Killarny

Well, we left the homestay yesterday morning. Everyone has a FANTASTIC time. They ate well and slept well and want to come back and visit. All the presents were a tremendous hit. We spent a long time riding in the morning and people caught up in their journals. At lunch time we arrived at Bunratty Castle. This castle was built in the 1400's and has furnishings typical of the period. Many of the students climbed up to the tower and took pictures of the area. There is a folk park adjacent and we walked around in the rain, of course, but by now we are all good swimmers! Many students with Irish heritage were able to find out about their names. The best part of the day for many came after that as we had almost 2 hours of shopping and helped Ireland out of their recession! We then had another drive to our hotel in Killarny. It took us awhile to get to our quaint hotel in town because of the horse and buggies that go slowly. John said he looked just like home in Lancaster. We had a late dinner, did some wash, and hit the hay.

Today we had an early breakfast and hit the road again for the Ring of Kerry. This isn't an actual "ring" but the name given to the road in County Kerry that circles the peninsula. We didn't go all the way around, which is good, because we might have lost some "cookies" like the last time I was here. We spent the day in a small Irish village with a lot of history about Michael O'Connell, who was instrumental in peacefully separating most of the counties of the island from the British. We had a lovely morning of Irish students playing their instruments of drum, accordion, guitar, hand organ, and fiddle. Some of our students also sang, danced, and played the instruments. There was also dancing and to keep the record straight, Leigh's line won the contest. We had a quick Celtic language lesson because the peat bog was flooded so we couldn't go and cut peat. After a boxed lunch the students all participated in Galic football. There were some young men in short shorts to teach the students. There is a soccer ball, but you kick it, pass it, and punch it to each other. There are scrums, too, which the students definitely enjoyed. Leader John started out as a coach and ended up knocking students down in the excitment of the competition. No, no one was hurt. After an historical walk through town and a ice cream treat, we came back town. After dinner, where we passed out the letters from home (more than a few tears!), we came into Killarny to shop and walk around.
Tomorrow we are off on the jaunty carts (holding up traffic) and a boat ride. Then we go to Limerck for overnight. The next day we are off to Belfast. This will be a highlight for many of us. This is a fantastic group of students; not a minute of trouble.
Leigh, Brenda, John and Doug