Clara Navajo- Student diary

Old Halloween Traditions

Colcannon Colcannon was a traditional Halloween dinner. Colcannon is boiled potatoes, curly cabbage and raw onion. Coins were wrapped in baking paper and placed in the potato for the children to find and keep. Halloween cake A traditional Halloween cake is call barnbrack, which is a fruit cake. Each

Student Experience- Gracia Calvo

I arrived in Ireland on the 26th of August. My host mum Kay picked me up. I thought the house was big and comfortable. The family were very nice to me and I liked the dog a lot. The first week I went to a football match, it was very

My name is Clara I am fifteen years old and I am staying in Ireland, I am living in Tullamore, in County Offaly. It is near Athlone.

I arrived in Ireland on 30th August. At the beginning I was a little confused and homesick. My host family really helped me settle in and I started to feel a lot better. My family are lovely, they help me out a lot and always make me feel happy. The mum is a very good cook and her food is always delicious. I am enjoying my stay so much.

I am in 5th year attending a girl´s secondary school which is unusual for me because in Spain I attended a mixed school. I find some subjects a little bit difficult, but the teachers are very helpful. They understand that in Spain we have some of the same subjects but also different ones such as Home Economics which I find interesting. I find Maths in school pretty easy.

When I finish school my host mum collects me and then we all have our dinner together. Generally after dinner we talk and have a chat about the day. Then I do my homework and go to the gym or pool with my Spanish friends. When I come back to the house I eat something small, sometimes I read a little and I write a journal about my day.

I have visited lots of places and done various activities while I have been here. I went to the National Ploughing Championship, whilst there I met some of my Spanish friends that are in Longford. The National Ploughing Championship is an outdoor agricultural show in Ireland including a ploughing contest. It is held every September, it is extremely popular and draws over 1500 exhibitors and achieves attendances of over 200,000.

I have been to Athlone shopping for the day and to hang out with my friends. Also, some Fridays after school I go to McDonald’s with my friends. I have discovered a lot of new places such as Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Eddie Rockets, Supermac’s or Papa Johns for some lovely food.

The best aspect of being over here is that I have met a lot of incredible new people that are so willing to help and now we are like a little family. I also feel I am more independent and confident among many other things. I am excited for the rest of my stay here in Ireland and to discover more about the country and culture.