Our week in Waterford

7/10:

Today was our first field trip day and it was jam packed with stops in Cobh, Blarney, Cork City and Youghal (pronounced "y'all"). Cobh is a port town in county Cork, where many of the "coffin ships" bound for America set sail. Our students learned about the horrid conditions of these famine ships in a cultural heritage museum associated with the IACI. Cody Zimmer took over 100 photos in that one stop alone!

Next, we set off for Blarney where our students all kissed the Blarney Stone in hopes of getting the "gift of the gab," the ability to talk themselves out of sticky situations. They loved the chance to explore the castle grounds and stock up on Aran sweaters at the Blarney Wollen Mills. Colleen said this was an ideal way to celebrate her 15th birthday!

Now with a bus full of talkative kids, we made our way into Cork City, the second largest city in Ireland. We took a few hours to eat and shop in this busy city, but all this was cut short by an intense rainstorm. While some kids complained that they were drenched, Stephen still maintains that this is his favorite memory of the trip thus far. We then ended our day at the coast-line town of Youghal. This town not only has gorgeous sea-side views, but it is also the place where Sir Walter Raleigh first introduced the potato to Ireland in the 1600s.

7/11:

Today was another class day with a major focus on the history and effects of the Potato Famine. After lunch, we had a GAA workshop where local Gaelic sportsmen taught our students hurling and Gaelic football. Most of the kids laughed their way through the drills and found their coaches to be "good craic" (a lot of fun!). We ended our night with a talent show, where the counselors were blown away by the talent of these Irish Way-ers. Patrick brought out his bag-pipes, Steven and Kayt read their poetry and John showed us his improv skills.

7/12:

Today was another travel day with stops at the Rock of Cashel and Kilkenny. The students overwhelmingly enjoyed their time in Kilkenny, a busy medieval city. Kate and Alexa agreed that the shopping was great. Trisha was equally impressed with the "legit Irish food" and the beauty of Kilkenny castle. The castle, built in the 13th century, was owned by the Butler family until it was sold to the Republic of Ireland for $50 in the mid-20th century. The original windows and the Butler art collection, displayed on the top floor of the castle, caught the students' attention.

Once we arrived back at our boarding school, the students had fun with an evening scavenger hunt. Thanks to the incredible amount of light in Ireland this time of year, they were able to explore the town of Waterford, taking pictures of local architecture and finding four-leaf clovers. Moira and Jenna spent 45 minutes crawling around a local park, in search of a good luck clover. Our winning team was Annie, Stephen, Ray, Emily and Patrick's group with the record-breaking time of 49 minutes!

7/13:

We started our day with an Irish breakfast fry with eggs, sausage, bacon and tomatoes. Most of the kids were happy with how delicious and authentic our meal was. We then headed down the road to the Waterford Crystal factory. On the way we had a sing-along, jamming out to Bon Jovi, Journey and traditional Irish tunes. The students were impressed with the precision and skill of the glass-cutters. Eileen helped to make a vase and many of our kids bought gifts for friends and family at home.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon in Tramore, a sea-side town known for its amusement park and beach. Annie described the town as "California/ Florida style" and while the students love to immerse themselves in the Irish culture, they enjoyed the American-ness of Tramore. This was an especially great day for Kate Vaughn, who went into the ocean for the first time! The fun continued when we arrived back in Waterford with the Counselor Olympics. Through the egg-spoon races and water balloon tosses, one team emerged victorious. Representing James Joyce, Meghan, Kaytlin, Colleen, Mary, Sam and Cody Lynch celebrated their win (and not getting soaked by the balloons!).