Edu Blogs :)

I'd like to nominate Caitríona Eves for her amazing blog. I love reading all of her posts which always manage to put a smile on my face! Well done Caitríona!!! :) xxxxx

http://tienies.blogspot.com/2011/11/neven-heaven.html?spref=tw

Brooklyn Novel Review

I have recently read "Brooklyn" by Colm Tóibín. It is the story of an Irish girl named Eilis Lacey who moves away from the small town of Enniscorthy to Brooklyn in order to have better opportunities and prospects in life.

There are many themes in this novel like love and poverty to name just a few.  But the one that I found most interesting is the theme of family. Eilis' mother is a widow. Her older brothers have moved to England for work. Her sister Rose has an office job which support the family. Rose meets a priest back from America who offers to arrange a job for Eilis. She soon finds herself crossing the Atlantic third-class, when it dawns on her that by organising this, Rose has sacrificed her own future so Eilis can have a better life. This has really shown me how strong love between family members can be. Rose will now have to stay at home and look after their mother while Eilis gets to start a new life in America. It is because of how selfless Rose was that I have loved the theme of family in this novel.

Eilis is a very brave, strong and interesting character in this novel. I have to admire how she leaves everyone and everything she knows for a new life she knows nothing about. She is a character that grows and develops as I by the end of the novel it was clear to me that she was less defenceless and more troubled than she initially seemed.

The novel is set in Brooklyn during the 1950's. It has thought me about the roles of men and women and the differences in social class during this time which I found very interesting. This was most clear to me when Eilis is traveling to Brooklyn after leaving home. The third class passengers have a lot lower standard of hygiene and accommodation than the first class passengers on board the ship. When the passengers were sea sick, the third class cabins were the last to be cleaned. 

From reading this novel, I feel Colm Tóibín's outlook on life is quiet negative. In my opinion, this novel is not a particularly happy one but I am feel Tóibín is perhaps a realist and I understand that not everything is always light and happy. 

I enjoyed how Tóibín depicted complicated feelings using simple everyday words in a way which is very effective. His writing is very descriptive and I liked his use of dialogue. 

If I was asked would I recommend this book and I am sorry to say that I don't think I would. I found it dull and slow moving at times and was tempted to give it up. However I persevered and finished it! While I am glad I did, In my opinion a truly good book should be hard to put down and sadly this book for me wasn't. But I do have a friend who read the book and loved it, so don't let me put you off to much! 

Thanks for reading!

:)

Opera Time!!

Today Tuesday the 22nd of November we got to go see an opera! I have never seen an opera before so it was all completely new to me. It was on in Swan Cinema in Rathmines, county Dublin. It was very long but the singers were AMAZING!!! I've never heard anything like them before. The all-star cast included Marina Rebeka, Barbara Frittoli, Isabel Leonard, Matthew Polenzani, Ramón Vargas, Peter Mattei, MariuszKwiecien, Gerald Finley, Luca Pisaroni, and John Relyea.

 A still of the opera.

The opera is Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”. It was preformed at the Metropolitan Opera in February and March of this year.

The storyline follows Don Giovanni who kills a man at the beginning of the Opera and then continues to get himself into even more trouble until eventually it all catches up on him.

Its defiantly one to see!

thanks for reading,

bye,

:)

Work Experience in a Primary School!!

On Monday the 14th of November, my work experience in Scoil Bhríde primary school begun. It was absolutely brilliant! Here is a brief outline of what I did each day....

Monday 14th

I was so nervous starting! I spoke with the principal in the morning who told me to go to room 3 (junior infants). I mostly just watched what was happening and helped out with zipping up coats, opening lunchboxes, yoghurt's, drinks and cheese-strings and giving out books. By the end of the day I had relaxed a bit so I really started to enjoy it!

Tuesday 15th

By Tuesday morning the nerves had turned to excitement and, for once, had no problem getting up when my alarm clock went off. I laminated pictures, cut out masks and did most of the things I did the day before. I slowly begun to learn their names (and not just because they were written on their tables!) It was so much fun, by day two I was sure primary teaching was the career for me! We had a fire drill which the juniors were very excited about! It was their first in the school so the teacher was worried in case they would think it was a real one but they all loved it and wanted to know when the next 'emergency' would be!

Wednesday 16th 

On Wednesday, we had P.E. It was great! We played with bean bags and hoops. It was so much fun! Other than that I corrected copies on top of my usual routine. I knew all their names by the end of the day :)

Thursday 17th 

On Thursday, I went into the other junior infants class. Again the day flew by too quickly! The difference between the two classes was surprising, one was a lot more boisterous than the other but not in a bad way. I loved them both! Thursday evening I came to the shocking realisation that I only had 1 day left :(

Friday 18th 

Friday I was with both classes. And as usual before I knew it the day was over. It was so sad leaving them all. You get very attached to them! The teacher explained the paper work side of the job to me and I asked her so many questions that anyone would have gotten annoyed, but she didn't. She's very patient! 

After reading this, I realise I really didn't do it enough justice! Everyone in Scoil Bhríde was so kind and welcoming to me. I now defiantly want to be a primary school teacher and I am so grateful to Scoil Bhríde for having me. Its a brilliant school and I had an amazing time! I wish I could have stayed longer! It was actually so much better than how I have described it but I'm afraid I just can't put it into words!

Juno And The Paycock Review.

On Wednesday the 19th of October the Transition Year students of St. Wolstan's Community School hopped on board two buses to go see the latest production of Juno and the Paycock at the Abbey Theatre.

Overall the standard of acting was excellent in the play especially in the case of Mrs Madigan. I loved her character in the play and I was delighted that she was given a bigger part on stage. She succeeded in creating a happy atmosphere in Act 2 when all around her was grief and political unrest. 

"Juno I have never seen you in betther form."

However I was slightly disappointed by the character of Juno who I felt was very good up until she was told her son had died. While her lines were very moving I didn't feel that how she portrayed her grief was very realistic. In my opinion she could have just been told that her dog had just run away instead of learning that her son had lost his life.

"Blessed Virgin, where were you when me darlin' son was riddled with bullets"

The set was incredible. Sitting in the Abbey Theatre I felt as if I ad just entered the tenement flat occupied by the Boyle family in 1920's Dublin. The set was very realistic, everything down to the smell of the sausage sizzling in the pan was accounted for. I feel there is great credit due to the set designers who did such an amazing job. I loved the contrast between the bare and boring tenement flat before the Boyle's received news of the money and the same flat after it had received it's luxurious transformation.

"Put on the gramophone, for God's sake, an' stop Joxer's bawlin'."

Throughout the play many themes were highlighted. In my opinion money and lack of it is the biggest and most important one of all. There was a huge difference in the peoples attitudes towards the Boyle family before and after the money. The drastic change can even be seen in the 'Captain' who suddenly wears suits instead of moleskin trousers. They are treated with more respect until everyone finds out there is no money coming. 

"Ever since the Will was passed I've run hundhreds o' dockyments through me hans"

From the play I feel Séan O Casey's overall vision of the world is very negative. He does not give any of his characters a happy ending. In my opinion there isn't much hope left at the end of the play. It is very dark, depressing and negative but I feel that he is also a realist and happy ever afters were not common in the tenements in 1920's Dublin. 

"The whole counthry's in a state o' chassis."

Therefore I conclude that Juno and the Paycock in the Abbey Theatre was an unforgettable experience that I really enjoyed. I was very impressed by the acting and the set. I was fascinated by the themes and now understand Séan O Casey's vision and viewpoint of the world.