedule is more or less organized and I get a routine in my everyday life.
It is a strange feeling being a teacher and I m not used to being one yet. I m still more a college student ;)
My first extra German classes have been great. The students seem enthusiastic to talk German. Let´s hope it stays this way and that I won´t kill their enthusiasm.
Next week is Midterm break, so I have plenty of time to think about what I want to do with them and get some structure into class.
Life outside of school is pretty good. I finally met some people in Kinsale and we went for a nice hike along the sea. I signed up for a Pilates class on tuesdays. My first class was last night. It was great and relaxing, but I had some sore muscles this morning.
The weather is nice, which means it hasn´t been raining that much. It´s getting cold and I am so glad I brought a wintercoat.
My plans for the weekend are partying in Cork and enjoying the Jazz festival. :)
My schedule is more or less organized and I get a routine in my everyday life.
It is a strange feeling being a teacher and I m not used to being one yet. I m still more a college student ;)
My first extra German classes have been great. The students seem enthusiastic to talk German. Let´s hope it stays this way and that I won´t kill their enthusiasm.
Next week is Midterm break, so I have plenty of time to think about what I want to do with them and get some structure into class.
Life outside of school is pretty good. I finally met some people in Kinsale and we went for a nice hike along the sea. I signed up for a Pilates class on tuesdays. My first class was last night. It was great and relaxing, but I had some sore muscles this morning.
The weather is nice, which means it hasn´t been raining that much. It´s getting cold and I am so glad I brought a wintercoat.
My plans for the weekend are partying in Cork and enjoying the Jazz festival. :)
Freitag, 8. Oktober 2010
Review week 1
The first week is over and so far it was quite relaxed at school. Most of the time I went with the German teacher Joanne and observed the lesson and class.
It is interessting how they teach German at this school. The whole curriculum is very exam oriented (the students have two major exams one in year 3 and one in year 6). The German students speak quite well but I have the impression that they mostly learn it by heart instead of trying to speak of the top of their head.
The language of instruction is mostly English. The target language (German) is only used for the use of pronunciation. I am curious how my first after school German class will go. It will start on Monday with the 6th years.
Besides German lessons I will also teach or supervise a two or three students in a one-on-one class. Two of them need special attention and one just gets extra German as something went wrong with her schedule.
I am also observing History lessons in first and second year. Compared to Germany they start off right away in first year, but they study the same major subjects like Ancient civilisations, Middle Age etc with a focus in Irish culture and history. It is really interessting, the first year class in particular as I learn a lot about the Celtic history.
So far I have no plans for the weekend. I will probably explore my surrounding a little more and drive up to the Old Head which was an old fort, but is a light house now.
Maybe I find someone who joins me for a pint of Guiness in a local pub :)
It is interessting how they teach German at this school. The whole curriculum is very exam oriented (the students have two major exams one in year 3 and one in year 6). The German students speak quite well but I have the impression that they mostly learn it by heart instead of trying to speak of the top of their head.
The language of instruction is mostly English. The target language (German) is only used for the use of pronunciation. I am curious how my first after school German class will go. It will start on Monday with the 6th years.
Besides German lessons I will also teach or supervise a two or three students in a one-on-one class. Two of them need special attention and one just gets extra German as something went wrong with her schedule.
I am also observing History lessons in first and second year. Compared to Germany they start off right away in first year, but they study the same major subjects like Ancient civilisations, Middle Age etc with a focus in Irish culture and history. It is really interessting, the first year class in particular as I learn a lot about the Celtic history.
So far I have no plans for the weekend. I will probably explore my surrounding a little more and drive up to the Old Head which was an old fort, but is a light house now.
Maybe I find someone who joins me for a pint of Guiness in a local pub :)
Montag, 4. Oktober 2010
My first day at school
Today, was my first day at school and it was nice.
I accompanied one of the German teachers. I will work with Joanne for the next 6 months. I´ll be teaching year 4, 5 and 6 in German pronunciation ;). At the end, the students will be speaking perfect dialect. The classes will be after school which means I have to work Mo, Tue, Thur and Fr until 5 and We until 2.
Besides Germany, I will be watching History, English and Politic classes and if I am lucky I´ll get the chance to teach one or two lessons.
The German students are really good. They pronunciate some words in a funny way, but one can still understand the meaning. At the Kinsale Community School all first year students (age 12/13) start with German and French. In year two, they can choose between the two languages.
In year 3 they have their Junior Certificate which prepares them for the leaving certificate in year 6. The Leaving Cert qualifies them to go to a university.
My schedule is not yet finished, but I hope until the end of the week I´ll know my schedule.
I´ll keep you updated!!
I accompanied one of the German teachers. I will work with Joanne for the next 6 months. I´ll be teaching year 4, 5 and 6 in German pronunciation ;). At the end, the students will be speaking perfect dialect. The classes will be after school which means I have to work Mo, Tue, Thur and Fr until 5 and We until 2.
Besides Germany, I will be watching History, English and Politic classes and if I am lucky I´ll get the chance to teach one or two lessons.
The German students are really good. They pronunciate some words in a funny way, but one can still understand the meaning. At the Kinsale Community School all first year students (age 12/13) start with German and French. In year two, they can choose between the two languages.
In year 3 they have their Junior Certificate which prepares them for the leaving certificate in year 6. The Leaving Cert qualifies them to go to a university.
My schedule is not yet finished, but I hope until the end of the week I´ll know my schedule.
I´ll keep you updated!!
Samstag, 2. Oktober 2010
First time in Cork City
Today, I could hitch a ride into Cork with Shane. He is visiting the Univerity College (UCC) in Cork to make an MBA. I had to wake up really early at 7.30h as we left at 8.20am. The weather wasn´t to good, but it wasn´t raining. On the way into Cork City the sun came out a little bit.
I started my sightseeing tour at UCC. From there I walked onto Washington Street to St. Patrick´s Street. There weren´t a lot of people around. On Washington Street are a couple of shops with tiny doors like a Thai Shop or other junk food stores.
The first thing on my to do list, was to get a new sim card. Coming from Washington street I run right into an o2 store. The shop assistant was really friendly and now I am the proud owner of an Irish cell phone number. :)
Getting a new sim card was actually my only to do item, so I walk around and went a little shopping. First thing I went into a bookshop to buy a travel guide about Ireland. Looking around the store I spotted a cookbook from Jamie Oliver "Dinner in 30min". Sounds perfect for me as I am too lazy cookinf for myself. It has some delicious recipes in it and I can´t wait to start cooking. I stayed downtown until noon, walking around different shops (GAP!!! :) ), than I took a bus back to UCC were I was supposed to meet Shane at half past one.
His lecturer decided to keep the students for an hour longer, so I walked around UCC Campus. It´s a nice campus, very central. Some of the buildings remind me on barracks or a building from Eastern Germany. I don´t know how many students go to UCC but I doesn´t look like a very big university.
Shane and I came back to Kinsale around 4pm. I thought about going for a bike ride, but went upstairs to read instead.
During dinner, Casey joined me, and she drove me crazy. She jumps up in my lap claws first. I can tell you, it hurts quite a bit. She can´t sit still like other cats, she´s always biting or trying out her claws on my fingers or clothes. I got so annoyed that I put her outside. But Shane let her back in.
If the weather is nice, I will make a bike tour to the Charlesfort, one of the Kinsale tourist attractions.
take care
I started my sightseeing tour at UCC. From there I walked onto Washington Street to St. Patrick´s Street. There weren´t a lot of people around. On Washington Street are a couple of shops with tiny doors like a Thai Shop or other junk food stores.
The first thing on my to do list, was to get a new sim card. Coming from Washington street I run right into an o2 store. The shop assistant was really friendly and now I am the proud owner of an Irish cell phone number. :)
Getting a new sim card was actually my only to do item, so I walk around and went a little shopping. First thing I went into a bookshop to buy a travel guide about Ireland. Looking around the store I spotted a cookbook from Jamie Oliver "Dinner in 30min". Sounds perfect for me as I am too lazy cookinf for myself. It has some delicious recipes in it and I can´t wait to start cooking. I stayed downtown until noon, walking around different shops (GAP!!! :) ), than I took a bus back to UCC were I was supposed to meet Shane at half past one.
His lecturer decided to keep the students for an hour longer, so I walked around UCC Campus. It´s a nice campus, very central. Some of the buildings remind me on barracks or a building from Eastern Germany. I don´t know how many students go to UCC but I doesn´t look like a very big university.
Shane and I came back to Kinsale around 4pm. I thought about going for a bike ride, but went upstairs to read instead.
During dinner, Casey joined me, and she drove me crazy. She jumps up in my lap claws first. I can tell you, it hurts quite a bit. She can´t sit still like other cats, she´s always biting or trying out her claws on my fingers or clothes. I got so annoyed that I put her outside. But Shane let her back in.
If the weather is nice, I will make a bike tour to the Charlesfort, one of the Kinsale tourist attractions.
take care
Freitag, 1. Oktober 2010
Walking around Kinsale
Today, I didn´t have any special thing to do. I slept until 10am, had breakfast (Cheerios) while watching TV and took a shower at noon.
As it was a sunny day, I took the opportunity and went for a walk around Kinsale.
Have a look at the pictures and you get an impression of the town.
On my way back from Kinsale I walked a long the B... river. It was a nice walk.
Back at home, I played a little bit with Casey - the kitten- in the backyard. She is really crazy, running around and biting everything.
Tomorrow, I´ll be going to Cork to get a Sim card.
As it was a sunny day, I took the opportunity and went for a walk around Kinsale.
Have a look at the pictures and you get an impression of the town.
On my way back from Kinsale I walked a long the B... river. It was a nice walk.
Back at home, I played a little bit with Casey - the kitten- in the backyard. She is really crazy, running around and biting everything.
Tomorrow, I´ll be going to Cork to get a Sim card.
Exploring Kinsale
Today, I had an appointment with the headmaster at 10.45h.
The school is just 800m away, which is great as I don´t have to wake up to early.
The Kinsale Community school is for students age 12 - 18. The students all wear school uniforms. The teachers are nice and some of them aren´t hardly older than myself. I met another student teacher who showed me around school.
I also met one of the German teachers whom I will assist. She told me that I will be teaching mostly seniors. Some of the 4 and 5 years are going to Karlsruhe in February, which is great as I have a topic to start with.
Besides German I hope I will be able to teach some History and Politics as well.
After the visit to school I went downtown to get some fruits and to walk around town.
On my way home it rained quite hard, but it stopped half way.
The rest of the day I spent inside, doing some research and watching TV.
In the evening I made some pasta, but as I forgot to buy some salt it tasted a little stale.
After dinner I played with Casey - the kitten. She is really crazy, running around and exploring everything. But she is also very trusting and everytime someone is in the kitchen she comes to the door and looks inside, begging to let her in. Casey is only allowed in the kitchen and spents most her time outstide.
The school is just 800m away, which is great as I don´t have to wake up to early.
The Kinsale Community school is for students age 12 - 18. The students all wear school uniforms. The teachers are nice and some of them aren´t hardly older than myself. I met another student teacher who showed me around school.
I also met one of the German teachers whom I will assist. She told me that I will be teaching mostly seniors. Some of the 4 and 5 years are going to Karlsruhe in February, which is great as I have a topic to start with.
Besides German I hope I will be able to teach some History and Politics as well.
After the visit to school I went downtown to get some fruits and to walk around town.
On my way home it rained quite hard, but it stopped half way.
The rest of the day I spent inside, doing some research and watching TV.
In the evening I made some pasta, but as I forgot to buy some salt it tasted a little stale.
After dinner I played with Casey - the kitten. She is really crazy, running around and exploring everything. But she is also very trusting and everytime someone is in the kitchen she comes to the door and looks inside, begging to let her in. Casey is only allowed in the kitchen and spents most her time outstide.
Mittwoch, 29. September 2010
Arrival in Kinsale
After a short night sleep I woke up very early to catch my flight at 7am. Thanks to the possibility to check in online I didn´t have to arrive hours before. When I tried to check in my luggage the lady at the desk informed me that my carry on was to bulky and I had to repack it. I was so proud that I packed all my belongings in one backpack and one carry-one, now I had to carry two bags around.
After a 3hour flight and one stop in London, Heathrow I arrived in a sunny Ireland. My excitement lasted as long as I found out that my luggage didn´t arrive with me. Somehow I never arrive at the same time as my luggage. After a quick coffee and salad at Starbucks, I took a bus from Cork to Kinsale. The busride was a little scary. The left driving thing is still a little frightning.
From Kinsale town center I took a cab to the house. It is very nice. It has a nice big kitchen and backyard. My room is on the top floor, it is really nice and from the window I can see the school.
As I´ve only slept 4hours and nothing to unpack I took a long nap. My luggage arrived in the evening and so did my flat mates. Shane and Catherine were so nice to make dinner for me. Later in the evening Catherine drove me to the grocery store to pick up some food for myself.
Back at home I unpacked and went to bed.
After a 3hour flight and one stop in London, Heathrow I arrived in a sunny Ireland. My excitement lasted as long as I found out that my luggage didn´t arrive with me. Somehow I never arrive at the same time as my luggage. After a quick coffee and salad at Starbucks, I took a bus from Cork to Kinsale. The busride was a little scary. The left driving thing is still a little frightning.
From Kinsale town center I took a cab to the house. It is very nice. It has a nice big kitchen and backyard. My room is on the top floor, it is really nice and from the window I can see the school.
As I´ve only slept 4hours and nothing to unpack I took a long nap. My luggage arrived in the evening and so did my flat mates. Shane and Catherine were so nice to make dinner for me. Later in the evening Catherine drove me to the grocery store to pick up some food for myself.
Back at home I unpacked and went to bed.
Montag, 20. September 2010
Welcome!!
Thanks to my beloved flate mates I decided to write a blog while I am in Kinsale.
Have fun reading it! elke
Have fun reading it! elke
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