Everyone Else is Doing It!

Since my year with Americorps I took a well deserved year long break from children and low wage. I spent my year working at The South End Buttery as a barista, and living with my best friend in Brighton. Took a three week vacation to Europe to visit friends and family in England and reflecting on what to do next. As I'm sure many of you all can relate, the new thing to do in this day an age as a struggling college graduate is teach English in a foreign country. I was strongly encouraged to do this by my cousin, although tempting I had no desire to go near teaching. But did like the idea of doing something abroad. Which led me to remember a program a friend did in Ireland called the Camphill Communities. I did some research and thought it looked like an amazing program. Like City Year it is not a walk in the park. The program works and aids people with developmental disabilities. They live in a self sustainable community, centering around farming, gardening and various forms of the arts (for more info go to http://www.camphill.ie/dingle). Having been to Ireland's country side when I was thirteen it didn't take any convincing to decide to go back to live there. The hard part was to decide where however, I chose two to apply to as they have communities all over Ireland and Scotland and even in the states. I had decided between Ballytobin which is in the center of Ireland and the Dingle Peninsula which is in the southwest corner of Ireland on the coast. I spent a week in the Dingle and it is easy to say that is by far one of the most beautiful places in the world. Then upon speaking to my interviewer she helped me make that decision a definite. It will be extremely different from living in the fast pace lifestyle that I live now in Boston! Especially since people in Ireland live in a very different way then we do. To give you a visual of where I will be. This is an arial view:

This is experience as I said will not be easy. I have never lived in a live-in community or worked at length with adults with such disabilities. But I know they will teach me more then I know. Please visit the above link as it explains better my day to day life. I couldn't not be more excited for this new adventure. Otherwise I am staying in Boston until the end of August then I head home until I leave. Where I will get a good dose of family and then head across the atlantic for a year! I will also be start my time in Ireland with the photo project called 365, which means I will take a photo a day! Please stay tuned as this is where I will talk about my work over there and of course tons of pictures! Until September!!