BLOG IRLANDA Sofía Moreno

 

DIA 1 12/09/23

At the bus station in Logroño, we took the bus to Bilbao, which lasted an hour and fifteen minutes towards the airport. Once we had checked in our suitcases and passed security, the teacher Pilar stayed outside. We went to have lunch at Burger King; unfortunately, the flight was delayed for an hour. The flight went quickly for me, because I fell asleep and watched a part of a movie. When we finally arrived at Dublin airport, all our classmates were sending us messages asking where we were, as they were very anssius to see us. Finally, we met with the Irish and our classmates from the three weeks. Later, we got on the bus and, after two and a half hours, we made a stop. I bought something to eat and we got back on the bus. When we arrived at Scoil Poil, the teacher took us to our house. Conor and I were taken to Ardpatrick, the village where Conor lived. I met his mother, Teresa, his brother Declan, Marina, Declan's girlfriend, and Luna, one of the dogs.

One thing that seemed different to me from Spain is that they have a lot of small bottles everywhere, and also their schedule is much earlier compared to Spain. When I arrived, his father was sleeping because he had to work the next day.

DIA 2 13/09/23

I got up at 7:30, showered, got ready, and went down for breakfast. There were a lot of cereals, like six boxes. Teresa served me a big bowl of cereal with milk, two toasts, a bacon sandwich, and a sausage pastry. I met all of her dogs: they had six, Luna, Coco, Lando... Since there were two extra toasts, we gave them to the dogs; in order for them to receive them, they had to sit and give us their paw. Her mother prepared lunch for us, and then we went on an excursion. But first, we went to school in her grandfather's car. When we arrived, we went to a supermarket, bought a sandwich, and met two of Connor's friends, so we went to school together. From there, we were taken to the adventure park, which was great, and we did a lot of activities. First, we went on some zip lines, then we did some climbing, and later we had lunch. Finally, we did a water activity with wetsuits and went to the lake. It was very cold to swim, but we endured it well because it was very fun and really good. We changed and returned to school. Then we went to the pitch. While the boys were training, we went to a store to buy something to eat, and when we came back, the boys were already finished. We spent some time with them and then went back home. We had dinner with meat and potatoes and watched a movie, the one about the musical they are going to do in November. Her brother came with his girlfriend and his father, who tried to speak Spanish but didn't do it very well.

DIA 3 14/09/23

I got up, got ready, and went downstairs to have breakfast. I had cereal with milk, juice, and some toast. Conor and his mother were in the kitchen. After we finished breakfast, we gave some toast to the dogs. First Luna came in, I told her to sit and give me her paw, then I gave her the toast. I did the same with the other three dogs: Coco and Body. Then Conor's grandfather came and picked us up. We went to pick up Rossi and Soffi.

At school, we took part in the musical, which turned out to be quite simple. Then we had biology and Spanish classes. The Spanish class was very fun, we split into groups and did a quizz. We taught them a little and then go to the playground, where Conor had a match with other classmates. We spent some time with the others and then went back home. Conor's little cousin Emma was there, and we had spaghetti for dinner.

Later, Gris, another cousin, and their uncles arrived. We talk in the kitchen about Logroño, Limerick, and where they had been in Spain and in what part.

DIA 4 16/09/23

I woke up at 9:30, had breakfast, and got ready to go to the pitch. When I arrived, there were no Spanish people, so I started playing passes with Conor. The previous night, Conor gave me a Hurley, which is the wooden instrument used to play Hurling. After a while, Ángel came, and as they had to train, we went to the stands. Then Víctor came, and we didn't know what to do, we asked a kid if he wanted to play with us. Since we only had one hurley, we took turns playing with the kid. After , the other Spanish people arrived, and since it was the start of San Mateo in Logroño, we watched it live on the phone. They finished training, and we went to take the bus to go to Limerick. The journey lasted an hour. When we arrived, we went into a store to buy something to eat. Then the boys went one way, and the girls went with Paul on the other. We and Paul went to the milk market, saw it, and then went to eat at a Burger King, where we met everyone. After lunch, we walked to a shopping centre, which took us about an hour. On the way back, before going home, Conor and I finally went to a fast-food restaurant. He told me it's called "cheaper" in Ireland. His brother Aidan picked us up and took us home.

DIA 5 17/09/23

When I got up, Conor told me that his mother, Teresa, had gone to mass, and he, his father, and his brother were going to train on the pitch. We arrived and they started training. Even though they were not Conor's age, his father and uncle were the coaches, so he also trained. Later, I went to the stands to stay , because more Spanish people were coming, but before that, his grandfather came and asked me if I wanted to go watch Emma's game, Conor's cousin. Jack and I arrived, and there were Conor's aunt and Emma's sister. Emma lost the game, but she scored a goal. Afterwards, we had a family meal with their aunts, grandparents, and cousins. After eating, we went to the pitch and spent the whole afternoon there with more Irish people and some spanish. For dinner, we went to a fast food restaurant and each bought a pizza. When we got back home, we had the pizza for dinner and spent some time in the living room.

DIA 6 18/09/23

Today it was time to go surfing, so I packed my backpack, got dressed, had breakfast, and Conor's uncle picked up Rossi and me from school, because Conor had to train. The bus ride lasted two hours and it was very cold whe we arrived. After lunch, we got ready with the wetsuits and boots. We were divided into teams and I was on the blue team with Conor and Joel. On the sand, our instructor explained how we should position ourselves to catch a wave. While giving us instructions, another group went into the water, so our teacher told us to do the same. Everyone was splashing, especially the monitors. Finally, we got into the water with the surfboards. Initially, we practiced catching the waves without standing up and later he taught us how to do it. I stand up on the board about eight times. Then we went to some famous cliffs. We had lunch at a restaurant and later returned home. We had dinner, spent some time in the living room, and went to sleep.

DIA 7 19/09/23

Today we were supposed to go hiking, but it was raining heavily and the weather was very bad. While we were walking to take the bus, Cristina suggested staying back, and I agreed. So we decided to take a self-defense with other girls from Delhuyar. There were several groups for different sports activities; Conor was supposed to go swimming, but it was full, so they assigned me to hiking. The self-defense class turned out to be very funn, they taught us some moves to defend ourselves. The class lasted for three hours, so we had two hours of self-defense and another hour of CPR. Later, we had a break and an lates an hour of chess. In the afternoon, Conor had to practice for the musical, so we stayed at the pitch. We all played football together and later the Irish joined us. After dinner, we searched for boots for the festival the next day, but since we couldn't find any, we went to his grandmother's house and took Luna and Lando for a walk. At his grandmother's house, they offered me tea, which I tried for the first time and didn't like at all, but I said yes. Then his aunt, cousins, and brother arrived, and a while later, his aunt took us back home.

DIA 8 20/09/23

Today we were going to the "ploughing" festival, which is a festival with farmers and tractors. To get to the festival, we had to take a train and then a bus. When we got off the train, there were a lot of people in line waiting to take the bus to the festival. We waited for an hour and a half for the bus. When we arrived, everything was covered in mud, and luckily, I was given some boots. The first thing we did, was take a walk to see what was there, and then we went to eat. After that, we went to a fair and went on a ride, but it was expensive (10 € for one ride). We were very tired, so we sat on the grass. There were only the Spanish there because the Irish had gone to another way. We went to Aldi, where there were food samples, free hats, and there were a lot of people. Finally, we went to a cheap sportswear store, where I bought two pairs of shorts, two t-shirts, and a sweater, all for 20 €. On the way back on the train, there were too many people, and it was very fully. The sits were filled with people, and some were even sitting on the floor. We stood for a while and couldn't move because of the people. After a while, as people got off at the stops, we were able to sit. When I got home, I went to sleep because I was very tired.

DIA 9 21/09/23

In the morning, like every day, I got up, got ready, and we went to Scoil Poil. We had musical class first thing, it was our last musical class, it was fun. After that, we went to the hallway where we were supposed to do homework, but we didn't have any, so we played cards games like 'cuadrado,' 'escoba,' 'los seises,' and 'el burro.'" After school, we went home, and in the evening, there was an Irish night. We arrived a little late, and when we got there, there were some girls singing. Then, an older lady along with a student, and later a girl who danced a typical Irish dance. Then they asked us if we wanted to sing a Spanish song, and we danced "Paquito el Chocolatero" and then "La Macarena." After that, we played some games, one of them being the musical chairs game, which consists of walking around the chairs while the music plays, and when it stops, sitting down, and whoever is left standing is eliminated. In the final was, Lucia and I . Since it was the last part of the music, they made us spin many times. In the end, I won, and we each received a chocolate bar. Then, there was a snack, and as there wasn't much food, I shared the chocolate bar. It was time to go home, so we had dinner and went to bed.

23/09/23 10/09/23

Today, Conor had a match, so he went with his brothers and father to warm up. He didn't play, but he gave water to the players, acting as an assistant, because his father was the team's coach. At home, Teresa, his mother, his cousins Emma and Friss, and I stayed . Later, we drove to the match, which was about half an hour away. It was very cold and windy, so we stayed inside the car watching the game.

After it ended, we went to eat at a restaurant. Afterward, we had to go to Conor's other grandmother's house, his father's mother. It was a three-hour drive to her house. We arrived at the house, which was very beautiful with a garden, and his grandmother was very kind. We stayed for a short time because we had to go to a birthday party for one of Conor's father's friends. When we arrived at the bar, we watched the rugby match, because Ireland was playing and won. For them, rugby is one of the most important sports. Conor explained the rules of rugby to me because I hardly knew how to play. At 10 p.m., his grandmother came to pick us up, and we went to sleep.

DIA 11 24/09/23

In the morning, we woke up very early because Conor had a match, and we had to go back home. So, at 8 in the morning, we left his grandmother's house and we went to Kilfiane. After the game, we had a family lunch, like every Sunday. There were many types of potatoes for lunch, but prepared in different ways. I had a big piece of breaded chicken that was delicious. Afterward, we go to the sofa for a short time because we had eaten a lot. Then we went home, had dinner, and went to bed. I was very tired and i went to sleep early.