The Last Field Trip

I've been super busy, and didn't have time to update my blog about the last field trip we took with Sister Mary. So, here goes:

We actually visited 3 counties in Ireland this time, and all of them were really cool. To make it easier, I'll divide the descriptions up with the pictures into counties.

County Carlow:

We first went to visit Brownshill Dolmen, which is the largest Dolmen in Europe. It dates back to around 500 BC. Dolmens are ancient burial grounds in which wealthy and important people were buried in ancient times.

Sister Mary let some of the girls climb on it, and we got to touch it and walk under it. It was really mind blowing looking at how large the rocks were, and to think that they built using sheer manpower.

We then went to Duckett's Grove, which is a local haunted castle. The castle itself is extremely large and beautiful, but some years ago a fire occurred and part of it is non accessible. We were not able to actually go inside the castle, but got to wonder around the grounds, which was great.

After that, we headed on over to a chocolate factory called The Chocolate Garden. We got to see how the chocolate was made, taste it, and we even got a chocolate mold and were taught how to make our own. It was a lot of fun.

County Wicklow

Sister Mary then took us to county Wicklow, where we saw the Ring of Rath, which was an ancient home dating back to the Bronze Age. It was built in a circular pattern, and belonged to a rather wealthy family of whom made human and animal sacrifices to the pagan gods in a room included in the house. 

County Kildare:

This was probably my favorite part of the trip. We learned about Saint Brigid, who is a huge part of Ireland's background. We got to visit Saint Brigid's Cathedral, and Saint Brigid's Well, which still flows today with healing water. People come from all over the world to visit the well, and I can see why. It's overwhelmingly peaceful and soothing. There is a tree there, where visitors can leave something on the tree in relation to their prayer to Saint Brigid. There are also prayer stones in which Saint Brigid would use when there were no churches constructed in Kildare for the people to gather around. Sister Mary gave each one of us a string to tie to the tree and leave a prayer to Saint Brigid. A few of the girls and I braided our strings together and tied them to the tree. It was my favorite part of the whole trip, and I was really happy to see it.

Saint Brigid's Cathedral was beautiful as well, and has so much history with Kildare.

 Saint Brigid's Well:

Saint Brigid's Cathedral:

Lastly, we got to see a very old, but very huge High Cross. They are carved out of stone, and have etched onto them pictures from the bible. This High Cross in particular had to be covered some years back due to decay from pollution in the air, but still looks very beautiful up close.

I'm sad that this was our last field trip with Sister Mary, but I know that I have plenty of time to travel in the next 2 months. These field trips were the favorite part of the week for me, so I will definitely miss them. Its just so cool to learn about all of the history of Ireland, and how close it is to our school. Its so much different than back home, and I love it.

a)      Compare meals abroad to meals in the U.S.  (meal times, structure, etiquette, portion size, etc).  

 The meals here in Ireland (and in Europe, for that matter) are much smaller than the portions given at home. I'd say, almost half the size. For the most part, food in Ireland is a lot more bland than back home, but also a whole lot healthier. They use fresh ingredients for everything here, don't use preservatives, and rarely eat anything fried. (Even McDonald's is healthier here) Its actually a very nice change not having so much antibiotics and fake ingredients added to your food. You can really tell the difference.

I will say though, that when I first arrived it took my stomach almost 3 whole weeks to get completely used to the change in food here. They even use less spices, so things come off a little bland at first, but after you are used to the change in tastes, everything is good.

The etiquette in Ireland is really the same as it is in America, and so are the meal times (maybe add two hours for dinner). There are, however, less people that eat breakfast here. The Irish are more focused on the mid-day meal and dinner. 

b)      Where do you eat most of your meals?

 I eat 99% of my meals back in the Lennon house kitchen. The reason being, to save money for weekend trips. Eating out here is expensive, and I'd like to save any money that I can.

c)       Describe the most interesting or delicious local food you have tried thus far.

 In Ireland I'd definitely have to say the most delicious local food I've had is the home made Irish stew. Its lovely. Sister Mary made some for a debate the class had last week, and it was fantastic. As far as desert goes, I'm absolutely ape over the apple crumble and custard they eat here. Its completely different from anything I've ever tasted, and I swear to you, if I could pick one dessert for the rest of my life it would definitely be that.