Trips
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CAMPING TRIP
On the 13th of September the agonising wait was finally over. We were getting our Junior Cert results. Happy with some subjects and furious with others I was glad to change my focus towards camping.
We arrived at Loch Dan late in the morning. Rushing for the best area to set up our tent everyone fought over territory.
Tired after setting up the tent wrong three times in a row we set up our portable chairs, took out a few drinks and cooked some carbonara. That went fine until the heavens opened and it began lashing rain. Everyone ran into their tents until the shower was over and then the sun came out and their was no trace of it raining at all. This repeated a few times, each time brushing the water out of our tent to stop it flooding.
A while later we were told we had to go on a walk. To be honest I didn't really see the point in it as were were going on a 23k hike the next day and I was looking forward to just chilling.
Our tents biggest success was the food we cooked. I was in charge of bringing all the meat for our tent and I wanted to get the best meat possible. The day before I had gone to the butcher and bought enough steaks and burgers to last us double the time we were there. With a tent mate being a good cook and about seven gas covers we and our neighbouring tent cooked up steak, burgers, sausages, beans and gravy.
Our tent was quite organised in the way that none of us were slacking when things needed to be done. Making dinner and the cleanup after was done in no time because everyone did their part.
That night we got little sleep, but that was expected and the next day I was quite tired for the hike. The hike was wet, windy, muddy and cold but the views were spectacular and it was a great time to talk to my friends and take my mind off the Junior Cert results.
When we got back late in the afternoon I was exhausted and regret being to cold to go for a swim in the lake. The teachers cooked up some burgers and once again it began to rain. It stayed like that for an hour or two and we cooked up some egg fried rice in our tent.
Later we gathered around the campfire until again it started to rain. At this point we were used to the rain and so less people went back into their tents.
That night it was freezing. It was my turn to sleep in the middle part of the tent which might as well have been outside. The next morning none of us could speak. We all had colds and every word we said sounded like an ongoing voice break. We skipped breakfast and straight away started to clean pack our things. It showed how messy our tent was as we still finished last. Once we had cleaned the field we got on the bus and went back to Gerard's. I was exhausted and was looking forward to getting my first sleep in two nights. My mum picked me up and the camping trip came to an end.
All in all I think the camping trip was a brilliant experience and a great bonding time with people I hadn't really known before. It completely took my mind off the JC results. I would definitely go again.
Kairos
For the last coupe of weeks we have been been organising and practicing to go to a studio called Kairos to preform a fake TV programme.
In English class we divided ourselves into different roles. There was a producer, two main presenters, an interviewer, a graphics team, sound operators, camera people and a number of models for the show.
We left for Kairos at 9:00am on the 10 of October. We arrived to what looked like an old hospital but was very misleading when you saw the inside. Inside was very modern and
Had a big cafe. We started to get to work straight away. We were introduced to one of the workers there who went through everything we had to do that day. The people working in the technical department started first and were shown how to operate all the equipment which took about forty-five minutes. Next we began rehearsals. I was originally an interviewer in the show but decided to up my role and changed to the very hard position as playing a dead person. This role was harder then you would think, I was not allowed show any emotions under the most hilarious circumstances. After rehearsals we had a tasty lunch in the cafe.
After lunch we started to film the real programme. Other then a few giggles it was very successful and I really enjoyed the day. I would love to do more things like this during TY.
Carlingford
I thought the camping trip would be my favourite part of the year but I was wrong. Carlingford was by far my favourite activity. It was great spending time with my friends and I loved the activities.
We left the school at 9:30 a.m on Monday the 19th of February. After a couple of hours in the bus and already finishing my first packet of jellies we arrived at Carlingford. Carlingford is a small, quite, pretty village beside the coast. We unpacked the bus and I dragged my bags up the village to the adventure centre. We entered into a big hall and were greeted by the manager who told us about the adventure centre and split us into our rooms. We then raced for the top bunks and unpacked. Shortly after we were unpacked we were called to the canteen for lunch. The food was delicious, if you like greasy chips everyday. Unfortunately the one thing I didn't like about the trip was the food. For lunch that day we had chicken nuggets and chips. I didn't mind that for my first meal, after all I had been on the bus for a couple of hours but it was the fact that everyday after that we got chips for lunch and for all the calories it wasn't like they tasted nice. Dinners were slightly better but I found myself asking for the vegetarian option for a couple of nights.
After lunch we went to skypark which was a lot of fun. Attached to a harness we had get past obstacles thirty metres high in the air. Normally I wouldn't have had the guts to try out something so high but I'm glad I did as it was a great experience.
Later after dinner that day we did our night activity which was a team quiz. It was a good bonding experience with my friends and it was a good laugh.
The next day we went canoeing on the sea. I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more if the sea wasn't absolutely freezing but it was still enjoyable. That night
They next day we went to the laser tag centre in the woods. This was my favourite activity. In a twenty v twenty match we camped behind trees trying to pick off the opposition one by one. What made it even more enjoyable was that my team won every time.