Hey, my name is Celina and I’m currently staying in Cork, Ireland and in just 4 weeks I’m going back to Germany. I stayed with a host family that consisted of an older married couple and my two other host sisters. One of them was younger than me and the other one already went to college. 

I am a 5th year at Bishopstown Community School. In my opinion the Irish school is not as hard as the German one which makes everthing a bit more pleasant. The school was fairly small compared to my other one with only about 300 students. If you’re considering an exchange year Ireland would be a fantastic place to choose. It was such a good year for me and I think it could be the same for you. Because of it I met so many new people, made new friends, learned more about different cultures (not just the Irish one) and even gained more confidence in myself. 

I was very lucky in finding friends immediately in my first day. Because I talked to only one person I was instantly a part of a bigger group who I can now call my friends too. The people in Ireland including my classmates and teachers were always nice and open to different people which makes it feel just a bit more like home. 

Hello, I am Junis, I have already spent 3 months in Ireland and I will stay here another month. I stay in a small town called Fethard, that’s one hour away from Kilkenny in the middle of Ireland. I live in a big house with an older couple, a dog and two cats. I also have a host-brother from Italy. At the beginning we were both a bit shy but after a couple of weeks we became best friends, and we are planning to meet each other again in the future when we will have left Ireland. The school here is rather easy. I am in 5th year, and I had the opportunity to choose my subjects, so I chose Art, Graphic Design, Woodwork, English, Maths and French. You can also choose between higher and ordinary level of Maths and English. We do a lot of trips with the school, for example to Dublin or to the Aran Islands and we also went to beautiful lakes near Cork. The people here a really friendly, on my first day in school it felt like I always went to this school because they included me in everything and treated me like I was always there. Also, the teachers are very friendly, and, on this school, they are not so strict like in Germany and they are way more kind.

Due to the fact that I live in the middle of Ireland, I could go nearly to every city very easily by train or by bus and it only takes a maximum of 1,5 hours. I went to Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny, Killarney, Waterford and Limerick and I want to go to Galway soon. Every weekend I meet my friends and we go to bigger cities or we just hang around and have a lot of fun. I am sure I will visit Ireland again to see them and my host family again. Here I found two of my best friends ever and we are planning to meet again in future. One time we also went hiking which was really cool because on the top of the hill we couldn’t see anything because it was so foggy. Then on our way down the fog disappeared and we had a great view at the country and this looked very great.

Honestly I don’t want to go home in 5 weeks because I will miss my friends so much. I had and still have a great time in Ireland and met lots of really good friends. I also saw so much of the country; I think I saw more than of Germany itself. Also the language is very easy, lately after 3 weeks you understand nearly everything.

All in all it was one of my best decisions in life and I would definitely recommend everybody this experience! So if you are not sure if you want to do that: DO IT!!! That will probably be one of the best times of your life; you will have a great experience and for your English it’s also good.

Ich heiße Romy und komme eigentlich aus der Nähe von Nürnberg – aber nach den neun Monaten in Irland ist Galway ganz genauso mein Zuhause! Ich habe dort eine Schule besucht und bei einer Gastfamilie gewohnt. Schon nach ein paar Tagen habe ich mich wie ein Familienmitglied gefühlt und das hat bis zum letzten Tag angehalten. Ich war auf einer ganz normalen Schule und habe dort auch schnell Freunde gefunden, mit denen ich auch jetzt immer noch in gutem Kontakt stehe – ich werde in den Herbstferien vermutlich wieder nach Irland fliegen, um alle Leute wieder zu sehen! Die neun Monate waren ohne Zweifel die schönsten meines Lebens und ich würde jederzeit wieder in den Flieger steigen, um noch einmal dort zu leben. Nicht einmal der viele Regen konnte diese Erfahrung trüben, wobei man sich manchmal wirklich lieber zwei, drei Tage ohne den Niesel gewünscht hätte... Aber auch das Wetter gehört dazu und die Freundlichkeit und die Lebensfreude der Iren für neun Monate zu erleben ist es definitiv wert! Jedem, der ein Auslandsjahr machen möchte, kann ich nur empfehlen nach Irland zu gehen. Aber für egal welchen Anlass: niemals den Regenmantel vergessen!

Hi, my name is Nina and I was in Ireland for 9 months. I lived in Greystones, a small town on the East Coast of Ireland with my host parents and four kids (3 girls and 1 boy) between the ages of 4 and 11. The house was always busy but I was so happy to stay with them. They made me feel like a real family member and they always supported and helped me. I loved every moment with my family and I miss them very much. I know I will stay in contact with them as during the summer holidays we are going to spend 10 days in Spain together. I cannot wait!

I was part of the Transition year group in St. David’s, Greystones. Transition year is the year between Junior and Senior cycle. Throughout my time in St. David’s, I tried various new activities, for example rock climbing, bushcraft and sailing. I also attended different talks and retreats. My highlights were sailing, the self-defense workshop, making a short film and writing a song. In St. David’s Transition year students do three weeks work experience. This gave me an opportunity to meet new people and think about my future career. I also joined the hockey team, I never played hockey in Germany, but it is such a great sport and I might continue playing hockey in Germany. To go to Ireland was the best decision in my life, I met awesome people, tried so many different things and became more confident in myself. If you are not sure if you want to do this or not: GO FOR IT! You won't regret it.

Hi, my name is Francesco and I am in Portmarnock right now, a suburb of Dublin. I have already spent 8 months in Ireland and in a few weeks I am going to return to Germany. My host family is very nice and the house is always busy as there are three generations living here, amongst others three kids from 5 to 10 years old. I also have a Ukrainian host brother living with me. All of them are very open-minded and always kind.

I am in Transition Year at Pobalscoil Neasáin in Baldoyle near Dublin. As I am here during the pandemic, Transition Year is not how it is supposed to be with many journeys and activities in school - but it is still incredibly good and I am happy to be here right now.

My class has been genuinely nice to me since the first day I joined the class. Also, the teachers are always friendly and caring about exchange students and I do not feel excluded in any way.Although I cannot do activities through school, I still found other things to do such as playing basketball and football with my friends or going swimming in the beautiful sea. I also started skateboarding here, when the restrictions are being eased, I might go windsurfing or canoeing. I will also go to all the places which I could not see during the year such as Galway, Cork, Belfast, etc.

Throughout the year I met many new people from all over the world and after this year I will stay in contact with them. Some of my friends will come over to Germany and I will visit them.

Overall, it was definitely the best and most interesting year of my life even though there were some restrictions by COVID-19. So do not have any doubts about an exchange year and JUST DO IT!

I am Izzy and I spent 10 months in Waterford, Ireland. I went to a boarding school and after some days, I felt like a member of a big family. The school was so different to Germany but in a good way: everyone knew everyone as there were only 300 students and 30 teachers which made the relationships closer and more personal than in my old school. The music and sports facilities were gigantic: you could take music lessons for any instrument, join the chamber choir or the orchestra. We had a hockey team, a football team, a swimming pool and loads of sport competitions throughout the whole year. But it was not about being the best, it was “all about participation” my PE teacher used to say. All in all, I got to know the Irish as very open-minded, honest and friendly people. It literally was the best year of my life and I can only suggest you to do the same for the greatest experience you will ever make. I could tell you loads of stories but better go out there and collect your own ones :)

Hi, my name is Katharina and I spent four months in Wicklow. This is a little town near Dublin on the East coast of Ireland. I was very excited to see my new family. I liked them from the beginning. The first few weeks in Ireland were hard, because I didn‘t understand everything and didn‘t know anyone, but after two or three weeks I made friends at school and in Irish Dancing classes. I was also in a liturgical choir called „Village Voices“. Joining the Dancing classes and the choir made so many things easier. There I came in touch with the Irish people. I attended the Dominican College in Wicklow, which is a convent school only for girls where you have to wear a school uniform. Actually it wasn‘t as bad as I expected it to be. All the girls were really nice and also the uniform was ok. Ireland is an awesome country with very nice people.

I had a great experience there!!! I learnt a lot and made loads of new friends, so go and make the same great experience!

Katharina

Hi my name is Frieda and I spent 10 months in Wicklow, Ireland. Wicklow is a small town south of Dublin on the East Coast. I was really nervous when I first arrived in Ireland but when I met my host family everything was alright. My host parents were as old as my grandparents in Germany but much more relaxed, as everyone in Ireland. I stayed first in a so-called double placement in my host family. My host brother was from Spain and we were a little shy at first but it changed with the time and as we knew each other a bit better. In the end my Spanish brother moved to another family. I had so much fun there and after some time, I made some really good friends. The lessons were not too hard and always fun. Because I was in 5th year, I could choose my subjects like in Germany. I was also able to decide if I want to do them in higher or ordinary level. The subjects I chose were Math, English, History, Music and Geography. I had to choose a language as well, so I chose German and helped other students, mainly with the genders of the nouns. The school started at 9 am and finished in the afternoon. After school, there was not enough time to meet friends, so we always met at the weekends. We went to town or to Dublin for sightseeing. After my year abroad, my host parents became my "Irish nan and granddad". I hope to see them again soon. I am still in contact with my friends and hopefully they will come over and visit me in Germany. All my German friends were so jealous, so do not be the person who is jealous but start your own adventure!

Frieda