Some months ago, I was telling you my travel to Ireland but I didn't conclude my story. Here it is the next part.
The school facilities weren't as good as we expected but I have to admit that it isn't important if you want to enjoy your time there and you have some friends to enjoy with.
Once we had been separated into two groups, we went to the our classroom and started to talk a bit with the teacher. She, whose name was Carmel, asked our names and wanted us to explain from where we come and the places we had visited before. That first conversation was a bit cold because we didn't know each other well enough and the teacher seemed to be a bit harsh. She told us that she didn't want to hear a word in Spanish. That is a bit difficult in a group of young people who are experiencing their first contact with another culture and another language, but we tried to follow her instructions and little by little we spoke fluently.
Classes were quite amusing. We did grammar exercises, vocabulary exercises and group conversations. But we also listened to songs and watched some films, in English of course.
Two afternoons a week we had to do an activity called "Project Work". The whole group were divided into groups of 5 people and each one of the groups had to chose an aspect of Irish culture. My group chose "Food and Drink". The days when we have to do the Project Work, we searched information on the Net and made a mural with it. Well, we made two murals: one with the food and the other with the drink. In the latter we talked about Guinness, of course.
The other afternoons of the week we had free time to do what we wanted. We could watch a film, play cards, play basketball or, what we most liked, play volleyball. I remember that volleyball afternoons with a big smile because we really enjoyed it. Me and some friends also spent some afternoons singing English songs. It was really funny!
One day per week, we had a day trip. We visited some places. The one I most remember is the Cliffs of Moher. It is an enormous and beautiful precipice.
We also visited an island that was inside a huge lake that was uninhabited. It was a green and thick forest, with plenty of vegetation and wild little animals. It also had an old cemetery. It was really beautiful.
We couldn't miss a trip to the city of Galway. We lived an hour far from there so we go by bus to do some shopping and see how was the life there. Galway is a city with a lot of street artists: musicians, magicians, showmen, mime, etc. It is a pleasure to walk through its streets.
Leaving apart the school life, I would like to talk about my host family. They were a 4-children family, three boys and a girl. The father was a farmer so we live in a farm. But it really didn't seem a farm. The house looked like a fairy tale house and so did the garden. The views me and my roommate had from our room were incredible. See a big lake surrounded by vegetation we you get up is the best way to start your day!
The mother took care of the house and the family and also helped the father with the animals. They had a lot of them: donkeys, horses, cows, ducks and a dog. She was a really good cook. She made delicious meals for us.
The family treated us very very well. The talk with us and asked us things about Spain and our culture. We also ask the things about Ireland.
My memories of the time spent there are all good things. It has been an incredible experience that I thing everybody should live. Is amazing to see how you can manage in a country that it isn't yours thanks to the people that live there, because the give you all they have and make your stay much more comfortable.
It is also amazing to notice that you can make good friends in a month. Friends that still are my friends. It is true that you can't go out with them because each one lives in a city and it is a bit difficult to see each other as much as we would like. But, in spite of that you know that are your friends and will be there if you need them.
I'll never forget my month in Ireland.
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