Le voyage scolaire à Dublin avec nos élèves de 2de et 1re en section internationale britannique a été une expérience inoubliable. Nous avons plongé dans l'histoire riche de cette ville, remontant aux temps des Vikings jusqu'à l'ère médiévale et à l'indépendance de l'Irlande.
Nos journées étaient remplies de découvertes fascinantes, depuis l'exploration des vestiges vikings, des cathédrales jusqu'à l'immersion dans les récits passionnants du Book of Kells à la Trinity College Library. Les élèves ont été captivés par les récits des migrations irlandaises au musée de l'immigration et ont pu mieux comprendre l'importance de ces mouvements pour la culture et l'identité irlandaises.
Nous avons également exploré les arts irlandais à travers des visites à la National Gallery et Chester Beatty, où les œuvres magnifiques nous ont transportés à travers les siècles d'expression artistique irlandaise. Les élèves ont été inspirés par les chefs-d'œuvre exposés et ont pu en apprendre davantage sur l'histoire de l'art en Irlande.
En parcourant les rues de Dublin et les plages de Sandycove, nous avons visité les lieux emblématiques des romans d'Oscar Wilde et James Joyce, plongeant ainsi dans l'univers littéraire de ces grands écrivains irlandais. De la majestueuse Merrion Square au célèbre quartier de Temple Bar, chaque coin du pays respirait l'histoire et la culture littéraire.
Ce voyage à Dublin a été une expérience éducative enrichissante qui a permis à nos élèves de mieux comprendre et d'apprécier la riche histoire, la culture et la littérature irlandaises.
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"Ireland on the Footsteps of Irish Writers" offered the students and the leaders a full immersion into the minds of these gifted poets and writers that continue to be taught in the schools around the world. It offered a good support to our IGCSE curriculum and insight in the life of readers and authors alike, and obviously into the lives of Irish people nowadays.
Our monument was James Joyce and for him we did a little more, not only going to Sandy Cove to visit the tower and be living the first chapter of his book Ulysses, but we also went to the Chemist Sweny "Bloom visits F. W. Sweny’s, the chemist’s, to pick up face lotion for Molly. The shop is filled with lotus land-like items, including chloroform. Bloom forgets the recipe (prescription) and will later forget to return to Sweny’s. The bar of lemon soap he takes becomes a symbolic lotus flower, its fragrance enveloping him." We were so lucky that the volunteers running the shop, as well as the volunteers at the tower, loved Greek people because of James Joyce, and we read in Greek, sang in Greek, they were so enthusiast about us. After we read together the Chapter 1 of Ulysses.
We devoted some time to the rebel child of literature, Oscar Wilde, visiting Merrion Square and his famous marble statue that is double faced, like the society of manners he often derided in his works. We got to read his famous caustic aphorisms "No work of art ever puts forward views" "Punctuality is the thief of time" and so many more. We were really feeling the atmosphere of the writers and poets when we toured Saint Patrick's Cathedral and stopped in front of Jonathan Swift, C.S. Lewis, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Oliver Goldsmith, Iris Murdoch, William Congreve or Richard Sheridan that are honoured in the courtyard with a little brief of their life and works. We missed the door of reconciliation to my dismay but maybe we have to go again!
For the Irish poets we had a most interesting experience because of the quality of these students who all got into the mood to select and read Irish poets, so we started with Mary Oliver -and I agree to have a little influence in that choice of a poem, Wild Geese, that my mother absolutely adores. Then we moved to the bard of Ireland who was so close to Greece, Seamus Heaney and then every student brought a poem by an Irish poet that was read on mic in the coach by our famous voice, Loukas. Thus we were going inside the minds carrying Irish lore.
Then we heard about the mysterious poet W.B.Yeats, whose museum was across the National Museum of Ireland, and we heard Melina and Joe tell us about this strange poet -strange because of his political views- but who nevertheless produced amazing esoteric poetry. During all this time we were blessed to have the company of wonderful leaders, and I want here to acknowledge the great personal engagement of the History Geography teacher Roberto Cavalcante and our AED, Ines Benaki, they instilled magic and the atmosphere with these student was jolly but they remained reliable individuals at all times and each of them had their moment of glory at one time or other. I want to salute the dedication of Lida to friendship and organization that has made our every adventure smooth and enjoyable. I thank all of you for being such beautiful people and am rewarded with all the interesting and invaluable time we shared. Beautiful land of Eire!
