The Life of a Teacher in Ireland...

Hello all, I hope you enjoy update #4!

I have to tell you life is very rough right now, I’ve been working for 4 weeks at my new school and they are making me take a full week off with pay, okay everyone is off for the week, but that just sounded cool!

Teaching and living in Dublin is going great! I am meeting loads of new people and still having the time of my life! I went to a house party last night, my friend Desiree who I met in Galway a few weeks back invited me over to her new place. What a multicultural house, there’s an Argentinean gal, a Chinese gal, a Philippino Guy, a French guy, and another I can’t remember. The really cool thing is a lot of them are Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Nurses and work in schools where children who are challenged, so ya we all clicked really fast! And one of the Philippine guys friends (who also is Philippine) is named Stephen and loves Karaoke, so ya, we’re all going out for Karaoke ASAP! Everyone made a dish that was native to their home and the food was amazing.
It’s crazy to think that a month has passed by already, time does fly when the craic is good! (for those of you concerned that I’m into drugs, craic means good times in Irish, the only drugs I do are my asthma inhalers, ha!). My job is going well, I’m learning so much. It’s very challenging working with disabled children, but also very rewarding as well. I got a note from a parent who loves the things I’m doing in the class with the students and she also mentioned that her child seems more alert at home and loves talking about her day. So I guess I’m doing something right, but I feel like I’m not doing enough, the kids are really teaching me, haha.

I have to reference Asthma Camp one more time! It’s amazing how the skills I learned there are needed in this job. I work very closely with Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Nurses, Dietitians and so on. Because of Asthma Camp and my experiences working with people in the medical field it’s making this type of working environment more comfortable for me, it’s almost like I know what I’m doing! It’s important to work as a team because the students education and safety depend on it.

They’ve offered me a contract until August of 2007, which means I get a paid summer vacation in Euros(plus Easter and Spring Break and Christmas). I haven’t accepted it yet because I was tentatively planning on only working 6 months, traveling during the spring and subbing here and there as needed. I’m finally getting paid this Thursday (after only working for 7 weeks) and once my finances are in order I’ll figure that all out. I’d really like to get as many experiences at other schools, but this opportunity may be hard to pass up. We’ll see where the wind takes me.

I went out with some of the teachers from my school one night last week for a little social gathering. It’s pretty rough working as a male primary teacher when you are the ONLY male on staff and then having to party it up with so many good looking Irish gals. But I’m definitely not complaining. It’s funny at school because of the washroom situation, there’s only 2 and the guys is also used by the ladies, it always makes for interesting conversation.

The school day is different at this school. The students arrive at 9:20 and are there until 3:00. I am forced to go on my break, tea time is a must and we alternate the breaks in the morning and at lunch so that everyone working gets their break. It’s the Irish way, and I have to say it’s not all that bad. The Irish way of things taking so much time is a bit of an adjustment, but I suppose not a bad trade off for being forced to have tea everyday.

There are many other perks to working at this school, it’s attached to a hospital so I got a free Flu Shot and I can get some other vaccinations free. Plus they have a canteen that’s subsidized, so for lunch I always have a huge dinner like beef brisket with mashed potatoes gravy and vegetables for under 3 Euro, a meal like that would cost between 10 and 20 Euro at other places in Dublin. Plus the food is really good! I had my first desert the other day and a sandwich for 2.20, not bad at all.

I made it back to Galway last week for another social put on by the “Work in Ireland Program”. I went with 2 Canadian gals I met at the last one and met up with a lot more Canadians at this one. I like Galway but I think working in Dublin has its advantages like better access to the airport (I can do some crazy traveling real soon) and being able to meet more people. Living in a big city is pretty fun, I can’t believe how much I missed living in a city.

It’s been raining a bit, but not everyday and everyone is telling me to prepare for the dreaded wet, cold, dark and gloomy winter here. I’m going to have to get a warmer and waterproof jacket, after payday this week I’ll do some shopping.

I’ve finally posted some pictures, you can access them here;
http://stephenhoryn.spaces.live.com/

Let me know what you think! I’ll update that when I have time. I was planning on doing the blog thing, but I think I’ll stick to the long emails, I like it better.

Hope all is well back home, I really miss everyone a lot and love to hear about what’s going on. A special thanks has to go out to my Grandma who sent me a Thanksgiving Card and a Halloween Card!

Take Care,
Stephen