My First Few Days in Ireland

My first couple days here in the shadow of the Wicklow Mountains have been great! There are ten students in my study abroad group and we've been recovering from our jet lag and going through our orientation program in Knockree. Everyone in the group seems great, although the ratios are a little one sided (2 boys to 8 girls). Our orientation leader, Aeveen, is a wonderful lady, about fifty, she reminds me of an elderly, Irish accented Mary Poppins. One of her favorite sayings while we go along to the various sites is "spit spot," and she is full of energy.  The first day, she took us on a walk up the mountainside for "a good stretch of the legs after riding in the airplane" which translated into a two and a half hour hike! The following day, we went up to Glencree to work on our orientation materials. Glencree was originally a British fortress during the Rebellion of 1798 but has since been converted into a Reconciliation and Rehabilitation Center for former combatants from the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Yesterday, we visited another spot in the Wicklow Mountains, called Glenndaloch, which was a monastic city built in the 6th Century by St Kevin. It lies in ruins now, but it is beautiful, situated in a valley- or glen- with two lakes and mountains all around it. Today, we spent the morning in Bray, a coastal fishing town, and then were picked up by our host families tonight. I'm living with Freda and Billy O'Dea, in a suburb of Dublin called Glengeary, along the coast. I am only a few blocks from the sea, and the O'Deas are big fishermen. The mackeral are running about a mile offshore right now, and Bill offered to take me fishing for them sometime soon. I couldn't be happier, or more excited. Ireland is everything I expected and more so far, and I can't wait to share more soon!