"I did my student teaching at Southill Junior School. This was a wonderful experience. I was fortunate enough to be in a class that consisted of ten six- year-olds. Student teaching in Ireland is very different from student teaching in the States. Instead of teaching every subject all day long, I was only able to teach some of the subjects. This was for several reasons. One reason is that the Gaelic language is taught everyday to the students, usually for at least an hour. I have had several funny experiences with Gaelic. The students in my class were required to say some things in Gaelic all of the time. If they needed to go to the bathroom, they had to ask in Gaelic. When I first met my class, the students would constantly say things to me in Gaelic and I would have no idea what they were talking about. When they finally learned that I did not know Gaelic, they were amazed. Another thing that I could not teach the students was the Catholic religion. Most of the schools here are run by the catholic churches and religion is taught everyday.

Southill is an amazing school. It is located in a very low socioeconomic area. Due to this factor, the number of students in each classroom is usually right around ten students to each teacher. The teachers at this school are very dedicated and good at what they do. They were all very welcoming and helpful to me when I got there. They took me out, told me the best places to visit, and always wanted to know how I was doing. They were all eager for me to see their classrooms and meet their students. Several teachers even asked me to teach a lesson or two in their classroom.

Student teaching abroad is a very eye-opening experience. You get to see how things are different, but you also see that no matter where you are, people are people and they really aren't that different at all. I had an amazing experience overseas. I was so fortunate to be in the school that I was in. When I go home and find a teaching job in the states. I hope to find a school just like Southill."

Ashlie's hair is whipped around while overlooking the Cliffs of Moher