Tús maith leath na hoibre

A good start is half the work. Mo chairde agus gach gaeilgeoirí: Thosaigh ár rang sa Cheathrú Rua innui. Ar dtús, ceapaim go bhfuil an múinteoir an-deas agus an-suimiúil, Níl sé ró-dheacair; níl sé ró-éasca. Pádraic is ainm do. Labhraíonn sé go soiléir agus úsáideann sé Gaeilge go leor. Tá tuirse orm, ach tá sasta orm a bheith anseo!

…and for all y’all: Here I am in almost heaven Conamara. A chilly rain started the moment we left Galway and headed toward Carraroe on Friday afternoon. We were deposited with our bean an tí; she’s a lovely woman named Áine Lucy whose husband is named Cíarán. They have three children who all welcomed us warmly in spite of this North American invasion. Lucy immediately brought out a steaming pot of tea, a plate of homemade scones and brown bread, a big beautiful slab of Irish butter alongside a pitcher of cream. From the kitchen window you can see the ocean. The pub, An Chistin, is a five-minute walk from the house—oh, and so is the school.

As it turns out, I am also living with a great group of students, all of them different, all of them nice, all of them very happy to be here. You can see their smiling faces in the photo. It is everything I could have hoped for and more, although I may return to the U.S. weighing twice as much as when I left. Note to self: Starting tomorrow, at least two laps around the peninsula before class each day.