Coral Beaches, Cliften School and Tin Whistle

Over the weekend we stayed in Tully Cross and the surrounding area. Saturday we left our cottage around ten o'clock to go grocery shopping and visit a few beaches. Last time we were in Ireland there was only one grocery store but since then two other stores have opened making prices drop considerably. The main place we go to shop is the Aldi in Cliften about five minutes from my school. After grocery shopping we visited a beach with a megalithic tomb on the shore just above where the tide comes in. In Ireland there are lots of places like this scattered in the country side that are there just to stumble upon. After we got in the car and headed out to look for a famed coral beach around Ballyconnelly. We stopped along the road at a beach for lunch and to have a look around before realizing that we had in fact stumbled upon the coral beach. Only in Ireland can a place with two pages in a guide book have no sign by it. The sand was made of all coral some pieces were almost as tiny as sand and other pieces were up to seven or eight millimeters. Although it rained almost the whole day the beaches we beautiful covered in shells and being ever changed by the tide and its huge waves. Sunday we played soccer for about three hours with the students down on the local pitch. Then we went to a Valentines day party thrown by some of the students.

While in Ireland I have been learning to play the tin whistle sometimes better known as a penny whistle. The tin whistle originated in China around five thousand years ago and then made its way to Europe around the eleventh century. Although no one is quite sure how the penny whistle got its name some people think that the name my have originated from when people would throw pennies to street players. In the video below I play three songs. The first is called "Going to the Well" the second "Kerry Polka" and the last "Bean si Jig." I learned some this the first time I lived in Ireland and since returning have begun to practice again. In the primary schools it is taught to all the children but once you reach the secondary level the only year you have music is fifth year which would be the equivalent of sophomore here.

Below is Liam and I on our first day of school in our school uniforms.

School is going well and I would like to point out some main differences I have noticed between Irish public schools and American public schools. First of all I have a religion class here this is because public schools in the Republic are Catholic. Another difference between the two schools is that education at the secondary level is centered around two exams which decide if you can go to college or not. First years (seventh graders) and second years (our grade) spend class time studying and learning material for the first of two tests the Junior Certification. Then third year is spent taking the test and taking classes that are meant to help you decide what job area you want to go into. Fourth years (sophomores) are also sometimes called transition years. They take classes that help them decide what job area to go into and learn basic life skills such as cooking, swimming and healthy living habits in classes like home economics, wood working and P.E. Then in fifth and six years you prepare for and take you Leaving Certification. Sixth year is the equivalent of junior year and after that students graduate. During the year America's of that age are seniors, Irish kids are job shadowing. This narrows down the number of students who go to college waste a year deciding what to do with their education. This supports the mindset that not everyone should or can go to college, vocational training is encouraged and valued here much more than in the United States.

Another difference between my new school and home is the facilities are much better in East. For example we have no cafeteria and there is only one girls bathroom for about two hundred and fifty girls. The school is very old and about two hundred kids over capacity. However in the next two to three years they hope to have a completely new school building. All most all of the kids come into school on buses including me. Every morning the bus picks me up at eight o'clock and it takes about forty minutes on the windy Irish roads to travel the twenty miles it is to our school. The bus ride is quite a experience because there are upper-class men who shout and fight in the back of the bus. The fact that I start and end my day with a forty minute bus ride makes for very long and tiring days. I still don't have a locker or a time table of my own but by the start of next week I'm hoping to be settled in with my own schedule.

I hope to be able to make a small post before we leave; however, the next time I will be able to make thorough a post will most likely be around March tenth. This is due to the fact that we will be taking the students to Dublin and then flying to Malaga Spain for around two weeks. In Spain I will have no Internet connection so I will be out of touch from around next Wednesday to March tenth. Hope everyone is enjoying school and all the snow. Miss you guys! Hopefully I will be able to hear/read some of the American History Idol projects when I get home.