"You sound like Barney"

As you can see from this post's title, I am standing out in Kenmare like a big purple dinosaur. This small town of 1,400 people (which is actually average size of a town in Ireland), have taken me in as their 'American.' In two days, the community has really welcomed me with open arms and my colleagues at the school have been extremely helpful and kind.

My plane ride over was a long one--including a 10-hour lay-over in Chicago. I flew from Cleveland at 6 A.M. on Saturday to Chicago, to Dublin, and then to Cork. By 5 P.M. on Sunday, I was in my little apartment. The apartment is gorgeous and my landlady is completely helpful--even teaching me how to make spaghetti with sauce last night! It's settled on one acre of land with a river running outside my back window. Simply beautiful and I couldn't ask for more!

The weather is the nicest it's been since summer! When I went to England last year, there was sunny weather for seven days straight, and the same is the forecast for Kenmare! I'm not drawing any conclusions, but how about that for coincidence. On my way to school, I see mountains, bridges, and waterways. A slight change from the snowy commute to New London.

At the boys' school, I arrived with high hopes and an energetic spirit for whatever may come my way. I was not disappointed. When the little children came into the school, I almost had a heart attack of cuteness overdose. Their accents, combined with their innocent faces and school uniforms was almost too much for me to handle. And still, on day two, they are just as sweet, polite, and eager to learn. I do miss my class in Ohio and their lovely personalities; but, in the same instance, it is amazing how fast I have moved on. I think it is because as a teacher, the class that I am working with now deserves my best interest and care, so they are my main concern for the next three weeks. After Easter break, I will be working at the girls' school, which undoubtedly will be just as sweet and polite as the boys.

For those of you who appreciate cute children quotations, the following are some that made me hold back a laugh:
"George Washington is on the dollar because he invented money."
"Barack Obama came into America for heart surgery."
Teacher: "What will you do if your button falls out?" I gave the teacher a weird look because I thought she said, "bottom" instead of "button."
Teacher: "Why would you like to live before electricity?" a) "I'm not afraid of it." b) "To be bigger than everyone. c) "To have cool weapons."
"America is by Australia! New Zealand! Brazil! Spain! Mexico!" Close...
"The sheep are lambing." "Can you say that in English?" "The sheep are lambing." This means that the sheep are having babies...I thought he was speaking Irish.
"You sound like Barney." I sang the 'clean-up' song.

I have two classes with children aging from five to seven. I can proudly say that in two days, I have learned all 54 boys' names--who are all in uniforms! This feat is harder than it sounds. Also, they have Irish lessons and sometimes mix their speech with Irish and English. I thought Gaelic was only a spoken language and not written, but there are books in Gaelic and their school signs are printed in both English and Gaelic. This language sounds like German, but it is spelled like French because you only pronounce some of the letters. I have just been recording names phonetically for now, though.

One more tricky thing: the teachers here teach EVERY subject (reading, writing, maths, art, p.e., drama, science, social studies, music). So, tomorrow, I am faced with the task of teaching P.E. I suppose this means that I should actually exercise? I'll be teaching them a bit about basketball and how to play "knock-out" because it was actually a game that I was good at on the playground and something new for them.

Cool fact: The children take Irish dancing lessons during school once a week. I think this is a wonderful idea and a great way for the country to keep a high level of pride for its heritage and traditions. I might teach swing dancing if I get a job in the States...just have to learn it first.