Sunday

I have just gotten back from Sunday mass with my host family. After a wonderful dinner, we went to the church that is right next door to St. Brigid's (the school I will start at on Wednesday). I am pretty well oriented now with the surrounding towns and cities.

Dun Laoghaire (dun-leary), where I am staying, is a sea port town. It is just south of Dublin. There is a great marina and board walk in Dun Laoghaire. It is a 15 minute bus ride from the house I am staying down to the waterfront.

Dublin is an hour bus ride away, though much quicker by car.

I meandered around Dublin on Saturday and poked in Trinity College (second photo down), Dublin Castle (third photo down), the Beatty Library, and the National Gallery.

Dublin is completely decorated for St. Patrick's Day. There are tons of balloons and Irish flags on the sides of buildings. I've seen a fair share of people walking around with crazy Patty's Day hats and face paint. On the actual St. Patrick's Day, I will head into Dublin with three other student teachers in my same program (one of whom I met on Friday when I visited the school).

Tomorrow I plan on heading back into Dublin where I am hoping to catch the Dart (public transportation train line) to a nearby fishing town.

The bottom photo is an example of the neighborhood street signs (this one is across the street from my house). The street name is written in both English and Irish (bottom), as many signs around here seem to be.