Field Trip

Mid-week I was asked to come along as a chaperon on the field trip to visit the Roman town of Italica and then to visit a couple landmarks in Sevilla. Both 3rd grade classes and both 4th grade classes went on the trip.

I was very excited to be asked to chaperon because they were going to a few places I had not yet seen and secretly those are some of my favorite classes!

It was a good experience walking around with the Spanish teachers because they were eager to introduce me to the new places and tell me about all of them. The students were thrilled to have me along and I always had children hanging on me and wanting to be my "walking buddy".

First we went to Italica, which is a really small town full of Roman ruins.

Then we went into Sevilla where we walked up the Giralda Tower which I had done during my first 2 weeks when I stayed in Sevilla. We toured the cathedral, which is the 3rd largest cathedral in Europe. Christopher Columbus’ tomb is inside among many famous pieces of artwork by Murillo and Picasso.

We went to Plaza de Espana ate lunch and walked around taking pictures.
Then we walked through the park where a freak rainstorm sprung upon us and we all rushed into a nearby gazebo. It was kind of like that scene in the Sound of Music when Liesl Von Trapp and the Soldier sing "Sixteen going on Seventeen".

Except in this instance there were 60+ people packed into the gazebo, not 2 romantics. Everyone, teachers and students, began clapping, which was followed by the singing of a traditional Andalucian song. They would take turns dancing Sevilliano (typical dance in this region) in the middle.

Its in these moments that I feel so absolutely content living here. What could have been a miserable 30 minutes where we are all wet, tired, and trapped in a small space together, turned into the best part of the trip. I clapped along with everybody and was even dragged into the middle for a few dance steps while everyone chanted Olé !

Ireland

After five weeks of recuperating from my broken foot, I thought the cast would come off and I would hit the ground running... Well I wasn’t able to run, not in the literal sense at least. I actually couldn’t even walk and I needed the crutches still. But ever since I was given the go ahead by both my doctor and Guadalupe I have been go-go-go and trying to make up for lost time. (Me being escorted by wheelchair through the airport).

The first thing I did was hop a plane to Ireland for some sister time. I was fortunate enough to visit Ireland twice; first for St. Patrick’s Day + weekend and then again for my Spring Break. In total I spent about 12 days with Shannon in Ireland. We stayed together in her dormroom/apartment at the University College of Dublin.

She has quite the set up there and I met some of her friends. I also have to give credit to Shannon because not only was she a great hostess and made me some of my favorite meals from home that I haven’t had since August, but she was also a really good tour guide.

I have always wanted to visit Ireland and I think once you see my photos you will see why. The city is classic, and the countryside was exactly how I pictured it; lush and green. I immediately fell in love with the accent and felt like my pale-skin, red-headed self fit right in. I had never seen so many redheads before in my life.

St. Patrick’s Day consisted of a party in the streets that in comparable to Love Parade in San Francisco. We danced, drank and partied with the Irish until our little hearts content.

For a couple of the days in Ireland I was still on crutches, so we kept the walking to a minimum. Attempting to tour the city on crutches was a huge pain in the ass and my hands were blistered. But it all became worth it when we got to skip 2 hours worth of lines at the Guiness Factory and allowed inside immediately.

Other then the Guiness Factory, our Dublin tour included St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity College to see the book of Kells, Live music and entertainment on Grafton Street, Temple Bar, relaxing in a coffee shop to escape the rain, Pub hopping with more live music (which was my favorite part) and most importantly... the best 7 euros Shannon ever spent in The National Leprechuan museum. (Picture of St. Patricks Cathedral).

The Leprechuan Museum was quite hilarious and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Shannon so excited. With Shannon’s experience, knowledge, and personal connection to the Leprechuan world she knew more information then our guide and would enthusiastically call out the answers to his questions. (Shannon = Leprechaun).

Personally, I think she would have given a better tour. In the museum our journey began with a look at representations of the leprechaun through the ages. We explored the relationship between landscape, folklore, story-telling and magic. We were told to expect the unexpected as we moved through the playful and fascinating world of the leprechaun. Here are pictures from Shannon’s journey: (Shannon making herself at home).

(Making her way through the rainbow)


(Trying to get to the pot of gold)

(Sad because she didn't get the pot of gold...so we got treats instead!)

Shannon and I took 2 day tours together. The first was to Dublin Bay and Malahide Castle. Then the second was a day trip to the Cliffs of Moor and made stops along the way to see castles, cemetery's, and the city of Galway. The trip to the Cliffs of Moor belongs on my top 10 list for this year. Much of the day we spent driving through the beautiful countryside, listening to Irish music, and then enjoying the spectacular view of the cliffs.
(Cliffs of Moor)

For part of my time in Dublin my friend Katelyn joined Shannon and I for some touring and then I was also able to meet up with a friend from home, Morgan, on St. Patrick’s Day. Overall, I felt like the trip was too short and Ireland is definitely a place I want to return to someday. It was also an incredible feeling to finally see my sister after so long and it still hasn’t hit me that we were both in Europe, in Ireland, TOGETHER!