Into The West

Last weekend all of the Champlain Abroad students took a trip out to the West of Ireland. We visited Galway, which was beautiful and a lot like Burlington. It has a street that's cobble stoned and you can't drive on it, where all the cute shops are. Town center was a short walk to the beach and most of the people there were very young. Watch out for the prickly grass along the beach because it will give you hives. We slept at a hostel with the best name ever, Snoozles.

After Galway we traveled all over the place stopping at abandoned abbeys, and old tombs, the cliffs of Moher, and fairy forts before reaching Doolin. Doolin was very small and the meal Champlain bought for us is the best I have eaten since my dad left. The tourist's there were quite a bit older. My father would have loved Doolin as it has 3 of the best pubs for listening to traditional music in all of Ireland. Everyone went to bed rather early after a raucous night in Galway and a lot of time traveling in a bus.

The next day we took a ferry to one of the Aran Islands. There is plenty to do there but if you want to do it in a day you have to rent a bike. I thought I would be able to walk to some of the destinations but wasn't able to reach any of them. I did find a secluded beach where the water looked just like it does in Hawaii, crystal clear and sort of turquoise. You wouldn't believe it, but I got a tan, IN IRELAND. I never thought I'd be able to say that. The fish was amazing, as it ought to be on an island.

The only down side was that I got sick at the beginning of the trip and now the rest of the school is sick as well because we all had to sit in the bus together. Sorry guys.

I just recently realized that I haven’t said much about the classes. Most of them are great I love my Northern Ireland History class and teacher. We watched a great and sad movie called "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" and I would suggest it along with "Michael Collins" for anyone who wants to know more about Ireland's struggle for independence. Also my Celtic Design teacher is very good and my English teacher is also great. The rest of the teachers I have no problems with, they just aren't teaching classes that I am crazy about. One teacher in particular seems to be having a lot of trouble rapping his head around our grading system, but I'm sure he'll catch on soon.

This weekend the school has planed a day hiking trip for us so I should have new photos for you soon.