Lara Harwalik und Lea Pöschl, 4HLWc
After we successfully completed our internships in the summer, we immediately took off to Ireland. From October 6th to October 13th our class stayed at different locations in Ireland, learning about the Irish culture, food and history. On our first three days we were given the opportunity to explore the West coast of Ireland. Our activities ranged from windy walks through Galway to biking and swimming with sea lions on the Aran Islands to taking pictures on the Cliffs of Moher. On our way to our destinations through the stunning landscapes of Ireland, we had a brilliant and entertaining bus driver telling us stories and facts about Ireland’s history and current news.
On Sunday we thanked our well-loved accomplice for everything and were welcomed by our host families, who cared for us the following week. The majority of us were living in a safe and well-known district an hour by train and bus from Dublin. From Monday until Friday, we had to attend a local language academy for about four hours per day. The lessons were designed creatively and offered a variety of tasks, so everybody found motivation and entertainment in participating and therefor improved their English skills.
Additionally, after our classes ended, the language school put together different kinds of afternoon activities, such as going to a museum, having an Irish pub singalong experience and a guided tour around the enchanting city of Dublin. Only once we took the train to a small town in the north of Dublin called Howth to walk a magnificent path alongside the coast. The majority of our class took our free time as an opportunity to stay in Dublin to go around shopping or sitting in one of the many charming coffee shops you could find everywhere around the city.
On the whole, Ireland and especially Dublin and Galway as destinations for an excursion are great, because the cities are wonderful and the society is certainly sympathetic. We have no hesitation in recommending this trip for the students next year.
