アイルランドに到着し、一ヶ月半経ちこちらの生活にもようやく慣れてきました。アイルランドはとても寒いですが雪ではなく雨が降ることが多く、どんよりとした天気模様ですが、人々は雨の中でも路上演奏をしたり夜にパブに行ったりととても陽気です。学校でもたくさんの友達を作ることができ、一緒にアイルランドに来た友達と協力しながら毎日楽しく過ごしています。

It has been one and a half months since I arrived in Ireland, and now, I am finally adapting to the new environment. Ireland is very cold, but it doesn't snow, but rain. Thus, the weather is always gloomy. However, people in Ireland are cheerful. There are many street performances even in the rain, and people go to the pub at night. In the Mount Anville Secondary School, I could make a lot of friends. A girl who came to Ireland with me and I are helping each other and having a great time every day.

I experienced three homestay families. The first family was an elderly couple, and basically, the host father took care of me. On the first day of school, he guided me to the school. For lunch, he let me have sandwiches, fruit, and some snacks. There were no troubles, however, due to circumstances, unfortunately, I moved my home stay in one week. The next homestay family was a young couple. The host mother was a Taiwanese lady, and the host father was Irish. There was a dog named Occie, and he was so friendly dog. The house was not that big, but is a brick-built house with more than a hundred-year history. The host father told me that the house was used as a boarding house for the Garda (Irish police) during the Irish Civil War.

古い建物なので、リフォームを進めているそうなのですが、2階にある私の部屋はまだリフォームがされていないからなのかとても寒く、最初の頃は部屋の中でもダウンを着ていました。たまにお家にお客さんが来ることもあり、ホストマザーのベジタリアンの仏教徒のお友達が遊びにきた時は、夜ご飯がベジタリアン仕様でとても美味しかったです。ホストマザーは料理がとても上手で、少し辛い中国料理や親子丼等日本料理などのアジア系の料理が多く、日本米を食べることがよくあり食に関して困ることは本当にありませんでした。ホストファザーの作るパスタも絶品でした。夜に一緒にテレビを見ることもあり、あまりに居心地が良いので、見ている途中に何度か寝てしまうこともありました。

Because it is an old building, the family is renovating the rooms in the house one by one. However, my room isn't renovated, so my room is very cold, and I had to wear a down coat in my room. Occasionally, a guest comes to my house. When my host mother's Buddhist vegetarian friend came to our house, my mother made vegetarian food, and it was very delicious. My host mother is good at cooking; she often makes spicy Chinese food and Japanese food, so I didn't really miss Japanese rice. The pasta, which was cooked by my host father, was also delicious. The family was so comfortable that I sometimes slept when I was watching TV together at night.

ホストファミリーはアイルランドについて、おすすめのレストラン、観光スポット、行かない方が良い治安の悪いエリアなどいろいろなことを教えてもらいました。ご夫婦はとても仲が良く、小さな日常会話がとても暖かく感じました。三つ目のホームステイ先は、二つ目のホストファミリーが少し外泊するとなった際に二泊ほどお世話になりました。ここは女性の一人暮らしで、とても優しくしていただきました。

The family taught me about many things in Ireland, such as good restaurants, sightseeing spots, and place that is safe in Ireland. The family gets along very well, and every daily conversation made me feel so warm. The third home stay family took care of me while my second home stay family went on a trip for a few days. The host mother was living alone, and she was a very generous woman.

基本的にどの家でも自室は2階にあり、居心地の良いお部屋でした。アイルランドはどこでもエアコンがない代わりにラジエーターを使用しており、部屋がたまにすごく寒く感じます。登校に関しては、最初のホームステイ先からはバスを乗り継いで登校していました。バスは基本的に時間通りに来ることはなく、手をあげても止まってくれない事が稀にあります。ホームステイ先が変わってからは徒歩圏内になり、20分ほど歩いて毎日学校に行きます。ほぼ毎日雨が降っていましたが、風が強いので誰も傘をささないのがとても印象的でした。アイルランドの方はみんなとても優しく生活に困る事がありません。

Basically, in any house, my room was upstairs, and the whole house was comfortable. In Ireland, everyone uses radiators different to Japan. I felt so cold with the radiators. To attend school, when I was in the first home stay house, I rode a bus to school every day. Bus often delayed and sometimes doesn't stop even if I raise my hand. After my home stay house changed, I was able to walk to the school, and I walked about 20 minutes every day. It was raining almost every day. It was impressive that no one uses umbrella. People in Ireland were tolerant of us, and I didn't get into trouble, mostly.

基本的に全員、英語、数学、宗教、体育の授業があり、選択授業では私はDCG（技術図面とグラフィックデザイン）、ドイツ語、アート、クラシックス（西洋古典）を選択しました。授業は全て移動教室で、最初の頃は校内で迷子になることが多々ありました。また、授業は基本的に少人数で多くても20人ほどのクラスで授業を受けています。

Basically, all the students take English, Mathematics, Religion, and P.E. On the elective subjects, I took Design and Communication Graphics, German, Art, and Classics. We didn't have a homeroom and had to move every period, so I got lost many times in the first week. Most class has less people, at most 20 people, compared to Japan.

英語の授業では基本的にLeaving Certificateという卒業の際に受けるテストの対策のための学習をしており、詩を読んだり、ライティングの練習をしたりしました。学ぶ内容はHigher level (HL)でついていくことがとても難しく、ライティングが中々書けずに1人だけ手が動いていない事もありましたが、一ヶ月ほど経ってからどうにか書けるようになってきました。授業では「Sive」という昔のアイルランドを舞台にした劇の本を読みました。過去のアイルランド社会における女性の地位や価値観、貧しさなどさまざまな事を学ぶことができました。この本を読む際は劇の音声を流しながら読んでいったのですが、アイルランド特有のアクセントと訛りを感じました。Sの発音が入る「best」といった単語はベストとは発音せずにベシュトと発音されていたり、セリフのアクセントがとても強く、登場人物の感情をうまく読み取れませんでしたが、劇の内容はとても興味深くいい経験になったと感じます。

In English, we study for the Leaving Certificate, which is the Irish test for graduation. We read poems and did some writing. The details of the lessons were HL (higher level) and were difficult to understand, and while all the other students were writing an essay, I couldn't move my hands. However, after one month had passed, I became able to write like others. We read a book called "Sive", which is a play set in old Irish society. I could learn about the position of women in the past Irish society, values, and poverty from this book. When we learned about this book, we listened to the audio of the play. I felt a unique Irish accent and pronunciation. For instance, the word "best" includes the letter "s" pronounced like "besht". Also, the accent was so strong that I couldn't understand the feelings of the characters. However, the content of the play was interesting.

クラシックスという西洋古典の授業では、ギリシャ・ローマの神話、劇、建築物等について学びます。最初にチルコ・マッシモというコロシアムができる前の闘技場について学び、次にソポクレスのテーバイ三部作を読みました。どちらの単元もテストがあり、私は来て2週間ほどでテストを受けました。日本にはこういった西洋古典の授業はないので、ギリシャ神話を探究テーマにしていた私にとって、とても楽しくお気に入りの授業でした。難しい英単語も多く、先生が話すのも早いのでとにかく英語力の試される科目だったと感じます。

In the Classics, we learn about Greek or Roman myth, play, architecture, etc. First, I learned about the Circus Maximus, the biggest amphitheater built before the Colosseum. Secondly, I read Thebans play by Sophocles. After every unit, we had a test, and I took a test just two weeks after I arrived in Ireland. In Japan, there is no Classics lesson, so as a person whose research topic was about Greek myth, the lesson was my favorite lesson. There were a lot of difficult words, and also the teacher spoke very fast, so it was a difficult subject too.

アートの授業は日本の授業とは少し異なり、粘土から小さな像を作ったり、ポスターを描いたりしました。こういった中で、リアルな人物を描くことが多く日本とは違うと感じました。また、美術史を学ぶ際はキリスト教の宗教画を扱いながら、同じ題を描いた宗教画が時代によってどう変わっていったかなどを学びました。
1番お気に入りの授業はドイツ語の授業でした。クラスは6人で全員とても仲が良いです。ドイツ語はちょっとした単語を知っているだけだったので、ついていくことはできませんでしたが、ウクライナ人の友達がことあるごとに面倒を見てくれて、申し訳なく感じつつもとても楽しく授業を受けています。

The Art lesson was also different from the Japanese Art lesson. I made a sculpture of a head and drew a poster based on the theme "memory". In most of the art, we drew realistic humans which differs from Japan. Also, when we learn about art history, we handle the Christian religious arts and see the difference in the same theme arts drew in different times.
The most favorite subject was German. There were six people in the class, and everyone, including the teacher, was friendly. I knew only a few words in German. Therefore, I couldn't keep up with everyone. However, a nice Ukrainian girl always taught me German willingly. I felt so sorry for her, but I really enjoyed the lesson.

学校は金曜日まであり、金曜日は通常よりも早く学校が終わります。学校の初日に2人の女の子が案内をしてくれました。今はそのうちの1人の女の子がいるグループと仲良くしています。そのグループの中には1人日本人の女の子がおり、学校について色々と教えてもらいました。学校では、日本の小学校のように業間休みがあり、そこでみんなお菓子を食べます。学校には中国人の子や、私にドイツ語を教えてくれるウクライナ人の子など、多様な国籍の子がいます。私は特にこのウクライナ人の子と仲が良く、ランチタイムなどで良く話しています。彼女は他国の文化にすごく興味があり、日本語や中国語が少し話せたり、様々な国の文化についての知識を持っています。中国人の女の子たちはとても優しく、日本のアニメが好きだと言っている子が何人かいました。

School ends on Friday every week, and there are only five periods on Friday. On the first day, we went to the school, and two girls introduced us around the school. Recently, I have been mostly moving with a group, one of the girls joining, and there is a Japanese girl in the group. She taught us many things about the school. In the school, there is a break time after the second period, and everyone eats some snacks during this time. There are some Chinese, Ukrainian, and Indian girls, and students' nationality is various and rich in cultural diversity. I'm especially getting along with the Ukrainian girl who taught me German. I talk with her a lot during lunchtime. She is very interested in other countries' cultures, and she can speak a little bit of Japanese and Chinese and has a deep knowledge of other countries. Chinese girls are very kind, and some girls said that they like Japanese anime.

学校はとても賑やかで雰囲気が良いです。みんな目が合うとにっこりと目を合わせてくれて、海外の温かさを感じました。来て最初の1週間は毎日が辛く、学校に行きたくない、日本に帰りたい、とずっと考えていましたが、1週間が過ぎるとだんだん友達と話すことが楽しみになり、気持ちが楽になって毎日を明るく過ごせるようになりました。私のいる学年はもうLeaving certificate に向けてみんなが勉強に集中しているので部活に入っている人が少ないのですが、私は一緒に来た友達とバトミントン部に入り、毎週金曜日はバトミントンをしています。ほとんどの部員が一個下でみんなとても仲が良く、部活のルールも日本と比べてとてもゆるいです。部活に行くのも行かないのも自由で、日によっては先生がいないからと誰も部活に来なかったりします。

The school is bright and has a warm atmosphere. When my eye met with someone, the person smiled at me, and I felt the hearty communication culture in Ireland. In the first week I came to Ireland, I felt so depressed, and I was thinking "I don't want to go to school", "I want to go back to Japan". However, after the week, I got excited to talk with new friends and my feeling got lighter and lighter. In the fifth year, which I am joining, everyone is preparing for the Leaving Certificate, so most people don't join club activities. The girl who came to Ireland with me and I joined the Badminton club and played Badminton every Friday. Most members of the club are third or fourth-year students, and they are very friendly. The club rules are not as strict as the Japanese club's. It is up to the students if they come to the club every week or not, and when the teacher is not coming, all the member doesn't come to the club.

On the weekends, I travel around Ireland for sightseeing with my friend. We went to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. I visited some museums by myself. Basically, there is not much entertainment in Ireland compared to Japan, and also because of the price increase, I can't enjoy shopping. Therefore, I think the best way to enjoy Ireland fully is to learn about its history and visit these museums. In the museum near the city centre, there was a display about ancient and medieval Ireland, and in the museum at the outskirts of the city, there was a display about Ireland during the WW2. There were many things we can't see in Japan, such as information about how Ireland and England were related, Irish military uniform and panzers, etc. display about WW2, and the uniform of IRA (Irish Republican Army, which fought for Irish independence from England). It was a great experience. To transfer, we usually use the bus and tram called "Luas". The style of buildings is different from Japan. The buildings intentionally remain in the medieval style rather than modern high buildings, and it makes me feel so much fun just walking in the street.

もう留学期間もあと半分になりだんだんと焦ってきました。探究をやらなければいけませんが、同時にこっちの学校の宿題やテストの勉強をする必要があり、毎日がとても忙しいです。アメリカやオーストラリアなどと比べると雨が多く、街に高いビルがあるわけでもなく、キラキラとした留学生活ではないかもしれませんが、長い歴史とケルト文化を感じる素晴らしい国だと思っています。