Two people from my class (Madeleine the Swede didn't want to be in the picture).
I’ve been attending school every day. School starts at 10 in the morning. There is a break at around 11:30 then lunch from 1 to 3. In the afternoon we go until 5 in the afternoon. Usually there is some activity in the evening before everyone goes to the pub for a session. Last night there was a poetry evening with readings and discussion of prominent Irish-language poets (Áine Ní Ghlinn, Cathal Ó Searcaigh, Aodh Ó Domhnaill, Máirtín Ó Direáin). On Monday night there was community singing of well-known traditional songs. Tonight, a pair of brothers from the Blue Stack Mountains played the fiddle together and told stories.
Class has been really good. There is a good group of people, about 16, from all over but mostly Irish. There are several Americans and some Irish people who live in the States, and a Swedish woman.
Every morning we start with conversation starters in small groups. Topics like “Body piercings”, “Worst gift you ever received”, “Gossip in the workplace” encourage lots of chatter and lots of laughter. Things can get serious, though. Today the older Irish woman from New York got very hot under the collar about the anti-christ pope – it seems she is a Tridentist.
After the conversation period we focus on some grammar. Today, for instance, we worked on the Tuiseal Ginideach (the genitive case). In the afternoon we usually do something lighter. Today we played 20 Questions in groups to guess what “job” people had.
Sometimes our teacher, Eithne is not at her peak. On Monday night she stayed in Biddy’s until 4 in the morning playing the fiddle with the other teachers.
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