Chelsie - Last day

Thursday March 7th.

 

Today we depart from Ireland. I am sad to leave such a beautiful, amazing, and loving place. The people here were just too sweet and fun to be around. On the other hand I am excited to go home and see my family. I enjoyed this trip so much, it was such a blessing to go and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Ashley - Home

We are finally back in the US and I already miss Ireland and the people. Yesterday morning, we arrived at the airport, and when we were saying bye to our tour guide and driver, I actually started to tear up.. During our flight home, we actually got delayed because of an airplane accident. It set us back about an hour and we were a little worried we were not going to make our flight in Philadelphia. Instead of flying us straight to Philadelphia, we had to stop in Maine to refuel the plane; kind of a built in bonus to see Maine for free! We arrived in time at the Philadelphia airport to make our flight and made it make to Pittsburgh around 5:00pm. I was happy to see my dad at the airport to pick me up and finally get to go home and sleep in my own, warm bed. Also I was very excited to finally have heat in the buildings! In Ireland, we were lucky to be warm in the buildings, which I found to be the only complaint while there. This trip was a great experience, and I will definitely be back to Ireland.  The people I met in Ireland, I feel like I will remember them forever and they made the experience that much better.

Brian Haley

This is going to be my last post in Ireland. I had the best time on this trip. Everything was amazing, from meeting the mayor of Kerry County to playing local sports. I also enjoyed the rugby stadium in Limerick, the museums, culture, and nightlife. I want to thank my classmates for making this trip memorable. I want to thank Dr. Jean Forti, her sister Julie, and Nicole Kubit. They were extremely helpful teachers who I am happy to have met. They'll always be role models of mine for how hard they work for others. I would also like to thank Barbara Hunter. I don't know who is going to read this but I recommend Barb if you need a very professional and personal guided tour. She loves her country of Ireland and she does her job extremely well. Thanks again.
-Brian

Margaret Halligan

Tonight is our last night in Ireland which makes me sad. At first I was a little nervous going on this trip because of my first time flying and meeting new faces on the trip. I knew I was going to have fun in Ireland, but I didn't know I was going to have this much fun. I did not get home sick once because of the people I have meet and spent time with I feel we have became a family. I am going to miss spending time with this group of people even though I know I will hopefully see them at school. I will not be surprised if I shed a few tears when we leave Ireland.

Alyssa Rieffle

Today we played some Irish games called gaelic football and hurling.  Gaelic football was not my thing! I learned how to dribble and kick the ball and also the rules. It is a mixture of football and soccer.   Hurling is a lot like tennis and field hockey. I loved it. After we played some hand ball then learned an irish dance which was also very fun. I miss home but I wish we could stay longer.

Brian Haley

We just left the Experience Gaelic Games and it was very interesting. I have never heard of hurling or Gaelic football. First we watched short clips of professionals playing the sports then we went out on the field and got to actually play. It was a pretty poor showing of all of our skills but it was really fun. I would like to play every once in awhile when we get back to the U.S. Then we got to do some Irish dancing. I was bad at it.
-Brian

Ashley Schmidt

 So far this trip has been amazing. The people in Ireland are very different from what we see in America. Everyone is very friendly and so helpful; they make you feel welcomed and want you to have a good time. Days are very busy but then at night we are able to have free time and really socialize with the locals. Today, at Limerick, we got the chance to learn all about the sport of rugby. We were able to tour the Thomond Park Stadium, where The Munsters play. The Munsters are the rugby team that represent the city of Limerick. I loved being able to tour the stadium and see things that happen behind the scenes.. Everywhere we have visited, so far, is equally beautiful and I have learned so many different things in the short time we have been here.