Cultural sites and coffees

I'm spending my last week in Ireland and I've been to some nice places while the sun has shoned through the clouds!

 Last Sunday I was in Cork, I visited the Cork Goal with a friendly guide who explained some curious stories about XIXth century criminals. I had a tour at the city center passing by the Opera House, the Art Gallery and some other important buildings. But since it was raining, Silvia and I looked for a cosy café to have a drink. We found, as in Limerick, an awarded café where we took a cappuccino.

 

On Monday I had a pleasant surprise. There was a conference meeting at the university and the canteen was busy. So, we had to go for lunch at Paddock's, the best restaurant in the campus, and we've been having lunch there for the rest of the week. In the afternoon, we went down to the city to visit the Hunt Museum. I was quite excited for the visit because SIlvia and I had prepared a quiz about some of the important pieces in the museum (Picasso's drawing, Renoir's painting, Yeats, etc.) for the students. They completed very well and we gave chocolates to all of them for the good job!

Tuesday was a nice day! I was at People's Park, green and grass everywhere! I had looked for some imformation about the park and its monuments, and Dee, the activity leader, explained about them to the students. We visited a Georgian House as well, with some nice rooms and a great garden.

On Wednesday I visited the Art Gallery, which held some visual art exhibitions and I had a cappuccino at the gallery's café too. In the evening, there was a concert at the Scholars, so Giuseppe, SIlvia and I went there to listen to some live Irish music. This concert it was much better than the last week's. There were two transverse flutes, a guitar and a girl playing the acordeon. We were clapping along with the rhythm and we had fun even if it was just for a while.

Today Thursday, there was time for the path by the river, it took two hours from the sports center in the campus till the city. It was a really pleasant and peaceful walk and I met some friends: swams, ducks, dogs and some birds too!

In the evening, students did a nice activity. They were given situations and in small groups they had to record themselves acting out the situation. Later, we watched all the videos and we laughed a lot! Some of them were impressive.

Well, there's only one more day to go!

A night at the dogs

Yesterday I had one of the best nights since I'm in Ireland: I went to the Greyhound Stadium in Limerick to see the dogs races.

Although I had to take a 15-minutes trip by bus plus a 30-minutes walk, it was worth it.

I got into the stadium just in time, there was plenty of people waiting for the races to star, while watching a hurling game and some statistics about dogs' skills on any of the screens that were all around. 

Outside, there was the race track,  some grandstands without any chair because the public is suppose to be standing to better see the dogs.

Then, I went to the Tote desk and a nice woman explained me how to bet. Also, I got a brochure which had all the information about dogs and each of the 11 races that were planned for that night. 

Some nice men talked to our students and gave them further information, since they could see it was our first time at the dogs.

So, the races started! The first race I saw was very exciting: six dogs, wearing different colours, run after a fake rabbit through all the track. People were shouting the numbers of the dogs and after a minute and a half, the race ended, Such a fast race, I could just take a few pictures!

On the next races, I bet 1 or 2€, but I lost all my bets, however a student of my group won all the times she bet. 

Anyway, it was so thrilling to guess and try to find out which dog would win and bet on it.

It was surprising to see the amount of people following the races, betting on the dogs and having a quite serious look when cheking their brochures and commenting on how good or bad the dogs were. 

It was such an appealing evening!

AMAZING SITE IN IRELAND

I've been at the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare in Ireland. It's one of the most fascinating sites I've ever seen!!

The Cliffs rise from 120 to 214 metres above the Atlantic Ocean and they're more than 8 km long.

I walked for almost two hours by the edges of the cliffs and I could have spent the whole day there. 

Feeling the air, experiencing the nature, listening to the waves and gazing at that such great landscape has just been incredible!

I really have no words to describe what I felt there and how exciting it has been. 

And It's been sunny, no rain at all, as well!!!!

 After that, we visited Lahinch, a coastal surfers village, where we ate our packed-lunch by the beach while watching some people surfing and swimming in the cold ocean. Later,  since we had some free time, I had a coffee in a surfers café and I came across a nice Celtic clothes shop where I got two T-shirts.

I see the good part of the rain

Almost a week over under the rain and now I realize that this campus wouldn't be the same without it. 

I enjoyed the pleasant green fields right from the very first time I got here, but I really understand that to keep its green, rain is needed all the time. It's amazing to discover plenty of different plants in any spot

I'm happy because yesterday I got 4 nice achievements:  we got internet access and computers for our students, I bought an Adidas sweatshirt, our students had a speed-talking activity which went really well, and I could see the Living Bridge at night with its lights on, what was so exciting because we took all our students there on the way back to the appartments. This Bridge is the longest hanging bridge in Ireland and its a unique piece of architecture and it's important because is crosses the Shannon river, the longest river in this country too. 

Also, I enjoyed the art collection set in the Fundation Building at the campus following the suggestion of the university coordinator. I visited the King John's Castle together with the students as well. It was an interesting and entertaining visit where I could learnt a bit about Limerick's history and I got some souvenirs from the gift shop.

Finally, sun in the city!

It's been three full days at the campus and there are plenty of things I've discovered: some that I like and some others referring to food or to how students are pushed into practising English that I hope they will soon improve. So that, I spend quite time discussing with other leaders, teachers and coordinators. 

A part from this, today it's been a good day: sun, first visit at the city center, pool and disco as an evening activity for students and a live concert at the restaurant.

I must say that it rained till midday, but then temperature started to rise and sun shined through the clouds. We took a bus to the city and we did a short tour. We've passed by the Treaty Stone, the Castle, a Masonic Centre ,St. Mary Cathedral and the wide Shannon River shining under the sun. Later, we had some time to walk around the pedestrian streets in the city center and I had a caffé latte in a nice and sweet café. 

Back at the campus, we had dinner and we could enjoy a live concert of Irish music performed by three musicians. It's been an unexpected and rewarding moment. Then we went to the Students Union to play pool (what our students really enjoyed) and dance.

 

Nice daily moments

I'm here again trying to get some quite time to write and upload some pictures, what is kind of difficult because Silvia and I have dealt with many things in just few days.

For example, we helped a girl to find her flight ticket after some chatting before getting to the flight gate, we had to go to the village reception three times, because some appartments' keys do not work when being close to a cell phone, so students cannot get into their rooms. We had three meetings to know coordinators and heads and we also learnt how to move around within the University Campus.

In this post, I'd like to tell you about some situations that have made me feel like home or that thet have just helped me to forget about the rain and enjoy my time here in Limerick.

The coffee at the Starbucks in the Main building while students are taking their lessons,  it's one of the best things in the morning, I hope I'll keep it every day!

The 50m Olympic Swimming Pool:

we've been twice and I've swum for more than 15 minutes each time, what has been so relaxing! 

Next week, we'll go there again!

Even if distances are quite big in the campus, walking through all these green fields and paths is one of the most pleasant activities in the UL,

specially the evening walk to get back to the accomodation before going to bed. I also like taking a longer way and cross the Living Bridge over the wide Shannon river.

A huge campus

University of Limerick has a large campus with important buildings, departments and areas. It was the first universtity set in Ireland. Here you can see one of the oldest and greatest trees of the campus and one of the newest sites, the Living Bridge, a bridge over the Shannon river that takes people from the accademic area to the students' appartments. 

Since it is a wide and big university, I've been spending quite time discovering how to move around and where each place it is (offices, classrooms, canteen, restaurant, post office, etc.). I must say that it's not easy -rain and clouds don't help-, but I'm sure I'll know how to get everywhere in one more day!

Also, I guess I'm going to keep fit, because distances are quite big and I walk fast during the whole day and we've been to the swimming pool today and we're going there tomorrow to swim again.