P-P-P-Poker Face M-My Poker Face (subtitle: Mostly Ireland)

Hello!

I know it's been awhile, but I feel like 20-ish days isn't so bad, considering I just got back from February break yesterday night. But let's back up...

These last few weeks in London have been great (besides the brutality of the freezing cold weather). I have been hanging out a lot with my housemates, and they have really grown on me. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have them to come home to and have cups of tea with here in London. They are my saving grace, really. Them and Adam (of Ireland fame). So, that is my little shout out to 10 Salisbury :)

Nothing too exciting has been happening lately, just a lot of working, a lot of job applications, and a lot of rejections. I THOUGHT about taking pictures of all of my rejection letters ("We are sorry to inform you that you have not been shortlisted for a job with us at this time.) but I decided that was just a bit too depressing. Honestly, I'm not that fussed by all the rejection, but it is frustrating that I feel like I will never get through the first round of applications in England because I have to write on the first page of all of my applications "Certification Pending." I mean really, my certification is NOT pending, I am SO certified to teach secondary school, but, alas, England hates me. (For those of you hoping for my return to the States next year...give yourselves a point.)

In other job news, I will be spending the remainder of the school year at a school called Globe Academy. I will be primarily in the younger grades, but I will also have the opportunity to fill in for teachers in the secondary school (which, of course, will look great on my resume). Basically, I will be the "permanent substitute" for the school. I will be filling in for teachers during their preparation time, and I will be with the same students often. This is awesome because I was getting really bored of jumping from school to school, and now I will have some continuity. I am also going to be helping with planning literacy lessons for the school. (My education is good for something!) I had to do a RIDICULOUS interview for this job (complete with a sample lesson and a writing assignment), and they hired me. It was a nice reminder (after all of the rejections) that if a school looks past the fact that I am not technically certified in the UK, I'm actually a good teacher! I think that I fit really well with the ideals of the school, so I'm looking forward to this a lot. I will keep everyone posted about how it goes. Don't worry, I'm still getting paid a substitute teachers wage (but I'm going to ask for a raise)!

SO, before I get to the account of my amazing (always) trip to Ireland, I should mention that I won a fancy-dress contest that my teaching agency put on last week. It was valentine's themed...and I won a prize. (It was a gift certificate to this travel agency called Top Deck.) I might use it to subsidize my "pending" learn-how-to-not-look-like-a-complete-idiot-snowboarding-vacation that I may be taking over April vacation.

Here's a photo. I went out with Adam after the teacher-party...It's funny to be dressed up when NO one else is...luckily...some people in London dress like this all the time...so I wasn't THAT out of place.

Now for Ireland. Sarah Caufield met me in London, and we traveled to Ireland for a week. Her cousin Trish traveled with us, and her VERY old friend Heike was with us for a couple days. I got to see a lot of Ireland that I hadn't seen yet...and of course I re-fell in love with the country. It really is enchanting...and I am fully under it's spell. (I'm still working on marriage proposals for a visa...I mean...if a certain family member of mine did it...I can too, right?)

We started out in Dublin, and hung out with Paddy, Joe, and Emm-o. Luckily...those lads are single, so they were able to keep us company for valentine's day :)

We went to the Guinness factory (it's Ireland's Disney world!!) and we pulled our own perfect pints. (I know I did it a few years ago, on my very first visit to Ireland...but I think I'm a true expert now.) Then, we whisked away to Belfast. In Belfast, we took my "very favorite tour ever." It's the "Black Taxi Cab Tour" which takes you around to the catholic and protestant hot-spots of the troubles. (Basically, Shankill and Falls Road.) I have done the tour before, but I really think it is SO informative, and highly, HIGHLY recommended if any of you ever make it to Belfast.

Here is a photo of the wall that separates the two sections of Belfast. Our taxi driver said that it will probably still be another 35 years until the wall comes down because, to be honest, there are still some very serious hostilities on both sides. People still live in their respective sections of the city, and some of the "gates" in the wall still open at six in the morning and close at six at night so that people cannot travel between the catholic and protestant sides of the city.

While in Belfast, we subscribed to what I like to call the "Marisa Antos Fallon" mentality of needing to get to the highest point in a city, and we rode the Belfast wheel. It was not there the last time I was in the city, and it gave pretty spectacular views. (Marisa, we all deeply and sincerely thank you for the inspiration.)

We headed out to Giant's Causeway after Belfast. We embarked on a six mile hike to the Causeway, which actually turned out to be a ten mile hike. Go figure! We got to the Causeway just in time for sunset. Apparently, Giant's Causeway is touted as the 8th wonder of the world...and deservedly so.

Then, we went to Derry. Many people from the Republic of Ireland (and the majority of my friends in Dublin) have never been to Derry, which is such a shame. It is a GREAT, lively city, with a very tortured historical past. But, the historical past is what makes it a special and important part of Ireland. Derry, for those of you that don't know, is also in Northern Ireland, and it was the last strong-hold when the English were fighting to make Northern Ireland a part of the UK. Derry is also where "Bloody Sunday" took place. We were taken on a walking tour by the Bogside Artists who grew up in the Bogside neighborhood of Derry during the height of the troubles. Kevin took us around and told us the stories of the murals that they painted. Take some time and check out the website because they tell their own stories much better than I can. The young girl Annette pictured in one of the murals is Kevin's cousin. It was intense to be given a tour of the area by someone who not only painted the murals, but painted the murals out of such a direct, first-hand experience.

From Derry we headed back into the Republic of Ireland, but we stayed in the Northern part of the Republic and went to County Donegal. We stayed in Donegal Town, population 2,500 which proved to be a little bit of a shock after being in much bigger cities! Donegal is STUNNING, though. We went on two hikes while we were in Donegal. We drove along gorgeous scenery from Donegal Town to Slieve League. We hiked in Slieve League (which was SUPPOSED to be an easy hike, but, we got a little bit lost). Picture Sarah, Trish, and I climbing up a steep rock face with only the ocean crashing against the rocks below us. Okay, wait. Don't picture that. It was scary. Beautiful, but scary. From Slieve League we went to Glen Colum Cille for another hike.

The hike in Glen Colum Cille was a bit calmer, and sent us to an ancient tower, complete with beautiful ocean view and ubiquitous sheep. (It is said that Americans LOVE taking sheep photos...and unfortunately, we were unable to prove this stereotype wrong.) We ended our long day in Ardara, at Nancy's famous Bar. We were ALMOST convinced to stay the night at Nancy's for pub-quiz (apparently, there is a room to let), but we decided it was better to get on the road home. Shockingly, the Irish love their pub-quizzes ALMOST as much as Sarah Caufield :)

Our last day in Ireland was spent on the road. Trish had to go to a Medieval banquet in Bunratty castle (what???) so we drove her down to Limerick county. The drive was lovely, though tiring, and then we drove back up to Dublin for one last night.

WHELANS!! All the lads and ladies came out to Whelans (my favorite bar in Ireland) and we had SUCH a blast. We were "wrecked" (tired, for those of you needing translation), but we danced the night away anyway. It was there that Paddy and Dave's friend Jon Mahon proposed to me and put a ring on my finger so that we can get married and have duel-citizenship...we will see what happens ;)

And that, dear friends, brings us back to the present. Sarah and I came back to London last night...and after having her PAGED in the airport, we finally got back to my house, had a late dinner, and went out on the town.

If you made it to the end of this blog, you earn two points. (You earn FOUR points if you actually leave me a comment. What does a girl have to DO?)

Loooove, Hammer

PS: If you are curious about the Lady Gaga title reference...it is the number one hit on Irish radio right now...and since we rented a car but didn't have any cd's, we heard it about 1,000,000,000 times. It kinda grows on you! (Brendan Sullivan, One point to you for having your finger on the pulse of crappy dance music :) )