I am in the planning stages for my fellowship to Ireland. I plan on spending a week around the Dublin area as I attend a creative writing workshop, but the lectures are mornings only, so I will have lots of time for learning about the stories and history of the Irish people.

My husband is traveling along with me, so that will make my trip even more exciting. We will arrive a couple of days early and I am trying to decide how we should spend those days. We will spend several afternoons in Dublin, so I think we will venture around the countryside prior to the workshop. The airport is north of Dublin so we will probably head around the northeast area of Ireland first.

In this area is an ancient site called Bru na Boinne. Here is the link:

http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/midlandseastcoast/brunaboinnevisitorcentrenewgrangeandknowth/


It has what appears to be burial mounds older than the pyramids of Egypt. It is also a perfect place to witness the summer and winter solstice. Those viewings are made available through a lottery. That is how popular they are. Anyway, I think we can sleep near Trim, Ireland, as a base and explore the surrounding countryside. 

Trim has a castle built during the Anglo-Norman time period.  Think of all the history those walls hold. http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/midlandseastcoast/TrimCastle/

 

Receiving the blessing of travel

I love the Fund for Teachers program. They support the idea that teachers know what they need to learn.  They recognize that not one size fits all. They encourage creative thinking. And because of this support, recognition and encouragement, I am traveling to Ireland this summer. I am blessed--this is the second Fund for Teachers grant I have received. My first FFT grant allowed me to travel to Austria to study journalism education. That was an exciting opportunity and it introduced me to international travel and global citizenship. And I am quite sure I never would have traveled beyond my known world had it not been for FFT. And last year, I traveled to Indonesia--wow--a place I KNOW I never would have visited if I had not been introduced to international travel. And now Ireland! I am still pinching myself because I am very blessed to receive these opportunities. The whole world is out there--let's go find it!