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Kerstin's travel report

In love with…..a country

The question was, where? Where to go for an upgrade of my English skills? New Zealand is so far away, Great Britain a little bit stiff - why not Ireland? I haven’t had any idea about Ireland - the advertising for Kerry’s Gold butter was the only picture I had so far.

So I searched the internet and booked at the Slaney Language Centre in Wexford.

Everything was new, first thing that the speed limit is in kilometres and not in miles. 60 miles speed limit on the highway down from Dublin to Wexford? With 110 km /h I got caught by a traffic control. My fault!  

I arrived in the evening at my  B&B the school booked for me. A cosy and warm place to stay. The host turned out as a patriotic Gaelic teacher to be.

On Monday morning, together with two Spanish students whom started school like me, we received our first full Irish breakfast. Great taste but a little bit too high in cholesterol on the long run.
The host took the opportunity while preparing the lunch for the school, to give us our first lesson in Irish: Sláinte agus saol agut!

The next overwhelming encounter was Jim. Lively, the head covered with curled hair and   talking like a machine gun. He picked us up from the curb and managed to give us within 15 minutes an overview about the school, the Irish history and fight for independence and the economic development of Ireland for the last 30 years. 

What a relief to be welcomed by Dave, and with a warmly smile commenting this experience: “And it is only Monday morning….” 

The teachers in general were taking care of all students’ needs, that everybody fell well and homely at the time of the stay. Besides the lessons, which had been adapted to the specific wishes of the students, a bunch of activities for the spare time was offered. The best have been the evenings at “The Sky and the Ground”. Irish pubs – what a great new experience!  And the life music, when a young lad was disappointed by the small applause he got was defiantly stating: “I am fucking brilliant!”. A sentence I took home to use it at my next meeting with my boss. 

What else took I home? The understanding how to use  “-ing” – is it a habit or…? Additionally to a lot of grammar I learned to understand the difference between a low context and a high context society and how small talk works.  Thanks to all the highly engaged teachers for the patience and friendliness!

And what about Ireland ? For me it was like an onslaught.
I got impressed by the kind of shabby charm, the unagitated friendliness of the people, the music and off the cities the quietness of the small roads. The latter ruined with their bumps all CDs with traditional music I listened on my trips after school, endeavouring Ireland ’s soft landscape.

Irish people like to talk, mostly very fast. But the first was every time a great smile and a welcome: “Hiyew?” A welcome and a question blended to one word. And sometime more directly “Hallo, lovely you” – when did I hear such a comment from a stranger the last time?  

And what is the conclusion of my stay at Wexford? Worth in all means, and to say it with an new learned expression: By Hook or by Crook – I’ll come back again! 

January 2008, Wexford

May 2008, The Burren

June 2008, Dingle

October 2008, Giants’ Cause way