I forgot to finish this post from a week ago, so here it is now:
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I've now officially been to Northern Ireland, but since it was just for a shopping trip, I don't have too much to say about it, though I'm glad I finally went. My uncle and aunt picked me up at 6:00 in the morning last Saturday, and we drove for about 3 hours to a town just over the border. The only major difference: everything was in sterling and pounds instead of euros. Most stores posted the exchange rates and accepted payment in euros (though change was given in sterling/pounds). We shopped most of the morning, had fish and chips for lunch, shopped a little more, and then drove back to Waterford. The drive itself was actually quite nice, especially in the morning. Most of the fields were just green grass, sometimes with sheep or cows grazing in them, but there were also fields full of bright, bright yellow flowers I do not know why these fields were here, or what the flowers were called, only that they made a striking pattern against the green. Very different from driving through the corn fields from Minnesota to Iowa!
I've been staying with another aunt and uncle this week, doing the usual reading, writing, and running (and, okay, some less productive things as well), but I've also gotten out a bit to see more of Waterford and Tramore. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I went in to St. Anne's Tennis Club in Waterford to watch a tennis tournament that two of my aunts are playing in. There is a bar inside that overlooks seven of the courts, so we sat inside, drank some tea, and tried to keep track of three games at once. I was asked if I played tennis (no, not at all, unless you count hitting the ball into the net repeatedly), and I remembered that I had taken a few tennis lessons in Ireland one summer. And after thinking about it for a minute, I realized that the club where we were was probably where these lessons had been. I don't know how correct my memory is (since it's been known to invent some stories and then believe they are true), but I remember going to these lessons for a few days before quitting because some of the other kids were laughing at how bad I was. The laughing might be an invention; my lack of tennis skills is definitely real. If only playing tennis was as easy as watching it!
Today I went to work with one of my cousins, who teaches at a school for children with Autism. It was very different than any school I've been in. There were about seven students (all boys), and the teachers were paired one-on-one with the kids. There were only two classrooms, but each teacher had a space sectioned off, and the students worked individually with a curriculum designed according to their particular abilities and needs. I've always thought that special-needs teaching would be very difficult, but I was still amazed by the amount of patience all the teachers had. There was a lot of repetition of questions, waiting for answers, and reviewing tasks.
It's been fun being around my little cousins a bit more too. I've played a lot of Guess Who, watched some Disney Channel and Peppa Pig (a cartoon piglet with a British accent), and listened to stories about the drama of grade school.
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I had a busy weekend with my cousin's communion on Saturday (a huge ordeal here), but this week will probably be pretty low-key. More tennis, baby-sitting, and hoping that the weather is good!
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