After arriving on Monday in front of our language school we were all excited to be picked up by our host families. In spite of cultural differences we were all very lucky to live with nice families and nobody had any problems. After long days they provided us with a good dinner an encouraged us to use our English skills by involving us in conversations. Throughout the week we visited various places of interest in Ireland, starting with a guided tour in Dublin. Ireland’s capital city especially appealed to some of us because of the numerous possibilities for shopping. All students were happy to stroll through Grafton Street and Henry Street, the most popular shopping streets in Dublin. A full day tour took us to the rather creepy Wicklow Gaol and the mystic monastery of Glendalough, which were also interesting visits. We learnt a lot about the history of Ireland and we could even experience it through the interactive exhibitions. Evenings were always exciting, whether we had preplanned activities or met our friends at the beach. On Thursday we went Irish dancing, a part of our journey that we will never forget. The Irish music and rhythms made everyone rock the dance floor. Other than that, we also enjoyed going bowling, to the cinema as well as the Greyhound Races. All in all we had a fantastic week and although we got into some typical Irish weather, we could enjoy sunny days at the beach and all along the cliffwalk from Bray to Greystones. Some of us even came home sunburnt. Karina Scheichelbauer, Kathrin Suda