"Fáilte"

Samstag, den 19. November 2011 um 10:43 Uhr

"Fáilte", as Irish people would say - "Welcome to Ireland!" Ireland is also known as "Eire", "Green Isle" and "Emerald Isle" and was the destination of the class trip

from Year 9. The pupils from Meerane and Waldenburg went there from the 5th october until the 14th october 2011. The exhausting journey by coach took them about 32 hours. Although the journey to Ireland was very long and hard, the excitement grew with every mile the pupils came closer to their travel destination where they met their host families for the first time. Now let's have a look at some unforgettable impressions: "On Friday, our first day in Dublin, we attended an English class at the 'Dublin School of English', which is a school for foreign students who want to learn English. We were divided into groups of 11 pupils. The English lessons were interesting and cheerful. After four hours at school we visited the famous Trinity College, which was built in 1592 under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The college has a four hundred years old tradition of scholarship and it has a reputation beyond Irish borders. You can also find the oldest book in the world there, the so-called 'Book of Kells'. We made some nice sightseeing tours by coach at the weekend. On Saturday we visited Dublin and its surroundings. We had the possibility to take photos of the impressing countryside and the famous sights of Dublin. We even learnt a well-known Irish folk song called 'Molly Malone'. On Sunday we went to the Wicklow Mountains and the small village Glendalough. From Monday until Wednesday we had to attend our English classes again. But it wasn't a problem for us thanks to the relaxing weekend. On Monday afternoon we visited the 'Kilmainham Goal', a prison, which is a museum nowadays. On Tuesday we had some free time after finishing school and discovered the city centre of Dublin on our own. On Wednesday we got up with mixed feelings because it was our last day in Ireland. We went to an Irish pub in the afternoon where we sang Irish songs and danced to Irish live music. It was great fun because it was so difficult to dance in a small bar together with so many pupils. On Thursday we had to get up early in the morning to reach our coach and the ferry on time. We had to say 'Goodbye!' to our host families after breakfast. On the one hand we were really glad to return home to our families and friends, but on the other hand those days in Ireland were a great experience in our life. We will surely miss the Irish food and the friendly people. One thing we won't miss: the weather. It can change from rain to sun within five minutes and an Irish proverb says: 'An Irishman doesn't leave the house without sunglasses, a jacket and an umbrella.'"