DublinSeminar2018

       Our last day in Dublin was simply wonderful. We started the day with a small closing ceremony where all the Belvedere students gave their host brothers nice black half-zip sweatshirts. The BC High boys are already donning their new gear! We headed off to a tin whistle class and everyone got their own tin whistles to learn on and keep. By the end of class, they could actually play 2 songs, including Shipping Up to Boston! I hope they keep practicing at home! Belvedere Chapel         We spent some time in the chapel and Mr. Swan led us in an examen to reflect on our time here. Following our time there, we were lucky enough to learn how to Irish dance from their dance teacher! The boys had a BLAST and were grinning ear to ear by the end of the class. They learned individual steps, and then a partner dance with a long line of everyone lined up. Henry Hayes has a few videos - we'll see if we can upload them!         The weather was gorgeous all day, so we left Bel

              Today we really got to understand Ireland and the history behind it. During the first half of the day we attended many classes, ranging from the Irish language and its culture to Ireland’s scientific discoveries. Within our language class our teacher taught us how to start a conversation in Irish, for example, "Conas atá tú" means "How are you?" in Irish. I enjoyed this class because this language helped further my understanding of the Irish language and the culture itself. After our small break we went to a science class. In this class, our teacher gave us a history on the historic science that surrounds Ireland. Not only did we get to learn about the background of these scientists, but we also got to experiment. In one of our experiments we put metal coins into a blue chemical and when it was pulled out there was copper on the metal which changed its color.  Irish language class During the morning we also had a lecture on the cu lture that s

         On Wednesday, the group headed to County Meath to explore Newgrange and Tara. After a brief class about the Neolithic Age (New Stone Age), we boarded the bus to travel to Newgrange. Newgrange is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is older than the pyramids in Egypt and Stonehenge. It contains over 60% of Europe’s Neolithic art and took three generations of people to build it. The stones that support it weigh up to 10 tons and would have been carried from the nearby River Boyne, a couple of kilometers away. The passage inside is very small and requires ducking down to arrive in the main tomb. Once inside, the tomb is 6 meters tall and contains a lot of ancient art. Every winter solstice, the sun shines directly through the doorway and into the center of the tomb. There is a lottery system with a waiting list of multiple years to be able to experience this in person. View of Newgrange from bus Entrance to Newgrange View from Newgrange Following our tour, we had

         The flight to Dublin wasn't exactly as luxurious as I thought. Obviously the flight was nice but I was not able to get any sleep because there was a baby who kept crying. Overall though, Mr. McGonagle made it a lot better helping me revise my essay in history which was key when I was doing. The problem was that whenever I tried to fall asleep someone on the plane would make some noise and after a while there was no point of sleeping. It felt so good landing Dublin but I barely remember landing because I so tired. When I got to my host families house I went right to bed and it FELT GREAT.           Later that day we went to my host brothers basketball game. From the way he sounded on the phone he sounded like he doesn't play that often, but then he was a lot better than I thought. He scored like 20 points and that's not bad for a 5'8 skinny Ireland. They won so bad that they had shut off the scoreboard. After the g

 Will's Tuesday:                 I woke up at my usual time and got ready for the day.  I took the bus in and we did our regular group meeting to talk about the day that was planned.  I enjoyed the lecture Mr. Foley, or “Holy Foley”, gave us about modern Europe.  After a short break we headed to see Mr. Hogan who taught us a great deal about the Irish Parliament and the voting system they have. It was great to be able to understand the differences in both the Irish and American government.  After, we departed from Belvedere and went to Glasnevin cemetery which I loved because I got to see “Farrell” on some of the tombs.  We returned to school for a debate between Belvedere and BC High students. I was fascinated by the debate and how both sides really gave it their all and thought deep about what they were going to say.  One person even referenced the game Monopoly to the situation.  Overall, everyone including myself had a great time. - Will Farrell Joe's Tuesday:        

         Going to the Wicklow Mountains was an amazing experience. The view was incredible. Even though we were not at the top, you could see so much of the mountain and fully experience its beauty. We learned so much about the history of the mountains as well as the type of land that is at the bottom of the mountains. We were able to see the areas where mining took place as well as the areas untouched which were full of trees. Unfortunately, we did not walk up them because it was very windy, but it was still an unbelievable experience overall, and I would love to revisit it someday.                                                                                                     River at the base of the mountains  On our way up to the Upper Lake         One of our stops on the Wicklow tour was Glendalough. This is a monastery that existed when Vikings still inhabited parts of Ireland. We learned about the history of the monastery, especially about the circular towers w