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Field report: Language study trip to Galway
Still half-asleep, but already full of anticipation, around 60 students stood in front of the vocational school in Fribourg and waited for the language study trip to Ireland to finally begin. After the car was fully loaded and our accompanying teachers had counted about five times to make sure that everyone was really there, the Galway 2021 adventure finally got underway.
By car we drove to Zurich, from where we flew just under two hours to Dublin. From there we took another car across Ireland to Galway. After a total travel time of twelve hours, we arrived at the Hotel Ardilaun, our home for the next two weeks. We stayed in a hotel because there were not enough host families due to Corona. We then checked into our rooms and spent the evening in the lobby.
The next day we had our first look at our language school, the Galway Cultural Institute. Afterwards we were guided through the city by a local. This was very interesting as he told us a lot about the history of Galway and Ireland.
During the week our daily routine was always about the same. After breakfast at the hotel we walked to school. In the morning the focus was on grammar, in the afternoon it was mainly speaking. At 3 o'clock our school day was over. At 6 o'clock we had dinner at the hotel. Unfortunately, the food in Ireland was rarely really tasty, but the drinks were all the better for it. In the evenings, my friends and I enjoyed our time in the various pubs. In Galway, there were a lot of street musicians who played their songs in the evenings in the streets of the city and created a good atmosphere.
The weekend in Ireland was the highlight of our stay. On Saturday we visited the famous Cliffs of Moher. I was very fascinated by these huge cliffs. However, I liked the excursion on Sunday even better. With a ferry we were brought to the Aran Islands, an island of about 50 km2. From the harbor we rode bicycles to a 3'000 year old fort directly on a cliff. This place was very impressive because, unlike the Cliffs of Moher, you could walk right up to the edge of the cliffs and look directly into the depths.
After two interesting, fascinating and fun weeks we left for home on Saturday. I was happy to sleep in my own bed again, even though it was a shame that the language study trip ended so quickly.
I would like to thank my training company for making this language study trip possible and for financing it. I will certainly keep these two weeks in good memory for a long time.
This article has already appeared in CORE Newsletter 30 of December 2021.
