DublinSeminar2018

I uploaded the photos off my camera onto Shutterfly and would love if everyone could add their own photos! It would be a wonderful collection. Here are the sign in details: www.shutterfly.com username: ecorsetti@bchigh.edu password: dublin18 Celebration time!

       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

        This weekend I had a chance to sleep in. While waiting for Hugh to come back from his hammer throw training, I ate a breakfast of toast and talked with his mom. Once he got back we played Madden and plenty of Fortnite. Then at about 2:00pm, we left the house and went to the yacht club to have lunch with his dad after his regata. I had a burger with chips, which are what we call in America french fries. Once we got back to his house we invited Simon and Greg over. We played Madden and Fifa for most of the night. We also devoured 2 pizzas. After they left we watched a little TV while eating ice cream and after, we went to bed. Howth Harbor Howth views Spice bag          On Sunday I had another opportunity to catch up on some sleep. I woke up, had another breakfast of toast, and caught up on what happened in sports the day before. While Hugh was waiting to go to his rugby practice, we watched TV. Once he left I played Fortnite until he got back. Although I did

Today was a day full of fun, sports, and lots of exercise. We headed out to Distillery Road, which is just the name of a big athletic park near Croke Park. The Belvedere boys were able to join us for the walk and a morning of athletics. We met Mr. Phil Conway, who actually competed in the Olympics many years ago! He shared with us about his life, playing, and coaching. Everyone participated in relay races, jogs around the field (or pitch as they call it), soccer, kickball, and some frisbee. It was a blast!  We walked over to Wallace's Asti for a delicious Italian lunch - many started with mini pizzas formed in the shape of baskets, or soup, and then had pasta or pizza for their main meal. It may not have been traditional Irish food, but it was good to get a little taste to remind us of home or the North End. The adventure of the day began at Croke Park Stadium, the 28th largest stadium in the world. It can seat 82,000 people, which is more than Gilette and about t

           Like every morning, we started off the day with breakfast, except this time in a home economics class. There were two teachers who taught us how to make Guinness brown bread and scones. After they made both to show us how, they gave us the chance to make them ourselves. We were each assigned a partner, and had our own station. We all made scones, and it was a very fun experience for the BC High boys to cook and make food that is popular in Ireland. After they were ready, we all sat down together and ate the scones we made and the brown bread with Irish smoked salmon, ham, Irish cheeses, Irish jams, clotted cream, and homemade pickles. It was a very fun and enjoyable experience for all of us.   Today we also went to the Irish Parliamentary building. There, we saw where the lower house and the upper house, or senate, meet. It was very interesting for the BC High students to see how similar the room where the Irish Parliament meets to where Congress meets. Th