ARRIVAL IN ATHLONE

Plane already landed!! Somebody from the Shannon Academy will be waiting for us…At least, that’s what the teacher had told us before taking off in Madrid… And…yes… Tara was there, waiting for us with her purple hoodie! Bus… around an hour and a half and… ATHLONE!! Feelings of nervousness and shyness when seeing the families waiting for us in the car park. Tara was calling our names and the families were coming to pick us up! First night with our host families!! The adventure had already started!!

FIRST DAY IN ATHLONE

It was our first day at the academy, and the teachers were very nice! After lessons, we walked around the city for a bit and eventually we went to mini golf and laser tag. We really enjoyed the activities, and the host families treated us very kindly!

SECOND DAY IN ATHLONE

We spent the whole morning at the academy, learning about traditional Irish food and talking about our favourite Spanish dishes. After that, we had a photo competition, and then we visited Athlone Castle. To end second day’s activities, we went to a shopping center and then returned with our host families to have dinner together. We had a great time!

THIRD DAY IN ATHLONE

 Third day:  Dublin: an incredible experience! We visited the EPIC Museum and then walked around some important spots in the city. We had two free hours for shopping and sightseeing, and at 5:00 PM, we returned to Athlone. For me, it had been the best day so far!

FOURTH AND FIFTH DAYS IN ATHLONE

We learned about traditional Irish sports at the academy. In the evening, we visited the Dún na Sí Heritage Park, where we had a guided tour. After that, we learned and practiced some traditional Irish dances. We had so much fun! Finally, we returned to our host families, we had dinner together, and we spent some time talking as a “family”.

The fifth day at the academy we learned about Irish music and we had to compare it to Spanish music. In the evening, we practiced some traditional Irish sports (the ones we had talked about the previous day in class) such as Gaelic football. Then, we went to Golden Island and had an activity where we had to ask questions to locals. It was a nice day: We learned, had fun, and enjoyed time with our friends.

LAST DAY IN ATHLONE

Time to present our projects! OMG!! We all were really nervous but eager to show how much we had learned about Ireland, the Emerald Isle. Teachers were also listening to our presentations and they had to vote for the best ones…

Guess what? From our group, we were the first and received a flag of Ireland as a prize!! It had been a perfect week with a “grand” ending!!

 Lucía Sierra Crespo, 3º ESO D