Sunday, May 4, 2014

Ireland

Ireland
This month I learned a lot about the island of Ireland, and I am going to share with you some of the history and cool things I learned.

This month I spent most of my time in Coleraine, Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom.  I also spent time in Dublin, Ireland that is part of the Republic of Ireland.  So even though I spent my month on the island of Ireland I was actually able to spend time in two different countries!

  


United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is made up of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.


Flags
The Union Flag, also know as the Union Jack, is the official flag of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.  On this flag are the St. George’s Cross, St. Andrew’s Saltire, and St. Patrick’s Saltire.

Northern Ireland does not have it’s own flag like England, Scotland, and Wales.  They do have two former flags that are used by many to represent Northern Ireland.  These flags just cannot be flown above any government buildings.

The Ulster Banner was used by the Northern Ireland Government 
from 1953 - 1972.  

St. Patrick's Saltire is sometimes use by the British Government to represent Northern Ireland.


The Republic of Ireland flag, frequently referred to as the Irish tricolor, is a vertical tricolor of green, white, and orange. The Irish government has said the symbolism behind each color as being that of green representing the Gaelic tradition of Ireland, orange representing the followers of William of Orange in Ireland, and white representing the desire for peace between them.

Weather
This month was very cold, which was a big shock after being in the heat for the last seven months.  In Northern Ireland, like in Asia and Africa, they use Celsius when telling temperature. See if you can convert these temperatures from Celsius to Fahrenheit.

Coldest Day of the Month – April 11th
            High - 11°C             Low - 2°C
Warmest Day of the Month – April 29th
            High - 19°C             Low - 10°C

Money
In the United Kingdom the currency is called the British Pound (GBP). The symbol used to represent the British Pound is £. Right now the exchange rate is 1 GBP = $1.68. 
In the Republic of Ireland the currency is called the Euro (EUR).  The symbol used to represent the Euro is €. Right now the exchange rate is 1 EUR = $1.38.
So let’s see if you can figure out how much each of these items are in USD.

A sweater to wear in the cold weather - £14.99
A pair of gloves - £4.00
A toothbrush - £7.49
500ml bottle of Dr. Pepper - € 1.39
Cheeseburger Happy Meal at McDonald’s - €3.75
A sweatshirt - 19.99


Giants Causeway
The Giants Causeway is in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.  It is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns that were formed after an ancient volcanic eruption. It is named the fourth greatest natural wonder of the United Kingdom. 




The columns form stepping-stones and most are hexagonal in shape.  The tallest columns are about 12 meters high.  How many feet are in 12 meters?

Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher are located in County Clare, Ireland. They rise 120 meters above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag's Head, and reach their maximum height of 214 meters just north of O'Brien's Tower.

O'Brien's Tower




I know that the school year is coming to an end and I am sure that you all are very excited.  I just want to say that I have loved being able to share my experiences over the past eight months with you.  But I am not done!  I will still be traveling to Moldova, Romania, and Albania.  So, if you feel like learning some more over the summer I will continue to post about my travels to this blog.