And so the end is nigh.

So, today marks the end of life as a normal person and the beginning of life as a student again as I return to my old stomping ground of Loreto Bray as an English and History Teacher while studyng (again) at UCD. Oof. It feels strange, I tell ya, to be thinking about September again in terms of stocking up on A4 pads and textbooks again.

But, credit where credit is due and I was blessed with fantastic students and classes, I only hope and pray my incoming teenagers are the same. Throughout my past six months back in Ireland, I had some laughs and learnt so much about European culture and definitely learnt somethings about Ireland. I definitely began to appreciate my heritage and culture a bit more but no amount of persuading by my classes will entice me to enjoy a plate of Irish stew!

What a last day it was. Firstly, there was a bit of a singsong and at 9.30am I was explaining the intricacies of the trad music tradition and singing along to The Wild Rover. A new student did an impromtu striptease where he showed off his tattoo for the female members of the class...unexpectedly and unprompted, luckily, my Director of Studies didn't decide to pay a visit to the class at that moment.

In the afternoon, after teaching some Irish slang during the week, a student was eager to show off his mastering of Irish slang by telling me he was 'too hungover' to do his homework and then told me that he practiced with his host family the previous night by marching into the kitchen saying 'I'm Marvin!' in a thick Spanish accent. Hilarious.

I was delighted to recieve 20 fantastic reviews from my outgoing students, a definite vote of confidence going forward. Finally, I feel like I've been doing something right, all the hours of planning have paid off. At least, now I no longer have the constant fear of being asked a question about complex English grammar that I can't answer. I can, with confidence, say my first year class are never going to ask me the ins and outs of the present perfect, the format of conditionals and definitions of phrasal verbs. Yes, English speakers- these things exist! Though, no doubt I will have a whole host of other problems and challenges, and the feelings of apprehension and nervousness are being to creep in.

But I will continue on my crusade to make English and History fun fun fun and do my best. As Macbeth said, 'Come what come may, time and hour runs through the roughest days'.